How is a care needs assessment arranged for someone in Peterlee?

Ask Durham County Council for an adult social care needs assessment, which is free and can be requested by the person themselves or by a relative acting with their consent. An assessor will go through daily living, mobility, medication, continence and overnight needs before recommending a level of care. The outcome is what establishes whether nursing care rather than residential care is appropriate. If the person is in hospital, the discharge team normally starts the process, although you are entitled to follow it up yourself.

Will Durham County Council help pay for a nursing home place?

Durham County Council can fund or part fund a placement where the needs assessment confirms nursing care is required and the financial assessment shows capital below the upper threshold. Above that threshold the fees are met privately, although an assessment of needs can still be requested. NHS funded nursing care contributes a weekly sum towards the nursing element for every nursing home resident regardless of means. Where the main need is clinical, NHS continuing healthcare may cover the full placement instead.

Which nursing homes are listed for Peterlee?

Five nursing homes cover Peterlee: The Hawthorns, Ashwood Park Residential and Nursing Home, Peterlee Care Home, Jack Dormand Care Home and Bannatyne Lodge. The Hawthorns and Jack Dormand Care Home hold Outstanding ratings from the Care Quality Commission. Ashwood Park Residential and Nursing Home, Peterlee Care Home and Bannatyne Lodge are rated Good. Each profile links through to the inspection report behind its rating.

How does a nursing home differ from a residential care home?

A residential care home offers personal care, which covers help with washing, dressing, meals and prompting medication, provided by care staff. A nursing home is registered to provide that same support alongside clinical nursing delivered by registered nurses who are present at all hours. The registration is what allows it to manage wound care, tube feeding, catheter management or palliative nursing in house. All five homes listed for Peterlee hold nursing registration.

When should a family begin looking at nursing homes?

It is worth starting as soon as nursing care looks likely rather than waiting for the point where a decision cannot be postponed. Six to eight weeks gives room to visit more than once, read the inspection reports properly and resolve the funding question. Hospital discharge rarely allows that much time, so having a shortlist ready in advance is useful even if nothing is needed yet. Where a room falls vacant early, many homes will hold it for a short period against a deposit.

What is worth asking on a visit to a nursing home in Peterlee?

Ask about nurse numbers on each shift and about turnover within the nursing team, because continuity matters more to a resident than the furnishings do. Request the fee schedule in writing, including whatever would trigger a move to a higher band. Ask how the home communicates with families when something changes clinically. If you can, visit twice and at different times of day.

Nursing Homes in Peterlee

Peterlee has 5 CQC registered nursing homes. 3 are rated Good, 2 Outstanding. 4 of the 5 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Peterlee at a glance

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

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 an assessment and meeting the cost of nursing care in Peterlee

Funding is the question most families would rather put off, yet settling it early tends to widen the choice instead of narrowing it. A care needs assessment comes first and establishes whether nursing care is the appropriate level of support; it costs nothing and anyone can ask for one, including a relative acting with the person's consent. Durham County Council is the authority responsible for carrying out that assessment and the financial assessment that follows it, and where a hospital stay is involved the discharge team will usually set the process going.

What the financial assessment considers

The financial assessment weighs savings, income and, in most permanent placements, the value of a property against the national capital thresholds. Anyone holding capital above the upper threshold is expected to meet the fees privately, though an assessment of needs is still worth having on record. Below the lower threshold, income alone is taken into account.

Nursing costs and NHS contributions

Nursing fees sit above residential rates because a registered nurse has to be on duty at all times, and the homes covering Peterlee are priced with that staffing in mind. NHS funded nursing care pays a set weekly amount towards the nursing element for every nursing home resident, whatever their means. Where needs are mainly clinical, NHS continuing healthcare can meet the whole cost. Ask each home what its quoted weekly fee includes and how often it is reviewed.

Choosing between the five nursing homes covering Peterlee

Every home on this list has been inspected, which is less common than it sounds and makes a like for like comparison possible. The Hawthorns and Jack Dormand Care Home both hold an Outstanding rating, the highest the regulator awards. Ashwood Park Residential and Nursing Home, Peterlee Care Home and Bannatyne Lodge are each rated Good.

Reading past the rating itself

A rating is a summary of one inspection on one set of days, so check the date and read the detail underneath it. The reports break findings down by whether a home is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led, and a home strong on caring may still have had something flagged on staffing. That breakdown is usually more useful than the overall grade.

Questions worth asking on a visit

Ask how many registered nurses are rostered on each shift, including overnight, and what happens clinically when the manager is away. Find out whether increasing needs would mean a fee change or a move within the home. Call in near a mealtime, because how residents needing help to eat are supported tells you a great deal quickly.

5 nursing homes in Peterlee

The Hawthorns · Peterlee, County Durham · CQC Outstanding
Ashwood Park Residential and Nursing Home · Peterlee, County Durham · CQC Good
Care Home · Peterlee, County Durham · CQC Good
Jack Dormand Care Home · Peterlee, County Durham · CQC Outstanding
Bannatyne Lodge · Peterlee, County Durham · CQC Good

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

Peterlee Care Home, 26 November 2025, Good
The Hawthorns, 2 February 2023, Outstanding
Bannatyne Lodge, 16 November 2022, Good

Longest since a report

Jack Dormand Care Home, 21 March 2018, Outstanding
Ashwood Park Residential and Nursing Home, 24 September 2022, Good
Bannatyne Lodge, 16 November 2022, Good

Frequently asked questions about nursing homes in Peterlee

How many nursing homes are there in Peterlee?

Peterlee has 5 CQC registered nursing homes: 2 Outstanding, 3 Good. Counts come from the CQC register and are kept up to date as ratings change.

How much does a nursing home cost in Peterlee?

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 Peterlee were inspected most recently?

Peterlee Care Home (26 November 2025), The Hawthorns (2 February 2023) and Bannatyne Lodge (16 November 2022) 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