Can Essex County Council pay for a nursing home place?

It can contribute, where the care needs assessment shows nursing care is required and the financial assessment shows the person cannot meet the fees in full. Income, savings and usually the value of a property are weighed against national thresholds, and most people who qualify still pay something from their income. The part of the fee relating to nursing may be funded through the health service, which is assessed separately. Anyone funding privately keeps the right to an assessment and to advice about the options.

How do I arrange a care needs assessment in Essex?

Ask Essex County Council adult social care for a care needs assessment, for yourself or for a relative who agrees to it. A general practice or a hospital discharge team can also make the referral, which is the usual route when someone is already an inpatient. The assessment is free, does not depend on income and considers daily tasks, mobility, health needs and the help already being given. Ask for the outcome in writing, since funding and your conversations with homes both follow from it.

How far ahead should we start looking for a nursing home?

Nursing places are frequently needed quickly, yet starting early still helps because well regarded homes rarely have a room standing empty. Where a hospital discharge is setting the pace you may have days rather than weeks, so ask the ward team what help with the search is available. Try to see two or three homes even under pressure, and take someone with you for a second opinion. A shortlist prepared in advance makes a fast decision far less risky.

What should I ask when visiting a nursing home in Essex?

Ask how many registered nurses are on shift during the day and overnight and how vacancies are covered. Ask how the home handles pressure care, medication reviews and the point at which a doctor is called. Find out how families are kept informed when a resident's condition changes, particularly at night. Ask to see the room being offered and, if time allows, return at a different hour before deciding.

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

A care home provides accommodation with personal care, meaning help with washing, dressing, meals and daily routine from care staff. A nursing home provides all of that alongside registered nurses on duty, which is what is needed where there are wounds to manage, complex medication or a condition requiring clinical oversight. The Care Quality Commission registers homes for one, the other or both, and each profile states which applies. The homes on this page are registered to provide nursing care.

Nursing Homes in Essex

Q: Which nursing homes in Essex are listed on this page?

Eighty four homes registered to provide nursing care in Essex appear here, all regulated by the Care Quality Commission. Three hold an Outstanding rating and fifty five are rated Good, while seventeen are rated Requires Improvement, one is rated Inadequate and eight are not yet rated. Every entry opens onto a profile carrying the inspection report and registration details. The list comes from current registration data and shows what is registered rather than where a bed is free.

Essex has 90 CQC registered nursing homes. 59 are rated Good, 3 Outstanding, 15 Requires improvement, and 13 have not yet been rated. 51 of the 90 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Essex at a glance

What the numbers say about care for older people in Essex.

Essex County Council pays, residential care: £849 a week. Self-funders are typically asked £1,384 to £1,672, median £1,520
Care home beds filled across Essex: 88%. The 12 month average is 87%.
Care home beds per 1,000 people aged 75+: 67
People aged 75 and over: 174,200. Rising to 196,800 by 2035, up 13%
Care homes, last 12 months: 4 opened, 2 closed. 21 changed owner, covering 1,207 beds.
Who pays, across Essex (estimate): 36% council, 38% self. The rest is NHS funded or other.
Living with dementia, aged 65 and over (estimate): 22,400. Rising to 27,600 by 2035, up 23%
People aged 85 and over: 46,000. Rising to 68,500 by 2035, up 49%

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

Planning and Paying for Nursing Care in Essex

Begin with the assessment rather than the search. Which home suits somebody depends on what an assessment says they need, and the funding decision follows from the same document, so starting there saves a good deal of retracing. It also matters because nursing care is assessed differently from residential care, and the question of whether a registered nurse is genuinely required is one that has to be answered before a place can sensibly be chosen.

Requesting a care needs assessment

The assessment is free, is not means tested and records what a person can no longer manage safely, including whether their needs call for nursing. Ask Essex County Council adult social care to arrange one, or ask the ward team where a hospital stay has brought matters forward. A relative who has been providing the care can request a separate assessment of their own needs. Keep the written outcome, because homes, funders and health teams all work from it.

Fees and where the money comes from

Weekly fees differ between homes according to the room, the level of nursing involved and what falls outside the basic charge. The portion of the fee relating to nursing may be met through the health service, which is assessed separately from the council's decision. A financial assessment of income, savings and usually property then sets what the person contributes towards the rest. Ask each home for a written breakdown of what the fee covers, what is charged on top and how much notice precedes an increase.

Choosing a Nursing Home in Essex and What to Check

Making sense of the ratings

Three homes on this list are rated Outstanding and fifty five are rated Good, seventeen are rated Requires Improvement, one is rated Inadequate and eight are not yet rated. Where a weak judgement appears, the report names precisely what inspectors found and when, which is far more useful than the word on the cover. Check the date, ask the manager what has changed since, and treat a poor rating as a reason for harder questions rather than something to pass over quietly.

Questions that apply to nursing care

Ask how many registered nurses are on duty by day and overnight and how often those shifts are covered by agency staff. Ask how quickly a change in condition reaches a doctor and who makes that call at night. Find out how the home manages pressure care, medication reviews, feeding difficulties and care at the end of life. Ask as well whether a place is held open when a resident is admitted to hospital, and on what terms.

Seeing the home for yourself

Go when the home is busy rather than at its quietest, and take somebody with you to notice what you miss. Watch whether residents who cannot easily speak for themselves are included in what happens around them, and whether call bells are answered without fuss. A home comfortable being seen at an inconvenient hour is usually worth taking seriously.

