Which home care agencies in Durham are listed here?

The page lists eighteen providers registered with the Care Quality Commission to deliver care in people's own homes in and around Durham. Among them are services such as Home Instead Durham, Crescent Homecare Limited and Care and Protect UK. Each entry shows a current rating where one has been issued and links to a fuller profile. Four of the services have not yet been inspected, so no rating appears against them.

What should we ask an agency before agreeing to visits?

Ask how many different carers would attend over a typical fortnight and how the agency protects continuity when someone is away. Ask what happens if a carer is running late or cannot get to the house, and who answers the telephone outside office hours. Check how care plans are written, how often they are reviewed and how staff are supervised in people's homes. Ask as well what the agency learned from its most recent complaint.

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

Home care brings paid carers into a person's own house for visits of an agreed length, leaving them in their own surroundings. A residential care home provides accommodation with personal care available at any hour from care staff. A nursing home offers the same accommodation with registered nurses on site for clinical needs. Many families begin with home care and look at a move only when the hours required make staying at home impractical.

Can Durham County Council fund care at home?

It can, where a person meets both the care needs test and the financial test. The care needs assessment sets out what support is required, and a financial assessment of income and capital then decides the contribution. Durham County Council is the authority responsible for both assessments and for arranging funded support for those who qualify. Ask whether funding could be taken as a direct payment, which would leave the choice of agency with you.

How is a care needs assessment arranged in Durham?

Contact the adult social care team at Durham County Council and ask for an assessment of care and support needs. A person can request one for themselves, a relative can ask on their behalf with agreement, or a hospital team can refer at discharge. The assessment is free and no level of savings prevents anyone from having one. Keep the written outcome, since it states plainly what support has been judged necessary.

How far in advance should we start looking?

Sooner than feels necessary, because agencies cannot always take on a new package immediately. Early morning and evening calls are the hardest to arrange at short notice, and those are usually the ones families need most. Starting early leaves time to meet more than one provider and compare properly. It also gives your relative a say in who comes into their home, which matters to how well the arrangement works.

Home Care in Durham

Durham has 18 CQC registered home care agencies. 12 are rated Good, 2 Outstanding, and 4 have not yet been rated. 12 of the 18 were last inspected more than three years ago.

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

Durham at a glance

What the local numbers say about home care in Durham, to help you judge the options below.

Hourly care visits, England: £25.00 to £34.90 an hour. Middle half of prices from 102 agencies.
People aged 75 and over: 58,300. Rising to 68,700 by 2035, up 18%
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%
Dementia diagnosis rate: 71%. The NHS ambition is 67%.
Agencies in the borough, last 12 months: 3 opened, 4 closed. 54 registered today.
Choice of agencies: 44 within 10 miles. In a typical neighbourhood. The nearest is about 1 miles away (1.1 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 Durham involves and what to look for

Support at home can mean a single morning call or several visits a day, and for some households live in care. It is the option most people prefer, because it keeps a relative in familiar surroundings, but it only works when the visits actually happen as promised.

Setting out what the visits must cover

Start with the practical detail: what times of day help is needed, how long each visit should be and what it has to include. Personal care, prompting with medication, preparing meals, shopping and company are the common requests, though agencies differ in how they manage memory loss, moving and handling, or a relative who is unwilling to accept help at first. Ask how many different carers would come over a fortnight and how the agency keeps that number down. Ask too what happens when the regular carer is on leave, and how much warning you would get if a visit had to be moved. Agencies that answer those questions precisely are usually the ones that plan their rotas rather than improvise them.

What the ratings tell you

Each rating rests on five judgements covering whether a service is safe, effective, caring, responsive and well led. Two agencies here have reached Outstanding and twelve are rated Good, while four await a first inspection, which is usual for newer services and not a mark against them. Read the report rather than the rating where one exists, and note the date, because a small agency can change considerably within a year. Where no report exists, put the same questions to the manager directly and judge the answers you get on their own merits.

