Plymouth City Council

Adult social care contact details, funding information, and care home listings for Plymouth.

Arranging care in Plymouth

Plymouth City Council is the unitary authority for the waterfront city of Plymouth in the South West, covering Plymouth itself along with Plympton and Plymstock. As a unitary authority, Plymouth City Council is responsible for adult social care across the whole area, which means families only need to deal with one organisation rather than juggling separate district and county services.

If you are worried about an older relative or a loved one with a disability, the first step is to contact Plymouth City Council's adult social care team and ask for a needs assessment. This assessment is free, regardless of income or savings, and looks at how someone is coping day to day, from washing and dressing to getting out and about in Plymstock, Plympton or the city centre. If the assessment identifies eligible needs, a separate financial assessment then looks at income and capital to work out how much, if anything, the person will contribute towards their care.

Local care choices and costs

Plymouth has a sizeable care market, with 138 CQC-registered care homes across the local authority area. That gives families a reasonable choice when comparing residential care homes near family in Plympton, specialist nursing homes closer to the city hospitals, or dementia-friendly settings in quieter parts of Plymstock.

Funding usually comes from one of three routes: full local authority funding for those with low capital, a shared contribution where the council pays part and the individual pays the rest, or self funding for those above the national capital threshold. NHS Continuing Healthcare may cover the full cost where needs are primarily health related. As a rough guide for the South West, home care tends to sit at around £22 to £27 per hour, residential care homes at roughly £900 to £1,200 per week, and nursing homes higher again at about £1,100 to £1,500 per week, depending on the home and level of need.

Starting early, asking Plymouth City Council for that first assessment, and visiting a shortlist of homes in person is usually the calmest way to make a decision the whole family feels comfortable with.