Getting to Appointments From a Care Home

If your care home doesn't have staff free to spend hours accompanying a resident to appointments, you're not imagining a gap in the system, you've found a real one, and it's worth understanding why, so it doesn't feel like something's being withheld from you.

Why this genuinely isn't always the home's fault

Under CQC Regulation 9A, a care home must not stop a resident being accompanied to an outpatient hospital or hospice appointment by a family member, friend, or advocate, if that's what the resident wants. But the same regulation is explicit that it does not require the home itself to resource or staff that escort. Some homes do offer this, often via ambulance transport, as part of their own service standard, many don't have the staffing to. It genuinely varies, and it's worth asking your specific home directly, early, rather than assuming either way.

The bit worth knowing: many appointments don't need a hospital trip at all

Two of the most common appointment types can often happen without leaving the care home:

• Eye tests: Domiciliary (home visiting) opticians regularly visit care homes, and NHS-funded sight tests are available for residents who qualify, generally anyone 60 or over, or anyone unable to attend a practice unaccompanied due to a physical or mental condition, which covers most care home residents. You don't have to use whichever optician the home suggests, you can keep your loved one's existing optician if they offer home visits, or ask them to arrange one directly.
• Dental checkups: NHS-funded domiciliary dental care also exists, delivered by a community dental service, covering examinations, fillings, scaling, dentures, and simple extractions. Referral can come via a GP, the care home, or directly as a carer, through your local Integrated Care Board's community dental service (NHS 111 can help point you to the right number if you're unsure).

Worth being honest about: NHS dental access for care home residents has genuinely gotten harder in recent years, real data shows the proportion of homes reporting residents could "never" access NHS dental care rose from 6% in 2019 to 25% in 2022. It exists, and it's worth pursuing, but starting the process early and following up persistently makes a real difference. NHS charges still apply to domiciliary visits unless your loved one is exempt.

Where cataracts fit in

A routine domiciliary eye test can pick up early signs of cataracts, but the surgery itself is a hospital ophthalmology procedure and can't be done at the care home. This is exactly the kind of appointment where the escort question above becomes real, worth asking the home about their policy specifically once a hospital referral is made, rather than after an appointment letter arrives.

When it does need to be a hospital visit

• Ask the care home directly, and early, what their policy is on escorting residents to appointments, don't wait until it's urgent to find out.
• If ambulance transport is offered, check what that actually means in practice, it often means your loved one travels without you unless you separately arrange to meet them there.
• Ask whether the resident might be eligible for the NHS Patient Transport Service for the journey itself.
• Where you do need to attend, our guide on visiting covers some of the emotional side of these trips too.

If you need to take time off work

You have a statutory right to unpaid Carer's Leave, up to 5 days a year, in place since April 2024, and it's specifically designed for exactly this kind of situation. Some employers offer more generous paid leave for caring responsibilities, it's genuinely worth checking your own contract or asking HR directly rather than assuming only the statutory minimum applies.

A word from The Care Compass

This is one of the quieter, ongoing costs of caring that nobody quite prepares you for, not a single hard day, but a recurring one, appointment after appointment. Knowing what's genuinely avoidable, and what your actual rights are for the rest, makes it a little more manageable.

This article is for general guidance only. Policies vary by care home, and eligibility for NHS services should always be confirmed directly.

You don’t have to navigate it alone.