Getting an assessment and sorting out the funding

Care at home is charged by the hour or the visit, which makes it simpler to budget for than residential care, though the route to any public funding is broadly the same.

Requesting a care needs assessment

Anyone who appears to need care and support can ask for an assessment, whatever their savings, and it costs nothing. It looks at personal care, mobility, nutrition, memory, medication and the risks of managing alone, and ends in a written record of what support is required. Durham County Council Adult Social Care carries out that assessment and the financial assessment that decides what public funding contributes. If support is agreed, ask whether it could be paid as a direct payment, because that generally leaves the choice of provider with the family.

Understanding the hourly charge

Providers set their own rates, which reflect the time of day, the length of each call, the skills required and whether weekends or bank holidays are covered. Ask for the rate in writing, ask what the minimum visit length is and ask whether travel time between calls comes out of the visit. Check how quickly a package can be increased if needs change and what notice each side must give to end it. Where the council contributes, confirm whether its rate covers the full charge or leaves a shortfall for the family.

18 home care in Durham

Social Return Case Management · Adelaide Court, Durham, County Durham, DH1 1TW
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Social Return Case Management Limited
Social Return Case Management provides support at home to adults in Durham and the surrounding area. We support older people who need help to carry on living in their own houses, and younger adults who need support to live independently. A...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Younger Adults
St Anne's Community Services - DCA · Suite 6 & 7, Durham, County Durham, DH7 8XL
Home care · CQC Good · Run by St Anne's Community Services
St Anne's supports adults living with learning disabilities and autism in their own homes across Durham and County Durham. Support at home should widen a life rather than manage it down, and that principle decides most of what we do. We...
Specialisms: Learning Disability / Autism
MMAB Healthcare- MMAB Consulting · Victoria House, Durham, County Durham, DH7 8XL
Home care · Run by MMAB Consulting Ltd
We are MMAB Healthcare, a home care agency in Durham. We support older people and younger adults in their own homes, including people living with dementia, people with a physical disability and people with a visual or hearing impairment....
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
Helping Hands · 1 & 2, Durham, County Durham, DH1 2LH
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Midshires Care Limited
Helping Hands Durham provides care and support to people in their own homes in Durham and across the county. We work with older people and people living with dementia, with adults who have a learning disability and with autistic adults,...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
The Integration Trust · Whitfield House, Durham, County Durham, DH7 8XL
Home care · CQC Good · Run by The Integration Trust Limited
The Integration Trust supports people in their own homes in Durham and the surrounding area. Our work is mainly with adults who have a learning disability, with autistic adults and with people who have physical disabilities. We take the...
Specialisms: Learning Disability / Autism, Physical Disability
Excellence Home Care · Unit 14, Durham, County Durham, DH7 8ER
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Excellence Home Care Ltd
Excellence Home Care supports people across Durham in their own homes. We plan support around how somebody already lives rather than around a standard package, and we keep the same carers with the same people wherever we can. We support...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
Second to None Care · Moor Chambers Business Centre, Durham, County Durham, DH1 5EJ
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Second to None Care Ltd
Second to None Care provides support at home for people across Durham and the surrounding parts of County Durham. We support a wide range of needs, and what holds the work together is building support around the individual rather than...
Specialisms: Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Eating Disorders, Alcohol / Drug Misuse
Potens Dipton Supported Living and Outreach · 15 - 33 Cecil Court, Durham, County Durham, DH7 8EJ
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Potensial Limited
We provide supported living and outreach around Dipton and County Durham for adults with learning disabilities and people living with mental health conditions. Supported living means the house or flat belongs to the person rather than to...
Specialisms: Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health
Crescent Homecare · 19 Quebec Street, Durham, County Durham, DH7 9XA
Home care · CQC Outstanding · Run by Crescent Homecare Limited
Crescent Homecare is a home care agency based in Durham, supporting adults in their own homes across County Durham. We support people living with dementia, adults with a learning disability and autistic adults, people with a physical...
