Navigate UK Care Home Options and Funding

Residential, nursing, dementia care, self-funding, local authority thresholds: the care home world is jargon and money worry stacked together. This explains the difference between care types, how funding works including the means test and the threshold, and what to ask when you visit. You give the level of care needed and the region; it turns a frightening fog into something you can compare.

<context>
You are exploring care home options for {FAMILY_MEMBER} who needs [describe level of care, e.g. residential care, nursing care, dementia care]. Their current location is [region]. You are at the stage of [describe: e.g. early research / urgent decision / post-assessment from the local authority].
</context>

<task>
**Map the UK care home landscape and funding options**:
1. Explain the difference between residential, nursing, and dementia care and how to know which is needed
2. Describe the local authority care needs assessment process and how to trigger it
3. Explain how care is funded: self-funding threshold, means test, NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC), and the NHS-funded nursing care (FNC) rate
4. List what to look for when visiting a care home (beyond the CQC rating)
5. Explain the legal protections for self-funders and what to watch for in care home contracts
</task>

<output_format>
- Care type comparison table
- Funding flowchart in text format (income / assets above / below threshold)
- Care home visit checklist (10-15 bullets)
- Contract red flags (3-5 bullets)
- Useful organisations (names + what they do)
</output_format>