Care homes for serving and ex-Service people

A major part of our welfare work is to provide short and long term care for serving and ex-Service people and their dependants in Royal British Legion Care Homes around the country.

Our aim is to make the lives of those who stay there as comfortable as possible.

Our homes

What we can offer:

• Six Royal British Legion Care Homes, each providing long-term nursing and personal care. Some also provide dedicated dementia care and respite care.
• An information database about non-Legion care homes available to the ex-Service community.

Our six homes vary in size from 47 bedrooms to 76 bedrooms. Each is a safe, well-equipped environment, which is intended to be a real home, somewhere that our residents can feel comfortable, for however long they stay. Care home communities include men and women of varied ages and abilities. Each home has an Activity Co-ordinator who tailors activities to residents' needs, to enable each person to get involved with group activity sessions, maintain individual hobbies and interests, and develop new ones.

Because our homes are exclusive to ex-Service people and their dependants, there's a unique camaraderie. Each home has a Statement of Purpose and Resident Guide available on request, which clearly define the care and services provided.

Please use the links in the left navigation for details about each individual home and those below for general information about the homes.

• Guidance for moving into a care home
• Eligibility criteria
• Types of care - personal, nursing, dementia, day and younger physically disabled care
• Paying for care
• Applying to a care home
• Useful contacts

Royal British Legion Care Homes - Payment and Admissions Information - pdf

Guidance for moving into a care home

All care homes in the UK, including The Royal British Legion's homes, are registered and operate under the Care Standards Act 2000 and National Minimum Standards. The Care Quality Commission (CQC) is the statutory organisation that monitors regulation compliance in England, and in Wales this function is covered by Care and Social Services Inspectorate of Wales (CSSIW). Both CQC and CSSIW produce a directory of registered care services that includes copies of its inspection reports, which can be obtained from their websites (see below).

The CQC inspection reports detail the assessment of service against national minimum standards and allocate a new quality 'star' rating to care homes. It is a simple system using a rating from 3 stars for 'excellent' to 0 stars for 'poor'. 
Please note: The quality rating only applies in England, and therefore is not issued by CSSIW to Crosfield House in Wales.

For more information, and to find out about care homes in your area, please visit the CQC and CSSIW websites.

Eligibility criteria

Poppy Homes are exclusive to the ex-Service community and their dependants. To clarify if you are eligible, please contact the Poppy Home that you wish to apply for.

An information leaflet about each of our Poppy Homes and application forms can be obtained from the links on the right and detailed information on each home is available from the left navigation links. Prospective residents are welcome to visit any Poppy Home, by arrangement with the manager (contact details in leaflet and on individual home pages), to help them decide if it meets their needs and choices.

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Types of care

Personal Care
Each of our six Poppy Homes provide personal care previously known as residential care, which offers care that does not require the input of a Registered Nurse. All Legion care staff are trained to a high standard to ensure quality care is delivered.

Nursing Care
Nursing care is available for residents who require a Registered Nurse over a 24 hour period on a daily basis. Our Registered Nurses are experienced and many hold specialist skills enabling them to meet individualised nursing needs.

A "needs assessment" determines the category of care you require.

Dementia Care
Two of our care homes, Halsey House and Lister House have accommodation specially registered for dementia care. Galanos House are also able to offer some dementia care services. 

Day Care
Halsey House, Maurice House and Lister House provide Day Care for people local to the community. The aim of the service is to meet care needs and provide a fun and relaxing day. To enquire further please contact the relevant Poppy Home directly.

Younger Physically Disabled Care
Whilst all of our Homes are able to offer limited services to persons under the age of 65 years, only Lister House currently has a specially designed wing of the Home dedicated to meet the needs of persons between the ages of 18-64 years. If you are under the age of 65 years and seeking care, please contact the Home of your choice directly for further information.

More information about Legion Homes and the Types of Care we provide - pdf.

