How is a care needs assessment arranged in Burnham-on-sea?

Ask Somerset Council for an adult social care needs assessment, which anyone can request, including a relative acting with the person's consent. There is no charge and the outcome does not depend on income or savings. An assessor will consider daily living, mobility, medication, continence and overnight needs before recommending a level of care. Where the person is in hospital, the discharge team usually begins the process, although you can follow it up yourself.

Can Somerset Council pay for a care home placement?

Somerset Council can fund or part fund a placement where the needs assessment confirms residential care is appropriate and the financial assessment shows capital below the upper threshold. Anyone above that threshold meets the fees privately, although the needs assessment is still worth having on record. A deferred payment agreement may be available where most of the capital is tied up in a property. Where the council rate sits below a home's fee, ask in writing who would cover the difference.

What is the difference between a care home and a nursing home?

A residential care home provides personal care from care staff, which covers help with washing, dressing, meals and prompting medication. A nursing home holds a further registration for clinical nursing, with registered nurses on duty at all hours. That allows wound care, tube feeding, catheter management or palliative nursing to be handled in house rather than by visiting community nurses. All five homes listed here are residential rather than nursing, so clinical needs may eventually require a move.

How far in advance should the search begin?

Start while a move still feels some way off rather than waiting until the decision has become urgent. Six to eight weeks allows for repeat visits, a careful read of the inspection reports and a settled funding position. Hospital discharge rarely leaves that long, so a shortlist held in reserve earns its keep. Where a suitable room comes free sooner, many homes will hold it for a short period against a deposit.

What should be asked when visiting a care home here?

Ask about staffing on each shift, overnight included, and how heavily the home relies on agency staff. Find out what would happen if a resident's needs moved beyond personal care. Request the fee schedule in writing together with the notice period on both sides. Where a home holds Requires Improvement, ask the manager what has changed since the inspection and ask to see any action plan.

Care Homes in Burnham-on-sea

Q: Which care homes are listed for Burnham-on-sea?

Five residential care homes cover Burnham-on-sea: Stafford Lodge, Holly Tree Cottage, Beaufort House, Apple Tree House and Kathleen Chambers House. Stafford Lodge, Beaufort House, Apple Tree House and Kathleen Chambers House are each rated Good by the Care Quality Commission. Holly Tree Cottage holds a rating of Requires Improvement. Every profile links through to the inspection report behind its grade.

Burnham-on-sea has 5 CQC registered care homes. 4 are rated Good, 1 Requires improvement. 3 of the 5 were last inspected more than three years ago.

Source: Care Quality Commission register, kept up to date as ratings change.

Burnham-on-sea at a glance

What the local numbers say about care for older people in Burnham-on-sea, to help you judge the options below.

Somerset Council pays, residential care: £805 a week. Self-funders are typically asked £1,400 to £1,650, median £1,549
Care home beds filled across Somerset: 85%. The 12 month average is 85%.
Care home beds per 1,000 people aged 75+: 71
People aged 75 and over: 81,600. Rising to 97,500 by 2035, up 19%
Care homes, last 12 months: 0 opened, 0 closed. 7 changed owner, covering 353 beds.
Who pays, across Somerset (estimate): 35% council, 44% self. The rest is NHS funded or other.
Living with dementia, aged 65 and over (estimate): 10,500. Rising to 13,600 by 2035, up 29%
People aged 85 and over: 21,600. Rising to 33,700 by 2035, up 56%

Powered by Orrery Intelligence. Market model built 22 October 2026 (ONS 2022 based population projections, CQC register), published care home prices, council planning records.

Arranging an assessment and paying for residential care in Burnham-on-sea

The order that saves the most trouble is assessment first, shortlist second, since the assessment decides which homes are suitable at all. It is free, can be requested by anyone and looks at what support someone genuinely needs rather than what happens to be available. Somerset Council is responsible for that assessment and for the financial assessment that follows it, and a relative may request both with the person's consent.

