Quick answer
To choose a good care home in the UK: decide whether you need residential or nursing care, shortlist homes by location and check each home's current CQC rating and full inspection report on the official CQC register, then visit in person and ask about staffing, activities and costs. There are 14,638 CQC-registered care homes in England (10,210 residential and 4,428 nursing homes) as of 2026-06-12.
Residential or nursing home?
A residential home provides personal care and support with daily living. A nursing home also has qualified nurses on site for people with ongoing medical needs. Both must be registered with the Care Quality Commission. There are 10,210 CQC-registered residential homes and 4,428 nursing homes in England as of 2026-06-12.
If you are unsure which is right, a needs assessment from your local council (free to request) will set out the level of care required.
Check the CQC rating and report
Look up each shortlisted home by name on the CQC website. Read the overall rating (Outstanding, Good, Requires improvement or Inadequate) and the rating for each of the five questions, especially "safe" and "caring". Note the inspection date — older reports may not reflect the home today.
Visit and ask questions
Visit in person, ideally more than once and at different times of day. Ask about staff-to-resident ratios, staff turnover, how care plans are reviewed, activities, mealtimes, visiting policy and how complaints are handled. Ask to see the latest fees breakdown in writing and what is and isn't included.
How to choose a care home — FAQs
- How many care homes are CQC-registered in England?
- 14,638 CQC-registered care homes operate in England — 10,210 residential homes plus 4,428 nursing homes — as of 2026-06-12, counted from the real Care Quality Commission register. The CQC registers and inspects every care home in England.
- What is the difference between a residential and a nursing home?
- A residential home provides personal care and help with daily living. A nursing home provides the same plus on-site qualified nursing for residents with ongoing medical needs. Both must be CQC-registered. A council needs assessment can confirm which level of care is required.
- Should I avoid a care home rated "Requires improvement"?
- Not necessarily — read the full report first. A home can be rated "Requires improvement" overall for one area while remaining safe in others, and may have improved since the inspection. Check the inspection date and whether the concerns were about safety. If in doubt, ask the home what has changed since the report.
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Related
Methodology
Any provider count on this page is an exact figure from the real Care Quality Commission register (as of 2026-06-12); the rest of the page is process guidance. CQC ratings are categorical (Outstanding / Good / Requires improvement / Inadequate), never a 0–5 number — this page shows no numeric rating average. This is general information, not medical or legal advice; always check a specific provider on the official CQC website.
Source: Care Quality Commission www.cqc.org.uk. Licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Provider records are sourced from the Care Quality Commission at www.cqc.org.uk. Details reflect the most recent CQC record and may have changed since publication. GeraClinic is not affiliated with the CQC.