In brief
Nursing care for families in Edinburgh
Nursing care is for people whose health needs go beyond what a residential home or a package of care at home can safely manage: wounds that need dressing, catheters and stomas, PEG feeding, complex or changing medication, conditions like Parkinson's, stroke or advanced frailty.
The distinction matters practically. A nursing home has registered nurses on duty day and night, not care staff calling a district nurse. Clinical changes are noticed and acted on in the building, which is often the difference between a quiet adjustment and another admission to hospital.
In Edinburgh, our nursing beds sit alongside dementia and residential care in the same home, so people are not moved between services as needs change.
Where this care is provided
Our home offering nursing care near Edinburgh
Looking more widely? See all Meallmore homes in Edinburgh.
The detail
What nursing care covers day to day
Registered nurses lead each shift, supported by senior carers and care assistants. Care plans cover skin integrity and pressure area care, continence, nutrition and hydration, pain, mobility and falls risk, and mental wellbeing - reviewed as things change rather than annually.
We work with local GP practices, district nursing, tissue viability, dietetics, speech and language therapy, and the palliative care team, so specialist input comes in rather than the resident going out to it wherever possible.
Alongside the clinical side is the ordinary side, which residents tell us matters just as much: getting up when you want to, your own furniture, meals cooked in the home, visitors welcome, and something worth doing in the afternoon.
Next steps
Arranging nursing care in Edinburgh
Many nursing placements begin from hospital. If a discharge team is involved, they will usually complete an assessment and share it with us with your consent; we will then assess whether we can safely meet the needs described, and say so honestly if we cannot.
Where the move is planned from home, the City of Edinburgh Council social work team can carry out a needs assessment, and a financial assessment where council funding is in question. Free nursing care contributions apply in Scotland for those assessed as needing nursing care.
Whichever route you are on, call us early. Knowing what is actually available saves families a lot of wasted effort at a point when they have very little energy to spare.
Areas we cover
Families travel to us from Edinburgh and nearby
- Edinburgh
- Leith
- Portobello
- Musselburgh
- Newhaven
Council area: City of Edinburgh Council.
Common questions
Nursing care in Edinburgh: your questions
Residential care provides personal support - washing, dressing, meals, medication prompts - from trained care staff. Nursing care adds registered nurses on site 24 hours a day for clinical needs. Our types of care guide compares the options in full.
Yes, where we have a suitable vacancy and the assessment shows we can meet the person's needs safely. Discharge can move quickly, so it helps if a family member calls us at the same time as the hospital team.
No - it is a contribution, not the whole cost. In Scotland, people assessed by their council as needing nursing care receive a weekly free nursing care payment towards their fees, and adults assessed as needing personal care receive a free personal care contribution as well, whatever their age. The balance is met by the council or privately depending on the financial assessment. See our care home costs guide for current rates.
Yes. Our Edinburgh home is registered for both, which avoids a second move later on.
Forthland Lodge is in Leith, easily reached from the city centre, Newhaven, Trinity, Portobello and out towards Musselburgh. Full details are on the home page.
Before you decide
Guides worth reading first
Important - please read
The information on this page is general guidance about care in Edinburgh. It is not legal, financial or medical advice, and Meallmore cannot accept liability for decisions made on the basis of it.
- Always check your own position with a trained professional: your GP or healthcare team for anything health related, an independent regulated adviser for money, a solicitor for legal matters, and your local council for needs and financial assessments.
- In an emergency, or if someone's health is getting worse quickly, call 999. For urgent advice that is not an emergency, phone NHS 24 on 111. Please do not use this page in place of medical help.
- Care rates, thresholds and council policies change, and availability moves week to week, so confirm current figures and vacancies with us before relying on them.
None of this is a reason to put off asking for help. If you would like to talk it through with a team who do this every day, we are very happy to hear from you, and there is no obligation either way.
Other care in Edinburgh