The Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) registers and inspects health and social care services in Northern Ireland, including nursing homes, residential care homes and domiciliary care agencies.
No ratings
Unlike CQC in England, the Care Inspectorate in Scotland and CIW in Wales, RQIA does not give ratings or grades. Each inspection report sets out what the service does well and what it must improve. That is why The Care Panel shows each Northern Ireland service’s latest inspection date rather than a rating: read the report before choosing.
Nursing and residential homes
In Northern Ireland, care homes are registered either as nursing homes, with registered nurses on duty, or as residential care homes. Each home is registered for specific categories of care, such as old age, dementia or physical disability. Check the home is registered for the care the person needs.
Inspections
Most inspections are unannounced. RQIA inspects care homes regularly and more often where there are concerns. Reports list areas for improvement with the standard or regulation they relate to, and whether earlier ones were met.
Where there are serious concerns, RQIA can take enforcement action, such as a failure to comply notice. These notices are published on its website.
How to read an RQIA report
- Check the inspection date and type (care, medicines, estates or finance).
- Read the summary and the areas for improvement.
- Check whether areas for improvement from the last inspection were met.
- Look for any enforcement action.
Find a care home in Northern Ireland
All nursing homes, residential homes and home care agencies are listed with their latest RQIA inspection at care in Northern Ireland. See also care home fees in Northern Ireland.
Find care homes near you
- Care homes in Barnham 79
- Care homes in Birmingham 63
- Care homes in Sheffield 61
- Care homes in Leeds 60
- Care homes in Royal Sutton Coldfield 57
- Care homes in Harrow 52
- Care homes in Lewisham 49
- Care homes in Brent 47
All care homes in England by town → · Search by postcode
Highly rated care homes in England
- Collegiate House Outstanding · Sheffield
- Avondale House Outstanding · Westgate On Sea
- Brook House Care Home Outstanding · Lutterworth
- Charterhouse Care Home Outstanding · Bristol
Rated by CQC in the last three years. Nobody pays to appear here.
Care homes by county
- Central Bedfordshire
- County Durham
- Stockton-on-Tees
- Knowsley
- Tameside
- Hampshire
- Surrey
- Dorset
- Coventry
- Warwickshire
- Leeds
- Leicester
Related guides
Free download
Visiting care homes? Take this 40-point checklist
Covers CQC checks, staff, daily routine, rooms, fees and contracts, with columns for three homes.
Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 27 October 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.