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Castle Bank Care HomeCounty Durham

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Rated:GoodResidential

Castle Bank Care Home

26 Castle Bank, Tow Law, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL13 4AE
01388731152
Care Type

Residential Care

Assessment date

7 January 2025

Provider

Castlebank Care Home Limited

Beds

28 beds

How this home compares nearby

Of 28 care homes for older people within 10 miles, 1 is rated higher by CQC, 26 are the same and 1 is lower.

4 of these nearby homes have been inspected more recently than this one.

Based on CQC ratings, updated 23 October 2026. How we compare homes | See the nearby homes

Rating history

  1. Requires ImprovementJul 2016
  2. GoodApr 2017
  3. GoodDec 2019
  4. GoodApr 2025

Improved from Requires Improvement to Good in 2017.

Source: CQC inspection reports. Contains CQC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0.

Costs and who runs this home

This is the only care home Castlebank Care Home Limited runs in England.

Average care home fees in the North East: £897 a week for residential care and £1,164 for nursing care (2024-25 averages). Self-funders usually pay more. See our care home costs guide.

  • This home lists dementia care, which usually costs more than standard residential care. See dementia care home costs. NHS Continuing Healthcare may apply where someone's needs are primarily health needs.
  • How to pay for a care home explains the council means test, what counts as capital and the funding you can ask to be assessed for.

About Castle Bank Care Home

Castle Bank Care Home is a residential care home in County Durham, providing personal care for older people aged 65 and over. It does not offer nursing care. Details of the CQC's most recent findings are set out below.

Castle Bank Care Home is a residential care home providing personal care to up to 28 people aged 65 and over. Nursing care is not provided. The CQC rated the service Good overall, finding that people received safe, well-managed care from staff who knew them well, with sufficient staffing and thorough risk management.

Inspectors found strong leadership, with an open culture and effective oversight, including a recently introduced electronic records system that was working well. People and relatives spoke warmly of staff, feeling safe, comfortable and involved in decisions about their care. Ongoing refurbishment continued to improve the environment.

Source: CQC assessment, 10 April 2025

Specialist Care

DementiaOlder people

Fees and availability

We have not verified a current weekly fee for this home. Ask for a written quote based on the room and care needed, including any extra charges.

Check current vacancies, the admission assessment and visiting arrangements directly with the home.

Care and inspection details

Checked against the CQC register on 20 September 2026. This is a check of published information, not a visit to the home.

Registered service
Care home service without nursing
Registered capacity
28 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked
Registered · DL13 4AE

Registered care categories

Caring for adults over 65 yrs; Dementia.

These describe the registration. The home must assess whether it can meet the individual person's needs and whether a place is available.

CQC ratings in more detail

Overall rating shown by CQC: Good.

Assessment published 10 April 2025. Assessment date recorded: 7 January 2025.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 10 April 2025. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Castle Bank care home is a residential care home providing personal care to people aged 65 and over. Nursing care is not provided. The service can support up to 28 people. Date of assessment: 22 and 28 January 2025. We gathered information from people who used the service, relatives, the registered manager, care staff, and from health and social care professionals who have worked with the service. We looked at a range of quality statements in Safe, Caring, Responsive and Well-Led. At this assessment we found people received safe, quality care from staff who knew them well. Risks were comprehensively assessed and effectively managed. There were sufficient staff to meet people’s needs safely, including when people needed help unexpectedly. Staff were knowledgeable about people’s needs and individualities. A well-planned range of refurbishments had made, and continued to make, improvements to the environment. The provider had recently introduced electronic records systems, and these were working well. The registered manager and leadership team had effective oversight of these and all aspects of the service. They identified and acted on errors positively. The culture was an open one and leaders worked well with external partners to ensure the service remained sighted on good practice and relevant developments. The registered manager and team were approachable and ensured staff had the right training and support in place. Where we signposted them towards good practice and to make minor improvements, they were responsive to this feedback and keen to continually improve the service.

Safe
Good
Effective
Good
Caring
Good
Responsive
Good
Well-led
Good

Read Castle Bank Care Home's CQC record and reports.

Contains Care Quality Commission information under the Open Government Licence v3.0. Ratings and registration details can change after the date checked.

5 Questions to Ask on Your Visit

When visiting Castle Bank Care Home, consider asking...

  1. 1.What specific dementia training do staff receive and how recently?
  2. 2.How do you support a resident who becomes distressed or confused?
  3. 3.How does the home keep a record of a resident's life history and personal preferences?
  4. 4.How do you involve families as dementia progresses and communication becomes harder?
  5. 5.What happens when a resident's dementia reaches an advanced stage?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit Castle Bank Care Home, look out for...

  1. 1.Is the environment calm, uncluttered and easy to navigate?
  2. 2.Do staff speak to residents with patience and dignity, even if they repeat themselves?
  3. 3.Are there memory cues around the home -- photos, familiar objects, clear signage?
  4. 4.Do residents seem settled and safe, or agitated and unsupervised?
  5. 5.Is there meaningful activity happening, or are residents just sitting quietly with nothing to do?

Could the NHS fund Castle Bank Care Home's fees?

The average nursing home costs £1,535 per week. That's £79,820 a year. NHS Continuing Healthcare could cover all of it. No means test, no contribution from you.

Location

26 Castle Bank, Tow Law, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL13 4AE

CQC Logo

Castle Bank Care Home

CQC overall rating

Good

Assessment date: 7 January 2025

View full inspection report
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