Dorset, with its rolling countryside and spectacular coastline has long been a popular place for people to live in retirement. For this reason, there are a high number of care homes located across the county.
There are two types of care homes – residential and nursing:
- Residential homes are for those who can no longer live independently and need extra support with daily tasks such as washing and meal preparation.
- Nursing homes are for the elderly whose illness or infirmity (including dementia) requires regular nursing care.
Aside from the internal environment of a care home, the outside local area is also important to consider. Your elderly relative may want access to local shops, a church or community groups. Furthermore, when your family visits the care home, you may want to enjoy what the local setting has to offer.
Find Dorset Care Homes
Age Space is working hard on making our own care home search engine to help you find the best care home options in your area. In the meantime, we recommend using a directory like CareHomes.co.uk.
Different Areas to Consider in Dorset
There are many factors to take into account when choosing the best location for a care home. Proximity to relatives is, of course, one of the major points to consider, however, it is also worth finding out more about the towns themselves. The following guide provides a brief overview of some of the major towns in Dorset, including some of the features that make them beneficial to move to in later life.
Bournemouth, Christchurch & Poole
Known as “the conurbation”; this is the most populated and urban area of the county. Bournemouth and Poole are busy, with major shopping centres, facilities and reasonable public transport. Christchurch itself is small, picturesque and pretty and now linked in one unitary local authority with its bigger neighbours. This area has the highest percentage of retirees in the UK.
Weymouth & West Dorset
To the west of the county, Weymouth is a popular, traditional seaside resort which also has a major shopping centre.
Dorchester, the county town, is pleasant and also has a good range of shops, a large hospital and other facilities.
Bridport and Lyme Regis are much smaller, but attractive, coastal towns on the famous Jurassic Coast.
Sherborne is historical and towards the north of the county, but unfortunately has poor transport links.
The Isle of Purbeck
The main towns in Purbeck are Swanage and Wareham. Both are attractive places to live, but, again, suffer from a lack of public transport and have smaller shopping centres.
Average Costs of Care Homes in Dorset
How much you can expect to pay for a care home per year depends on whether or not the older person in question requires residential care only, or residential with nursing care. In the UK this is usually around £37,237 per year (residential) and £51,700 (nursing).
Dorset’s residential care averages at around £38,775 per year, therefore being slightly above the UK average. This can be down to a number of factors, but is likely related to how popular Dorset is with retirees.
However, this doesn’t mean that you can expect to pay this exact amount, as care home fees are dependent on a lot of things, such as location, facilities, space, type of care, length of care, staff per resident and preference.
Estimates taken from a study by LaingBuisson from the Care of Older People UK Market Report 2018, adjusted for inflation
The Benefits & Drawbacks of Life in Dorset
Dorset is known for its coast, beaches, harbours and pretty villages, which offer a picturesque and calm area of the country to retire into. On the other hand, this also makes it very popular as a holiday destination, meaning it can become very busy in the summer months!
Transport links vary across the county, since there is a real mix of large, well-connected towns and more rural villages only accessible by car. Dorset has no motorway and many of the smaller towns have poor or no rail links at all.
Dorset has a wide range of care homes to choose from. Be sure to follow our guide on Choosing a Care Home before committing to move in somewhere, as these can vary in services and quality. It is also a good idea to check the CQC rating of any care home.