90 nursing homes in Essex (showing 1–50)

1 Sewardstone Close · London, Essex · CQC Good
Ambika Lodge Care Home · Canvey Island, Essex · CQC Good
Cherry Wood Grange Care Home · Chelmsford, Essex · CQC Good
Highfield Care Home · Saffron Walden, Essex · CQC Good
Forest Place Nursing Home · Buckhurst Hill, Essex · CQC Requires improvement
Colne View · Halstead, Essex
Care Centre · Chelmsford, Essex · CQC Good
The Oaks Care Home · Colchester, Essex · CQC Good
Horkesley Manor · Colchester, Essex · CQC Requires improvement
Abbot Care Home · Harlow, Essex · CQC Requires improvement
Hallmark Anisha Grange Luxury Care Home · Billericay, Essex · CQC Outstanding
Abberton Manor Nursing Home · Colchester, Essex · CQC Good
Manor Lodge · Chelmsford, Essex · CQC Outstanding
Springfields Nursing Home · Colchester, Essex · CQC Good
Alexandra House · Harlow, Essex · CQC Good
St Fillans Care Home · Colchester, Essex · CQC Requires improvement
Godden Lodge Care Home · Benfleet, Essex · CQC Good
Ashbrook Court Care Home · London, Essex · CQC Good
Riverdale Care Home · Braintree, Essex · CQC Good
Alderwood Care Home · Colchester, Essex · CQC Outstanding
Stanley Wilson Lodge Care Home · Saffron Walden, Essex · CQC Good
Colonia Court Care Home · Colchester, Essex · CQC Good
Croft House Care Home · Great Dunmow, Essex · CQC Good
Lambwood Heights Care home · Chigwell, Essex · CQC Good
St Mary's Court · Braintree, Essex · CQC Good
Ramsey Step Down and Care Centre · Harwich, Essex · CQC Requires improvement
Shaftesbury Treetops · Colchester, Essex · CQC Good
Foxburrow Grange · Colchester, Essex · CQC Requires improvement
Arches Care Home · Brentwood, Essex · CQC Good
Admirals Reach Care Home · Chelmsford, Essex · CQC Good
Driftwood Lodge · Clacton On Sea, Essex · CQC Good
St Joseph's Nursing Home · Danbury, Essex · CQC Good
Woodland Grove · Loughton, Essex
Lambwood Heights Care Home · Chigwell, Essex
Five Stacks Residential Care Centre · Clacton On Sea, Essex · CQC Good
Seaview House Nursing Home · Clacton On Sea, Essex · CQC Good
Aspen Grange Care Home · Braintree, Essex · CQC Good
Lakefields Neurological Centre · Chigwell, Essex
Parklands Nursing Home · Benfleet, Essex · CQC Good
Broomfield Village Care Home · Chelmsford, Essex
Leonard Lodge · Brentwood, Essex · CQC Good
Seven Rivers - Care Home with Nursing Physical Disabilities · Colchester, Essex · CQC Good
Tall Trees · Colchester, Essex · CQC Good
Seven Arches Nursing Home · Brentwood, Essex · CQC Good
Silversprings · Colchester, Essex · CQC Good
Peverel Green Care Home · Chelmsford, Essex
Elmcroft Care Home · Maldon, Essex · CQC Good
Winifred Dell Care Home · Brentwood, Essex · CQC Good
Hatfield Peverel Lodge Care Home · Chelmsford, Essex · CQC Good
Greenwood Court Care and Nursing Home · Chelmsford, Essex · CQC Requires improvement

What care costs in Essex, per week

Type of care	What the council pays	What self-funders are typically asked
Residential care Middle half of prices from 11 Essex homes. Median £1,520.	£849	£1,384 to £1,672
Nursing care East of England figure, because too few Essex homes publish this price. 17 homes. Median £1,935.	£1,103	£1,800 to £2,126
Residential dementia care East of England figure, because too few Essex homes publish this price. 33 homes. Median £1,785.	Not published separately	£1,602 to £1,877
Nursing dementia care East of England figure, because too few Essex homes publish this price. 10 homes. Median £1,940.	Not published separately	£1,870 to £2,100

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

Longmead Court Nursing Home, 14 September 2026, Requires improvement
St Joseph's Nursing Home, 8 August 2026, Good
Rosedale Court, 27 July 2026, Good

Longest since a report

Sherrell House Care Home, 4 October 2017, Good
St Fillans Care Home, 4 April 2018, Requires improvement
Alderwood Care Home, 19 May 2018, Outstanding

Frequently asked questions about nursing homes in Essex

How many nursing homes are there in Essex?

Essex has 90 CQC registered nursing homes: 3 Outstanding, 59 Good, 15 Requires improvement, 13 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 Essex?

Essex County Council pays an average of £849 a week for residential care. Self-funders are typically asked £1,384 to £1,672 a week. Middle half of prices from 11 Essex homes. Median £1,520. 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 Essex were inspected most recently?

Longmead Court Nursing Home (14 September 2026), St Joseph's Nursing Home (8 August 2026) and Rosedale Court (27 July 2026) have the most recent CQC reports.

Local care news in Essex

New 55 bed care home registered with CQC in Basildon: Oaklands (Essex) (5 November 2026)
Highfield Care Home registered as a 60 bed care home in Uttlesford (5 November 2026)

More local care news for Essex