Home Care in Darwen
Darwen has 6 CQC registered home care agencies. 4 are rated Good, and 2 have not yet been rated. 3 of the 6 were last inspected more than three years ago.
Source: Care Quality Commission register, kept up to date as ratings change.
Darwen at a glance
What the local numbers say about home care in Darwen, to help you judge the options below.
- Hourly care visits, North West: £25.00 to £28.90 an hour. Middle half of prices from 9 agencies.
- People aged 75 and over: 10,700. Rising to 12,100 by 2035, up 14%
- Living with dementia, aged 65 and over (estimate): 1,400. Rising to 1,600 by 2035, up 18%
- People aged 85 and over: 2,600. Rising to 3,500 by 2035, up 34%
- Dementia diagnosis rate: 65%. The NHS ambition is 67%.
- Agencies in the borough, last 12 months: 0 opened, 4 closed. 35 registered today.
- Choice of agencies: 154 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 Darwen Involves and What to Look For
Support at home is usually bought gradually, beginning with a single morning call and growing as needs do. Because it builds that way, families often find themselves comparing agencies only once several hours a week are already in place. Six agencies match this search in Darwen, and what separates them has less to do with the wording of a brochure than with whether the same carer arrives at the time they said they would.
What the Ratings Show and Where They Stop
Alcedo Care Blackburn and Darwen, Freedom Supported Living, Premier Care Blackburn Branch and Guardian Homecare in Blackburn hold Good ratings, awarded on findings about safety, effectiveness, care, responsiveness and leadership. Two agencies, including Blackburn Home Care Services Limited, have not yet been rated. An absent rating is not a warning, but it does mean there is no published verdict to lean on, so judge those agencies on how precisely they answer questions about staffing, training and supervision. Vagueness on those points is usually telling.
Questions That Separate Good Agencies From Poor Ones
Ask how many different carers would come over a typical fortnight, because continuity is what people notice most and what agencies find hardest to promise. Ask what happens when a carer is ill, how late a visit can run before you are told, and whether times are fixed or given as a window. Ask who supervises the carers, how often a manager visits the house, and how a complaint is handled once it has been made. Ask too how visits are recorded and whether the family can see those records, since that is often the only reliable window into what happens between calls. Ask finally how long the manager has been in post, because a settled office usually means settled rotas.
Getting an Assessment and Funding Care in Darwen
The Care Needs Assessment
Blackburn with Darwen Borough Council is the authority responsible for carrying out a care needs assessment and for arranging funded support where a person is eligible. The assessment is free, open to anyone who appears to need support, and independent of savings or income. An assessor looks at washing, dressing, medicines, meals, mobility and risk, then sets out how much support would meet those needs and how often it should come. Where a relative is already providing care, they can ask for an assessment of their own needs alongside it.
What Home Care Costs and Who Pays
Agencies charge by the hour or by the visit, and rates rise for evenings, weekends and bank holidays. A financial assessment decides whether the council contributes, taking savings and income into account, and care delivered at home is treated differently from residential care in that the value of the person's own house is disregarded. Some families take a direct payment and arrange the care themselves, which brings flexibility along with the work of managing it. Whichever route you take, ask for the rate in writing, check the minimum visit length, and ask what notice either side must give.
6 home care in Darwen
- Premier Care Blackburn Branch · Unit 12 Dalton Court, Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen, BB3 0DG
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Premier Care Limited
Premier Care in Blackburn provides care and support in people's own homes in Darwen and the surrounding area. Our purpose is to make home a place where somebody can be properly looked after, so that staying put remains a real option. The...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults, Alcohol / Drug Misuse - Guardian Homecare (Blackburn) · Unit 13, Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen, BB3 0DG
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Guardian Homecare UK Ltd
We are the Blackburn office of Guardian Homecare, based in Darwen, providing care to people in their own homes across the area. We support older people, people living with dementia, autistic adults and adults with a learning disability,...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults, Eating Disorders, Alcohol / Drug Misuse - Blackburn Home Care Services · 79 Duckworth Street, Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen, BB3 1AT
Home care · Run by Blackburn Home Care Services Limited
Here at Blackburn Home Care, we provide personalised support to people in Darwen and the wider Blackburn with Darwen area who wish to remain living comfortably and independently in their own homes. We understand how important it is to feel...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults - Freedom Supported Living Registered Office · 35 The Meadows, Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen, BB3 0PF
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Freedom Supported Living Limited
We at Freedom Supported Living are a home care agency proudly supporting people across Darwen and the wider Blackburn with Darwen community, delivering personalised care in the place people know and love best: their own home. Based in the...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults - HF Trust - Central Lancashire · Unit 6, Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen, BB3 0DG
Home care · Run by HF Trust Limited
We are HF Trust, and this is our Central Lancashire team, providing support to adults in their own homes in and around Darwen. Much of our work is with adults with learning disabilities and autistic adults, including many younger adults...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Younger Adults - Alcedo Care Blackburn · 2 Anchor Court, Darwen, Blackburn with Darwen, BB3 0DB
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Alcedo Orange Limited
We at Alcedo Care Blackburn and Darwen are proud to provide compassionate home care across Darwen and the surrounding communities of Blackburn with Darwen, supporting individuals to live well and safely in the place they know best: their...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults, Eating Disorders, Alcohol / Drug Misuse
What home care costs
| Type of care | What it costs |
|---|---|
| Hourly care visits, North West Middle half of prices from 9 agencies. Median £26.58. Shown for North West because too few Blackburn with Darwen agencies publish a rate. | £25.00 to £28.90 an hour |
| What Blackburn with Darwen pays Average hourly rate, October 2026. | £22.98 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
- Alcedo Care Blackburn and Darwen, 4 August 2025, Good
- Blackburn Home Care Services Limited, 1 May 2025, Not yet rated
- Guardian Homecare (Blackburn), 8 September 2023, Good
Longest since a report
- Freedom Supported Living Registered Office, 28 August 2019, Good
- Premier Care Blackburn Branch, 9 March 2023, Good
- Guardian Homecare (Blackburn), 8 September 2023, Good
Frequently asked questions about home care in Darwen
How many home care agencies are there in Darwen?
Darwen has 6 CQC registered home care agencies: 4 Good, 2 not yet rated. Counts come from the CQC register and are kept up to date as ratings change.
How much does home care cost in Darwen?
Hourly care visits, North West: £25.00 to £28.90 an hour. Middle half of prices from 9 agencies. Median £26.58. Shown for North West because too few Blackburn with Darwen agencies publish a rate. 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 Darwen were inspected most recently?
Alcedo Care Blackburn and Darwen (4 August 2025), Blackburn Home Care Services Limited (1 May 2025) and Guardian Homecare (Blackburn) (8 September 2023) have the most recent CQC reports.