Dementia care

Dementia care is not a separate CQC registration category. It is a specialism, recorded against services that are registered to support people living with dementia, and it spans home care, day services, residential care and nursing homes.

What support looks like

Care at home. Visits for personal care, medication prompting, meals and companionship. Often the first step, and it can sustain someone at home far longer than families expect.

Day services. A structured day out of the house, which also gives the family carer a genuine break.

Respite. Short-term care so a carer can rest or recover.

Residential dementia care. A care home whose staff are trained in dementia, often with a secure garden and layout designed to reduce disorientation.

Nursing homes. Where medical needs sit alongside the dementia.

The three funding routes

NHS Continuing Healthcare. Free, no means test, pays for everything. A diagnosis alone does not qualify: the case is built on what the dementia actually produces day to day. Read what really qualifies before the assessment.

Council funding. The usual means test, with the £23,250 upper capital limit. Remember the property is always ignored for care at home, and is disregarded for a care home while a partner or a relative over 60 still lives there.

Attendance Allowance. Not means tested, £76.70 or £114.60 a week. Almost everyone with dementia who needs supervision qualifies, and far too few claim.

The Council Tax exemption almost everyone misses

If someone is medically certified as severely mentally impaired and receives a qualifying benefit such as Attendance Allowance, they are disregarded for Council Tax entirely.

• Living alone: 100% exemption, no bill at all
• Living with one other adult: 25% off
• Everyone in the household disregarded: 50% off

It can usually be backdated to when the impairment was certified or the benefit started. Councils rarely mention it and almost never offer backdating unless asked. Refunds running to thousands of pounds are common.

Check it with our Council Tax discount checker.

Choosing a provider

Visit more than once, and at least once unannounced around a mealtime. Then ask:

• What is your staff turnover? Familiar faces matter more in dementia care than almost anything else.
• What dementia-specific training do staff have, and who delivers it?
• What do you do when someone is distressed or wants to leave? Ask for a real example, not a policy.
• How do you keep people occupied? Look at what residents are actually doing at 3pm on a weekday.
• What happens as the dementia advances, and at what point would you say you can no longer meet needs?

That last question matters. A move part-way through is distressing and avoidable if you ask it up front.