IT'S RIGHT up there with choosing your child's school or a venue for your wedding in the stress of life stakes.

A new survey conducted for government watchdog the Care Quality Commission has discovered that choosing a care home can be one of the most stressful decisions that families have to take.

Seven out of ten adults who were responsible for choosing care in a care home or at home – either for themselves or a loved one – found it more stressful than planning a wedding. And more than 50 per cent of those questioned said it was amongst their top three most stressful life decisions.

The survey revealed that in areas with the most 'requires improvement' or 'inadequate' ratings, people experienced more stress when choosing. The vast majority of care homes in the South West - which includes Dorset - are rated 'good' overall.

However, the CQC believes that if more people used their website - which publishes detailed reports of al the care homes and services it has inspected - they would alleviate some of their worries.

"While the vast majority of people said that seeing a care home for themselves was the most important influencer in making a decision, more than 40 per cent cited the CQC ratings," said Andrea Sutcliffe, CQC’s Chief Inspector of Adult Social Care.

She said that choosing care can be worrying but the CQC could help.

“The public needs to know about the quality of care services available and they also need to be reassured that if there are any problems, these are being identified and tackled," she said.

“That is why we publish regular inspection reports with quality ratings on more than 20,000 individual care services registered with CQC. This means that people have access to clear, independent and trusted information to help them make the right decisions for them or their loved one."

*cqc.org