How do I arrange a care needs assessment in County Durham?

Contact the adult social care team at Durham County Council and ask for a care needs assessment. Anyone who appears to need care can request one, and a relative, friend or attorney may ask on their behalf. Where the person is currently in hospital, the ward will usually start the process, but it is worth confirming who is handling it rather than assuming. The assessment is free and unaffected by savings, and the written outcome is the document that determines both funded support and the level of care a home needs to provide.

Can Durham County Council pay for a nursing home placement in County Durham?

It can, subject to both a care needs assessment and a financial assessment. The needs assessment must establish that nursing care is the right form of support, and the financial assessment then examines capital and income, usually including the value of a property for a permanent move. Where capital falls below the national upper threshold, Durham County Council contributes towards the fees. Separately, NHS funded nursing care is paid towards the nursing element regardless of savings, and NHS Continuing Healthcare can cover the full cost where the primary need is a health need.

Which providers in County Durham offer nursing care?

Fifty six registered nursing homes are listed on this page, which is the complete field currently registered with the Care Quality Commission for this care type in County Durham. They include Rushyfields Residential and Nursing Home, Brancepeth Court, Lyons Court Care Home, Abigail Lodge and Thornfield Grange, alongside three homes rated Outstanding. Each profile shows the provider name, the care type and the current rating. Opening a profile is the quickest way to confirm what a home is registered to provide before you make contact.

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

A residential care home supports people with daily living, including washing, dressing, medication prompts, meals and company, with care staff available throughout the day and night. A nursing home provides all of that and has a registered nurse on the premises, which is what allows it to manage clinical needs such as wound care, catheters, feeding tubes and complex medication. Every provider listed on this page is registered as a nursing home. Where a person's needs are primarily social rather than clinical, a residential home may suit better and usually costs less.

How far in advance should we start looking at nursing homes in County Durham?

As soon as nursing care looks likely rather than certain. Where a move can be planned, a few months allows time for assessments, unhurried visits and a proper reading of inspection reports. Nursing placements are more often arranged at speed from a hospital bed, and in that situation a shortlist drawn up beforehand is worth a great deal. Even three or four homes with fees confirmed and reports read will spare you making the decision entirely on someone else's timetable.

What should I ask when visiting a nursing home in County Durham?

Start with nursing cover, because it is the reason for choosing this type of home at all: how many registered nurses are on shift by day and overnight, and how often agency nurses are used. Ask how the home manages a deterioration out of hours and which visiting professionals attend regularly. Ask who writes the care plan, how often it is reviewed and how families are told when something changes. Then set those answers against what you saw at a mealtime and in the rooms nobody offered to show you.

Nursing Homes in County Durham

County Durham has 57 CQC registered nursing homes. 44 are rated Good, 2 Outstanding, 7 Requires improvement, and 4 have not yet been rated. 37 of the 57 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

County Durham at a glance

What the numbers say about care for older people in County Durham.

Durham County Council pays, residential care: £857 a week. Self-funders are typically asked £1,331 to £1,392, median £1,369
Care home beds filled across County Durham: 89%. The 12 month average is 88%.
Care home beds per 1,000 people aged 75+: 85
People aged 75 and over: 58,300. Rising to 68,700 by 2035, up 18%
Care homes, last 12 months: 0 opened, 1 closed. 20 changed owner, covering 844 beds.
Who pays, across County Durham (estimate): 51% council, 26% self. The rest is NHS funded or other.
Living with dementia, aged 65 and over (estimate): 7,500. Rising to 9,300 by 2035, up 24%
People aged 85 and over: 14,200. Rising to 20,600 by 2035, up 44%

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 and Funding Nursing Care in County Durham

Nursing care sits at the expensive end of social care, and it is also the type most often arranged in a hurry, usually from a hospital ward. Understanding the order in which the assessments happen, and who pays for what at each stage, is the single most useful thing a family can do in the first few days.

