Home Care in Herne Bay
Herne Bay has 8 CQC registered home care agencies. 7 are rated Good, 1 Requires improvement. 6 of the 8 were last inspected more than three years ago.
Source: Care Quality Commission register, kept up to date as ratings change.
Herne Bay at a glance
What the local numbers say about home care in Herne Bay, to help you judge the options below.
- Hourly care visits, Kent: £28.50 to £39.15 an hour. Middle half of prices from 7 agencies.
- People aged 75 and over: 19,800. Rising to 23,300 by 2035, up 17%
- Living with dementia, aged 65 and over (estimate): 2,600. Rising to 3,300 by 2035, up 28%
- People aged 85 and over: 5,300. Rising to 8,200 by 2035, up 54%
- Dementia diagnosis rate: 73%. The NHS ambition is 67%. Kent as a whole is 62%.
- Agencies in the borough, last 12 months: 2 opened, 0 closed. 39 registered today.
- Choice of agencies: 48 within 10 miles. In a typical neighbourhood. The nearest is under a mile away (0.5 miles).
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 Home Care in Herne Bay Involves and What to Look For
What the visits actually cover
Home care is bought in blocks of time, commonly half an hour or an hour, once or several times a day. Within those visits a carer can help with washing and dressing, prompt or administer medication, prepare meals, assist with continence and keep an eye on how somebody is managing. What it cannot do is provide supervision between calls, which is the limitation families most often discover late. Where somebody is at risk in the gaps, live in care or a residential placement may be the more honest answer.
Reading the ratings on this list
Seven of the eight agencies are rated Good and one carries Requires Improvement. None holds an Outstanding rating. With home care the inspection report repays reading closely, because the recurring problems in this sector are late calls, missed calls and a different face at the door each week, and those appear in the detail rather than in the headline grade.
The questions that matter most
Ask how many different carers a person is likely to see in a fortnight, and ask for a number. Ask what happens when a carer is off sick, how much notice you get of a change, and what the agency counts as a late call. Ask whether travel time is paid, since agencies that pay it tend to keep staff longer. Ask who to telephone at the weekend when something goes wrong.
Getting an Assessment and Funding in Herne Bay
Requesting the assessment
A care needs assessment is free, is not means tested, and results in a written account of what support is needed. Ask for it early, because it takes time to arrange and no funding decision can be reached without it.
How the council supports it
Assessments and funded support rest with Kent County Council Adult Social Care, which will also assess a family carer's own needs where asked. Where someone is eligible, support can be arranged by the council directly or taken as a direct payment, which lets the family choose and employ the agency themselves. A financial assessment of income and capital is carried out separately, against thresholds set nationally.
What home care costs
Agencies charge by the hour and rates rise for evenings, weekends and bank holidays, so a weekly figure depends entirely on the pattern of calls rather than on a single quoted price. Ask for the rate for each type of visit, ask whether there is a minimum call length, and ask what notice is needed to change or cancel a visit without being charged.
8 home care in Herne Bay
- Your Care · Herne Bay, Kent · CQC Good
- Crossroads Care · Herne Bay, Kent · CQC Good
- Home Service Complete Care LLP · Herne Bay, Kent · CQC Good
- ComCare · Herne Bay, Kent · CQC Good
- CCK Support · Herne Bay, Kent · CQC Good
- Respect 4Care · Herne Bay, Kent · CQC Good
- Care Sante · Herne Bay, Kent · CQC Good
- Care at Home Services (South East) – Canterbury, and Whitstable · Herne Bay, Kent · CQC Requires improvement
What home care costs
| Type of care | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Hourly care visits, Kent Middle half of prices from 7 agencies. Median £32.00. | £28.50 to £39.15 an hour |
| What Kent pays Average hourly rate, October 2026. | £28.05 an hour |
| Homecare Association minimum price 2026 to 2027. The Association's estimate of the lowest price that covers the cost of delivering care. It is not a legal minimum. | £34.42 an hour |
| Live in care, England Middle half of prices from 62 agencies. Median £1,455. | £1,250 to £1,668 a week |
Published prices come from agencies that publish rates, so treat them as a guide. Ask the agency for its own price. Powered by Orrery Intelligence.
Inspected most recently
- Respect 4Care Ltd, 4 February 2026, Good
- Care Sante Kent, 23 October 2024, Good
- ComCare, 25 February 2023, Good
Longest since a report
- Care at Home Services (South East) Limited – Canterbury, Herne Bay and Whitstable, 3 January 2018, Requires improvement
- Home Service Complete Care LLP, 22 May 2019, Good
- CCK Support Ltd, 15 January 2020, Good
Frequently asked questions about home care in Herne Bay
How many home care agencies are there in Herne Bay?
Herne Bay has 8 CQC registered home care agencies: 7 Good, 1 Requires improvement. Counts come from the CQC register and are kept up to date as ratings change.
How much does home care cost in Herne Bay?
Hourly care visits, Kent: £28.50 to £39.15 an hour. Middle half of prices from 7 agencies. Median £32.00. Published prices come from agencies that publish rates, so treat them as a guide. Ask the agency for its own price.
Which home care agencies in Herne Bay were inspected most recently?
Respect 4Care Ltd (4 February 2026), Care Sante Kent (23 October 2024) and ComCare (25 February 2023) have the most recent CQC reports.