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Paying for care

The Royal British Legion charges a weekly fee that covers all care and accommodation in our Poppy Homes. Fee levels are set annually and are agreed by The Royal British Legion Board of Trustees. Our fee levels vary depending on the category and level of care. Our fees are explained upon enquiry.   

Some people are entitled to financial support from their Local Authority, Social Services or the NHS via their Local Primary Care Trust (PCT England) or Local Health Board (LHB Wales) depending upon the category of care needed and your current financial status. Social Services, PCT or LHB will undertake an assessment to determine your eligibility for funding.  A hospital social worker can be arranged to visit you, if you are in hospital who can explain the funding processes to you. Alternatively, you can contact your local social services department for further information. 

If you pay for your nursing care privately, you may be eligible to receive the Registered Nursing Care Contribution (RNCC) towards the cost of your nursing care. An assessment is made by the PCT or LHB to determine if they will fund the Registered Nurse element of care and services delivered by the Poppy Home. 

Advice about paying for your care, either privately or via funding authorities can be obtained from the Elderly Accommodation Council (see our Useful contact list). When moving into a care home, national charities such as Age Concern or Alzheimer's Society have produced some useful leaflets on the subject.

More information about Payment and Admissions is available here.

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Applying to a care home

Initial enquiries can be made in writing, by telephone or email, or via your local Royal British Legion branch. Following enquiry, we will send you an SC7 application form which you need to complete and return to your preferred Poppy Home to enable us to proceed to a needs assessment.

The Royal British Legion County Welfare Officer can arrange for a Caseworker to help complete the application form. Please contact Care Services at Head Office for your local office.

Regardless of the category of care required or how your care is to be funded, a needs assessment will be undertaken by a qualified person from the Poppy Home once your application is received. This person will visit you in your own home by arrangement, or will visit you whilst you are in hospital.

Admission to a Poppy Home is dependent upon confirmation of eligibility and the outcome of a needs assessment. The needs assessment enables us to assess your care needs, personal preferences and requests and confirm that we can appropriately meet them. This visit also provides an opportunity for you to ask questions, and to agree a plan of care if admission is approved. The Poppy Home manager confirms your admission in writing and will arrange an admission date with you.

To find out more about our individual Poppy Homes please use the navigation links on the left.

More information about Payment and Admissions is available here.

For further information or to speak to someone regarding any of the care services mentioned on our website, please contact the Care Service Department on 020 3207 2139 or contact one of the Poppy Homes directly.

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Introductory video

Our video below gives you an introduction into Poppy Homes.

Useful contacts

Care Service Team at RBL Head Office: 020 3207 2139
Email: Care Services

Legionline: 08457 725 725
For advice and information about locating a non-Legion care home

Care Quality Commission: 03000 616161
Care home inspection reports in England www.csci.org.uk
www.cqc.org.uk

Care and Social Services Inspection Wales: 01443 848450
Care home inspection reports in Wales www.cssiw.org.uk

Carehome.co.uk: Search for a care home via www.carehome.co.uk 

Carers UK: 020 7490 8818 www.carersuk.org

Carers Wales: 029 2081 1370 www.carerswales.org

Carers Northern Ireland: 028 9043 9843 www.carersni.org

Directgov: Directory of principal local councils throughout the UK www.direct.gov.uk

NHS Choices: List of all primary care trusts www.nhs.uk

Age concern: 020 8765 7200 www.ageconcern.org.uk

Alzheimer's Society: 0845 300 0336 www.alzheimers.org.uk

Counsel and Care for the Elderly: 0845 300 758 www.counselandcare.org.uk

Help the Aged: 020 7278 1114 www.helptheaged.org.uk

The Elderly Accommodation Counsel: 020 7820 1343 www.housingcare.org

The Relatives and Residents Association: 020 7692 4302 www.relres.org

Army Benevolent Fund: 020 7591 2000 www.armybenfund.org

RAF Benevolent Fund: 0800 169 2942 www.rafbf.org

Royal Naval Benevolent Trust: 023 9269 0112 www.rnbt.org.uk

SSAFA Forces Help: 0845 130 0975 www.ssafa.org.uk

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