The care needs assessment comes first

A care needs assessment establishes what level of support a person requires and whether that support genuinely calls for a nurse on the premises. It is free, it is not means tested, and it can be requested by the person themselves or by a relative acting for them. Durham County Council adult social care is the authority responsible for carrying out that assessment and for deciding what funded support follows from it. Where the assessment is being arranged around a hospital discharge, ask the ward for the name of the social worker handling it, and ask for the written outcome rather than a verbal summary.

Health funding that applies only to nursing homes

Two forms of health funding matter here and neither depends on savings. NHS funded nursing care is a flat weekly contribution paid directly to the home towards the cost of the registered nursing element, and it applies to anyone in a nursing home who is assessed as needing it. NHS Continuing Healthcare covers the whole placement where a person's primary need is judged to be a health need rather than a social one. Both are decided by assessment rather than on request, and both are worth asking about explicitly, because neither is always raised by default.

Where the council contributes

Beyond health funding, support from the council rests on a financial assessment of capital and income, with the value of a property usually counted for a permanent placement. Fees differ between homes according to nursing input, room and complexity of need, so ask each home for a written breakdown showing what the nursing contribution covers and what remains payable.

Choosing a Nursing Home in County Durham and What to Look For

What the ratings across the area show

Fifty six nursing homes are registered across County Durham. Three hold Outstanding, namely The Hawthorns, Jack Dormand Care Home and Bradbury House. Forty four are rated Good, among them Rushyfields Residential and Nursing Home, Brancepeth Court, Parklands Nursing Home and Leazes Hall Care Home. Six have been told they Require Improvement and three carry no rating yet. Treat the rating as a starting point and read the report behind it, checking the inspection date and the safe and well led domains in particular, since nursing homes depend heavily on stable clinical leadership.

Questions that are specific to nursing care

Ask how many registered nurses are on duty during the day and overnight, and whether nursing cover is ever met by agency staff. Ask which visiting professionals attend regularly and how the home handles a deterioration out of hours. If pressure area care, catheters, feeding tubes or end of life care are likely to be part of the picture, ask directly about experience of each and how staff are trained for it.

What to notice while you are there

Visit more than once and make one visit unannounced, ideally around a mealtime. Watch how staff speak to residents who cannot easily reply, whether people are helped to eat without being hurried, and whether call bells are answered promptly. Ask to see a bedroom that is currently empty rather than a show room, and notice the corridors nobody shows off.

57 nursing homes in County Durham (showing 1–50)