Specialisms: Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Eating Disorders, Alcohol / Drug Misuse
Village Care - 3c Wesley Place · 3C Wesley Place, Durham, County Durham, DH6 4LG
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Village Care Limited
We at Village Care 3c Wesley Place are proud to offer compassionate home care across Durham and the surrounding areas of County Durham, bringing professional support directly into the places our clients love most: their own homes. Based in...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
Eland Supported Living · Denmar, Durham, County Durham, DH1 4DX
Home care · Run by Eland Supported Living Ltd
Eland Supported Living provides support in people's own homes and communities across County Durham. We work with older people needing help with daily living and with younger adults building independence at home. Our starting point is that...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Younger Adults
Case Management CHC · Portland House, Durham, County Durham, DH1 1TW
Home care · Run by Case Management CHC Ltd
We are Case Management CHC, based in Durham, and we provide care and support in people's own homes across County Durham. We support older people, including many living with dementia, people living with mental ill health, people with...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
Dale Care · 10 Whitfield Court, Durham, County Durham, DH7 8XL
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Dale Care Limited
Dale Care supports adults in their own homes across Durham and the surrounding parts of the county. We work with a wide range of people. Older people and those living with dementia make up much of what we do, and we also support adults...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
Embracing Care · St Georges Centre, Durham, County Durham, DH7 6JS
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Y. S. Services Limited
At Embracing Care, we provide home care support to people living in Durham and the surrounding areas of County Durham. We work with a wide range of individuals, including older adults, younger adults, people living with dementia, those...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults, Alcohol / Drug Misuse
Home Instead · Moor Chambers, Durham, County Durham, DH1 5EJ
Home care · CQC Outstanding · Run by Archie Care Limited
Home Instead Durham provides care and support in people's own homes across Durham and the surrounding parts of County Durham. Home is where most people would rather be, and our work is to keep that a safe and realistic option. We visit...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
Almond Flex Care · Vane Tempest Hall, Durham, County Durham, DH1 1QF
Home care · Run by Almond Flex Limited
Almond Flex Care provides care and support to people in their own homes in Durham and across County Durham. We work with older people and with younger adults who need help to live independently. The word flexible gets used loosely in this...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Younger Adults
Yeshua Healthcare · Office 8, Durham, County Durham, DH1 5JZ
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Yeshua Healthcare Ltd
We at Yeshua Healthcare are proud to provide compassionate home care across Durham and the wider County Durham area, supporting people to live well and independently within the comfort of their own homes. Based in the DH postcode area, our...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
Care and Protect UK · The Pinnacle, Durham, County Durham, DH7 6FE
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Care and Protect UK Limited
We at Care and Protect UK are proud to provide compassionate home care across Durham and the wider County Durham area, supporting people to live safely and comfortably in the place they know best: their own home. As a trusted home care...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults

What home care costs

Type of care	What it costs
Hourly care visits, England Middle half of prices from 102 agencies. Median £31.00. Shown for England because too few County Durham agencies publish a rate.	£25.00 to £34.90 an hour
What County Durham pays Average hourly rate, October 2026.	£22.83 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

Social Return Case Management Ltd, 18 November 2025, Good
MMAB Healthcare- MMAB Consulting Ltd, 30 July 2025, Not yet rated
Care and Protect UK, 21 February 2024, Good

Longest since a report

Home Instead Durham, 2 May 2018, Outstanding
Crescent Homecare Limited, 5 September 2018, Outstanding
YS Services Limited trading as Embracing Care, 16 March 2019, Good

Frequently asked questions about home care in Durham

How many home care agencies are there in Durham?

Durham has 18 CQC registered home care agencies: 2 Outstanding, 12 Good, 4 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 Durham?

Hourly care visits, England: £25.00 to £34.90 an hour. Middle half of prices from 102 agencies. Median £31.00. Shown for England because too few County Durham 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 Durham were inspected most recently?

Social Return Case Management Ltd (18 November 2025), MMAB Healthcare- MMAB Consulting Ltd (30 July 2025) and Care and Protect UK (21 February 2024) 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