What the financial assessment takes into account

Savings, income and, in a permanent placement, usually the value of a property are set against the national capital thresholds. Capital above the upper threshold means fees are met privately. Below the lower threshold only income is counted, with a weekly personal allowance protected. Where the capital is largely held in a house, a deferred payment arrangement can postpone a sale.

What fees look like and what else to claim

Ask at the outset what a weekly figure includes and what is billed on top of it, since extras such as hairdressing and chiropody are commonly separate. Attendance allowance and the daily living part of personal independence payment are not means tested and are routinely overlooked by people funding themselves. Where a council contribution falls short of a home's private rate, establish in writing whether a third party payment is expected and who would be liable.

Choosing between the care homes covering Burnham-on-sea

Stafford Lodge, Beaufort House, Apple Tree House and Kathleen Chambers House are each rated Good. Holly Tree Cottage currently holds a rating of Requires Improvement. None of these homes is registered for nursing, so it is worth asking each one early how it handles a resident whose health declines.

Reading the grades properly

Each rating summarises one inspection across whether a home is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. A shortfall in record keeping is a different matter from a shortfall in how residents are treated, and the report says which it was. Check the date of each report, and where a home sits below Good ask the manager what has changed since.

What a viewing ought to settle

Ask how many care staff are on duty by day and overnight, and how much agency cover the home uses. Establish what would happen if needs moved beyond personal care into nursing. Request the fee schedule and the notice period in writing. Visit near a mealtime, because the way residents needing help to eat are supported tells you more than a tour of the building.

5 care homes in Burnham-on-sea

Stafford Lodge · Burnham-on-sea, Somerset · CQC Good
Holly Tree Cottage · Burnham-on-sea, Somerset · CQC Requires improvement
Beaufort House · Burnham-on-sea, Somerset · CQC Good
Apple Tree House · Burnham-on-sea, Somerset · CQC Good
Kathleen Chambers House · Burnham-on-sea, Somerset · CQC Good

What care costs in Somerset, per week

Type of care	What the council pays	What self-funders are typically asked
Residential care South West figure, because too few Somerset homes publish this price. 52 homes. Median £1,549.	£805	£1,400 to £1,650
Nursing care South West figure, because too few Somerset homes publish this price. 16 homes. Median £1,810.	£832	£1,599 to £1,983
Residential dementia care South West figure, because too few Somerset homes publish this price. 19 homes. Median £1,665.	Not published separately	£1,450 to £1,813
Nursing dementia care England figure, because too few Somerset homes publish this price. 75 homes. Median £2,050.	Not published separately	£1,890 to £2,221

Published prices are often starting prices, and come from homes that publish fees, so treat them as a guide. Ask the home for its own price. Powered by Orrery Intelligence.

Inspected most recently

Apple Tree House, 17 December 2025, Good
Beaufort House, 21 January 2025, Good
Kathleen Chambers House, 27 September 2022, Good

Longest since a report

Holly Tree Cottage, 13 August 2022, Requires improvement
Stafford Lodge, 18 August 2022, Good
Kathleen Chambers House, 27 September 2022, Good

Frequently asked questions about care homes in Burnham-on-sea

How many care homes are there in Burnham-on-sea?

Burnham-on-sea has 5 CQC registered care homes: 4 Good, 1 Requires improvement. Counts come from the CQC register and are kept up to date as ratings change.

How much does a care home cost in Burnham-on-sea?

Somerset Council pays an average of £805 a week for residential care. Self-funders are typically asked £1,400 to £1,650 a week. South West figure, because too few Somerset homes publish this price. 52 homes. Median £1,549. Published prices are often starting prices, and come from homes that publish fees, so treat them as a guide. Ask the home for its own price.

Which care homes in Burnham-on-sea were inspected most recently?

Apple Tree House (17 December 2025), Beaufort House (21 January 2025) and Kathleen Chambers House (27 September 2022) have the most recent CQC reports.

Local care news in Somerset

New 20 bed care home registered with CQC in Somerset: St Georges Care Home (5 November 2026)

More local care news for Somerset