Which care homes in Dorking are listed on this page?

Seven residential care homes match this search for Dorking, and they are Pinehurst Rest Home, Nower House, Felbury House, Stanecroft, Livingstone House, Bramley House Residential Home and Tuscany House. Each has a profile setting out registration details and its current Care Quality Commission rating. Vacancies change constantly, so a home listed here will not necessarily have a room free when you enquire. With only seven to consider, reading every inspection report is entirely realistic.

What should I ask when visiting a care home in Dorking?

Ask how many staff are on duty during the day and overnight, how long the manager has been in post and what staff turnover has been like. Request the most recent Care Quality Commission report and listen to how the manager accounts for anything it raised. Ask what a typical day involves, how residents decide what they do, and how families take part in reviewing a care plan. It is also worth asking what the weekly fee covers, what is charged separately and when fees are reviewed.

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

A care home is registered to provide personal care, meaning help with washing, dressing, medication, meals and the routine of the day. A nursing home provides that same personal care with a qualified nurse on duty at all times, which matters where someone has clinical needs such as wound care, a feeding tube or an unstable long term condition. The difference is one of formal registration and appears on each provider's Care Quality Commission record. All seven providers listed on this page are registered as residential care homes rather than nursing homes.

Can Surrey County Council fund a care home placement in Dorking?

It can, where a care needs assessment identifies eligible needs and a financial assessment shows the person qualifies for support. The financial assessment considers income, savings and capital, and anyone holding assets above the national threshold is normally expected to meet the fees themselves. Support may be taken as a direct payment, which leaves the family arranging the placement, or provided as a place the council commissions. Even where someone will plainly fund their own care, an assessment is worth requesting because it records what the needs actually are.

How do I arrange a care needs assessment in Dorking?

Contact the adult social care team at Surrey County Council, the authority responsible for assessments in this area. The request can come from the person needing care, from a relative or friend acting for them, or from a professional such as a general practitioner or hospital discharge team. The assessment looks at what someone manages alone and where support is needed, and it is free regardless of income or savings. If a relative provides regular unpaid care, ask for a carer's assessment at the same time.

How far in advance should I start looking at care homes?

Where a move is planned rather than urgent, two to three months gives room to request an assessment, visit homes and read inspection reports without pressure. The care needs assessment is frequently the slowest stage, so putting that request in early is usually the most useful first move. After a sudden illness or a hospital admission, a placement can be arranged within days, but the choice will be narrower and decisions taken in a hurry. Starting before the need becomes pressing almost always widens the options.

Care Homes in Dorking

Dorking has 7 CQC registered care homes. 6 are rated Good, 1 Requires improvement. 6 of the 7 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Dorking at a glance

What the local numbers say about care for older people in Dorking, to help you judge the options below.

Surrey County Council pays, residential care: £952 a week. Self-funders are typically asked £1,654 to £1,931, median £1,772
Care home beds filled across Surrey: 88%. The 12 month average is 87%.
Care home beds per 1,000 people aged 75+: 80. Surrey average is 90.
People aged 75 and over: 12,100. Rising to 13,900 by 2035, up 15%
Care homes, last 12 months: 0 opened, 1 closed. 1 changed owner, covering 42 beds.
Who pays, across Surrey (estimate): 32% council, 52% self. The rest is NHS funded or other.
Living with dementia, aged 65 and over (estimate): 1,600. Rising to 2,000 by 2035, up 23%
People aged 85 and over: 3,600. Rising to 5,200 by 2035, up 44%

Planned and recent building work within 5 miles

Westcott House Guildford Road Westcott. Application for a 24 bed care home. Submitted 19 September 2025. Decision pending. (2.7 miles away)

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

What care in Dorking involves and what to look for

Starting from the person

Any useful comparison begins with an honest account of what someone manages alone and where that is starting to slip. Seven homes appear here, all registered for personal care, so write the practical requirements down before the first visit: help with washing and dressing, medication, mobility, continence, diet, and how well the person copes with unfamiliar surroundings. That list is what turns a tour of the building into a proper enquiry about the care, and it makes comparisons between homes meaningful rather than impressionistic.