Rushyfields Residential and Nursing Home · Durham, County Durham · CQC Good
Lindisfarne CLS Nursing · Chester Le Street, County Durham · CQC Good
Abigail Lodge · Consett, County Durham · CQC Good
Defoe Court · Newton Aycliffe, County Durham · CQC Good
Brancepeth Court · Crook, County Durham · CQC Good
Lindisfarne CLS Residential · Chester Le Street, County Durham · CQC Good
St Mary's Care Home · Chester Le Street, County Durham · CQC Good
Kingsway Nursing Home · Durham, County Durham · CQC Requires improvement
The Village Nursing and Care Home @ Murton · Seaham, County Durham · CQC Good
Lindisfarne Care Home · Newton Hall, County Durham · CQC Good
Lyons Court Care Home · Bishop Auckland, County Durham · CQC Good
Willowdene Care Home · Stockton-on-tees, County Durham
The Hawthorns · Peterlee, County Durham · CQC Outstanding
West House Care Home · Chester Le Street, County Durham · CQC Good
Lindisfarne · Seaham, County Durham · CQC Good
Leazes Hall Care Home · Newcastle Upon Tyne, County Durham · CQC Good
Dr. Ashdown's Stockton Lodge · Seaham, County Durham · CQC Good
Bradbury House - Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities · Crook, County Durham · CQC Good
Thornfield Grange · Bishop Auckland, County Durham · CQC Good
Aycliffe Care Home · Newton Aycliffe, County Durham · CQC Good
St Margaret's Care Home · Durham, County Durham · CQC Good
St Helens Care Home · Bishop Auckland, County Durham · CQC Good
Picktree Court Care Home · Chester le Street, County Durham · CQC Good
Park · Stanley, County Durham
Divine Care Centre · Wingate, County Durham · CQC Requires improvement
Denehurst Nursing Home · Ferryhill, County Durham · CQC Good
Ashwood Park Residential and Nursing Home · Peterlee, County Durham · CQC Good
Brandon Lodge Care Home · Durham, County Durham · CQC Requires improvement
Lindisfarne · Newton Aycliffe, County Durham · CQC Good
Hollie Hill · Stanley, County Durham · CQC Good
Bishopsgate Lodge Care Home · Bishop Auckland, County Durham · CQC Good
Craigarran Care Home · Trimdon Station, County Durham · CQC Requires improvement
Melbury Court · Durham, County Durham · CQC Good
Care Home · Peterlee, County Durham · CQC Good
Benfield Hall Nursing Home · Consett, County Durham · CQC Good
Bowe's Court Care Home · Bishop Auckland, County Durham · CQC Good
Jack Dormand Care Home · Peterlee, County Durham · CQC Outstanding
Cedar Court Residential and Nursing Home · Seaham, County Durham · CQC Good
Yohden Hall Care Complex · Hartlepool, County Durham · CQC Requires improvement
Field View · Hartlepool, County Durham · CQC Good
Lindisfarne Ouston · Chester Le Street, County Durham · CQC Good
Brockwell Court · Consett, County Durham · CQC Good
Sandringham Care Home · Bishop Auckland, County Durham · CQC Good
Redworth · Shildon, County Durham · CQC Good
Barrington Lodge · Bishop Auckland, County Durham · CQC Good
Belmont Grange Nursing and Residential Home · Durham, County Durham · CQC Good
The Beeches Nursing and Residential Care Home · Kelloe, County Durham · CQC Requires improvement
Willowdene Care Home · Stockton On Tees, County Durham · CQC Good
Richmond Court · Crook, County Durham · CQC Good
Lindisfarne Shotton · Durham, County Durham

What care costs in County Durham, per week

Type of care	What the council pays	What self-funders are typically asked
Residential care North East figure, because too few County Durham homes publish this price. 13 homes. Median £1,369.	£857	£1,331 to £1,392
Nursing care England figure, because too few County Durham homes publish this price. 140 homes. Median £1,916.	£890	£1,600 to £2,071
Residential dementia care North East figure, because too few County Durham homes publish this price. 14 homes. Median £1,458.	Not published separately	£1,268 to £1,548
Nursing dementia care England figure, because too few County Durham 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

Divine Care Centre, 28 August 2026, Requires improvement
Hollie Hill, 17 July 2026, Good
Bradbury House - Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities, 11 June 2026, Good

Longest since a report

Lindisfarne Care Home, 16 February 2018, Good
Jack Dormand Care Home, 21 March 2018, Outstanding
Parklands Nursing Home, 27 April 2018, Good

Frequently asked questions about nursing homes in County Durham

How many nursing homes are there in County Durham?

County Durham has 57 CQC registered nursing homes: 2 Outstanding, 44 Good, 7 Requires improvement, 4 not yet rated. Counts come from the CQC register and are kept up to date as ratings change.

How much does a nursing home cost in County Durham?

Durham County Council pays an average of £857 a week for residential care. Self-funders are typically asked £1,331 to £1,392 a week. North East figure, because too few County Durham homes publish this price. 13 homes. Median £1,369. 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 nursing homes in County Durham were inspected most recently?

Divine Care Centre (28 August 2026), Hollie Hill (17 July 2026) and Bradbury House - Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities (11 June 2026) have the most recent CQC reports.

Local care news in County Durham

New 48 bed care home registered with CQC in County Durham: Willowdene Care Home (5 November 2026)

More local care news for County Durham