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The Fields Care HomeCounty Durham

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Rated:Requires ImprovementResidential

The Fields Care Home

123 Low Etherley, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 0HA
01388832655
Care Type

Residential Care

Assessment date

9 June 2026

Provider

The Fields Care Home

Beds

24 beds

About The Fields Care Home

The Fields Care Home is a residential care home located in County Durham, North East. Its registered care categories include older people. The home has 24 beds. CQC records an overall rating of Requires Improvement, published in August 2026. The home is operated by The Fields Care Home.

Specialist Care

Older 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
24 places — this is not a vacancy count
Registration checked
Registered · DL14 0HA

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: Requires Improvement.

Assessment published 10 August 2026. Assessment date recorded: 9 June 2026.

Read CQC's assessment overview

The following is CQC's published account of its assessment, published 10 August 2026. References to “we” mean CQC. It describes findings at that time.

Date of assessment 22nd June to 1st July 2026.

The Fields care Home is a residential care home registered to support 24 older people. At the time of our assessment, there were 21 people living at the service, some of whom were living with dementia.

At this assessment we found 2 breaches of the legal requirements in relation to premises and equipment and good governance.

The provider did not have effective governance systems in place to monitor, assess and improve the quality and safety of the service. Quality assurance processes had not consistently identified or addressed concerns relating to care records, environmental safety, staff support and compliance with legal requirements.

Care plans were not consistently reviewed and, in some cases, lacked important information relating to people's needs, preferences and identified risks. This meant staff not always have had access to accurate and up-to-date information to support people safely and in accordance with their wishes.

Environmental audits were not sufficiently robust and had failed to identify risks associated with window safety. As a result, opportunities to assess and mitigate potential environmental hazards had been missed.

Records demonstrated that consent had not been consistently sought or documented for all people using the service. This meant the provider could not always evidence that care and treatment decisions had been made in accordance with people's wishes, best interests, or the requirements of relevant legislation.

Arrangements for supporting and monitoring staff were also ineffective. Staff did not consistently receive regular supervision or annual appraisals, limiting opportunities to review performance, identify learning and development needs, and ensure staff were appropriately supported to fulfil their roles.

In addition, formal meetings for people using the service, their relatives and staff were not held consistently. This reduced opportunities for people to provide feedback, share their experiences and influence the development of the service. Consequently, the provider could not demonstrate that feedback was routinely sought, listened to and used to drive improvement.

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

Questions prompted by these ratings

  • Safe: What changes have been made to medicines, staffing and safeguarding since this rating?
  • Effective: How are staff training, nutrition and health outcomes checked now?
  • Caring: How do staff protect privacy, dignity and each person’s choices?
  • Well-led: What has changed in management, checks and oversight since this rating?

These are questions for your visit, not a claim about conditions today.

Read The Fields 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 The Fields Care Home, consider asking...

  1. 1.What happens if my relative's care needs increase significantly -- will they have to move?
  2. 2.How do you handle concerns or complaints from families?
  3. 3.What does the monthly fee cover and what will cost extra?
  4. 4.How do you keep families informed about their relative's day-to-day wellbeing?
  5. 5.What happens if my relative is unhappy here?

5 Things to Look For on Your Visit

When you visit The Fields Care Home, look out for...

  1. 1.Do staff greet residents by name and stop to chat?
  2. 2.Are residents dressed, up and occupied, or sitting alone in front of a TV?
  3. 3.Does the home smell fresh and feel clean without being clinical?
  4. 4.Do residents look comfortable and at ease, or anxious and withdrawn?
  5. 5.Does the manager answer your questions openly or deflect?

Could the NHS fund The Fields 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

123 Low Etherley, Bishop Auckland, County Durham, DL14 0HA

CQC Logo

The Fields Care Home

CQC overall rating

Requires Improvement

Assessment date: 9 June 2026

View full inspection report
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