As of 13 August 2026, AI can only partly choose between residential and nursing care.

What to actually do

1. Hand it to a person

   The route this page recommends

   Someone with a licence or accountable authority has to sign this before it counts.

2. Use a tool built for this

   Second choice

3. Do it yourself

   The distant third

   A chat interface, chat-fluent skill, and roughly 2 hours until you can act on the result.

   How to actually do it

   1. Open the NHS pages on care and support, NHS 111, and the relevant GOV.UK pages on arranging and paying for care, then save the links for checking general information.
   2. Gather the person's care notes, medication list, recent professional assessments, falls record, daily routine and a written account of what is becoming difficult or unsafe.
   3. Ask the person, relatives and current carers separately about preferences, communication needs, night-time support, accessibility, location and visiting arrangements, then combine the answers without guessing where they disagree.
   4. Collect the names, inspection information, fees, nursing arrangements and admission criteria for each care home being considered, and paste the relevant text into the prompt.
   5. Paste the gathered information into the prompt and ask the chatbot to produce the comparison, missing-information list and questions for professionals.
   6. Compare every factual statement in the draft with the saved NHS, GOV.UK and care-home information, removing any claim that cannot be checked.
   7. Send the unanswered questions and the comparison to the person's GP, social worker, community nursing team or local authority adult-social-care team, and ask for an assessment before choosing.
   8. Visit the shortlisted homes with the checklist, record the answers and observations, and make the final decision with the person and the professionals involved.

   Prompt

   Help me prepare a careful comparison between residential care and nursing care in the UK. Do not diagnose anyone, decide what care they need, or present your conclusion as professional advice. Use only the information I provide and clearly mark anything that is missing or uncertain.
   
   Person's current needs: [describe mobility, washing and dressing, eating and drinking, continence, medicines, falls, memory, communication, behaviour, night-time support and other day-to-day needs]
   Known medical or nursing needs, as described by a clinician: [paste information or write none]
   Current support at home: [describe]
   What is becoming difficult or unsafe: [describe]
   Preferences and concerns: [describe]
   Location in the UK: [town or county]
   Funding or budget information already confirmed: [paste information or write none]
   Care homes or services being considered: [paste names, links, brochures or notes]
   
   Produce:
   1. A neutral explanation of the usual difference between residential and nursing care, without assuming which is suitable.
   2. A table comparing each option against the person's stated needs, separating known facts from assumptions.
   3. Missing information that could change the decision.
   4. Questions to ask the GP, NHS team, local authority social-services team, care homes and any funding adviser.
   5. A checklist for visiting and comparing homes, including staffing, registered nursing cover, night support, activities, inspections, fees and what happens if needs increase.
   6. A short list of possible next actions, with urgent or worrying health symptoms directed to NHS 111.
   End with: 'This is not professional advice. A serious care decision needs assessment and discussion with the appropriate GP, social worker, registered nurse or other qualified care professional.'

   Open it prefilled in ChatGPT or Claude, or copy it into Gemini, which takes no prefill link.