Looking behind the ratings

Six of these homes are rated Good and one has been told it requires improvement. A rating summarises a long document rather than replacing it, so open the report. It shows which of the regulator's five key questions drove the judgement and how recently inspectors visited, and a Good rating awarded four years ago rests on older evidence than one from last spring. Where improvement has been required, the report names exactly what was found and what the provider was told to put right, and that detail allows a fair judgement rather than dismissal on the strength of a label.

What to notice on a visit

Go at a busy time, ideally around a meal, and watch how staff speak to residents who are not asking for anything. Ask how many staff are on duty by day and overnight, how long the manager has been in post and what turnover has been like, since continuity shapes daily life far more than decoration. Pinehurst Rest Home, Nower House, Felbury House, Stanecroft and Bramley House Residential Home each carry a profile here with registration details and current rating, and comparing several directly sharpens the questions worth asking.

Getting an assessment and arranging the funding

Requesting the assessment

Funded support follows a care needs assessment, which Surrey County Council carries out for adults living in this area. The request can be made by the person needing care, by a relative or friend acting on their behalf, or by a professional such as a general practitioner or a hospital discharge team, and it is free whatever the household income. Where a relative provides regular unpaid support, ask for a carer's assessment at the same time, since that is a separate entitlement and easily missed.

Fees and contributions

Where eligible needs are identified, a financial assessment establishes the split between the council's contribution and the person's own. Savings and capital above the national threshold ordinarily mean paying privately, with the weekly fee agreed directly with the home. What a quoted fee covers varies more than families expect, so ask each home to spell it out. Chiropody, hairdressing, newspapers and transport to appointments are commonly billed separately and change the real cost appreciably over a year.

Before signing

A council contribution may be taken as a direct payment rather than a placement it arranges, which keeps the choice with the family. Read the contract on notice periods and fee reviews, ask to see a sample care plan, and find out how often it is reviewed with relatives.

7 care homes in Dorking

Pinehurst Rest Home · Dorking, Surrey · CQC Good
Nower House · Dorking, Surrey · CQC Good
Felbury House · Dorking, Surrey · CQC Good
Stanecroft · Dorking, Surrey · CQC Good
Tuscany House · Dorking, Surrey · CQC Good
Livingstone House · Dorking, Surrey · CQC Requires improvement
Bramley House Residential Home · Dorking, Surrey · CQC Good

What care costs in Surrey, per week

Type of care	What the council pays	What self-funders are typically asked
Residential care Middle half of prices from 18 Surrey homes. Median £1,772.	£952	£1,654 to £1,931
Nursing care Middle half of prices from 13 Surrey homes. Median £2,025.	£988	£1,920 to £2,155
Residential dementia care Middle half of prices from 14 Surrey homes. Median £1,842.	Not published separately	£1,725 to £2,020
Nursing dementia care South East figure, because too few Surrey homes publish this price. 37 homes. Median £2,050.	Not published separately	£1,975 to £2,226

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

Tuscany House, 11 July 2025, Good
Livingstone House, 20 January 2023, Requires improvement
Bramley House Residential Home, 19 January 2023, Good

Longest since a report

Stanecroft, 20 November 2018, Good
Pinehurst Rest Home, 2 July 2021, Good
Felbury House, 20 October 2022, Good

Frequently asked questions about care homes in Dorking

How many care homes are there in Dorking?

Dorking has 7 CQC registered care homes: 6 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 Dorking?

Surrey County Council pays an average of £952 a week for residential care. Self-funders are typically asked £1,654 to £1,931 a week. Middle half of prices from 18 Surrey homes. Median £1,772. 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 Dorking were inspected most recently?

Tuscany House (11 July 2025), Livingstone House (20 January 2023) and Bramley House Residential Home (19 January 2023) have the most recent CQC reports.

Local care news in Surrey

New 30 bed care home registered with CQC in Waverley: Bridge House Care Home (5 November 2026)
CQC register adds a new care home in Waverley: Cedar Court Care Home (5 November 2026)

More local care news for Surrey