Home care agency · Dorchester

Home Instead

Rated Good by CQC Rating published 4 December 2021 Rating 4 years old
Rated 4 years ago. CQC's last published rating for this service is from December 2021. Ask what has changed since, such as the manager or the number of people they support. See nearby services rated recently.
A carer talking with women in wheelchairs Illustrative photo, not of Home Instead
Address
31 High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UP
Run by
Dorset Home Care Limited
Type of provider
Independent (private company)
Service
Home care agency
Dementia
Registered with CQC to support people living with dementia
Registered with CQC
September 2019 (7 years)
Registered manager
Nicola Hayley Ellis
Company check
Active, trading since 2019 (7 years), accounts up to date (Companies House 11830743)
Last CQC check
4 Dec 2021
Typical fees Estimated
£32.50–£40 an hour for visiting care, weekdays; live-in £1,560–£1,910 a week. An estimate based on local published fees (Home Instead branches publish rates above the national median). Ask for a written quote. How we estimate

Licensed by CQC for: Personal care

More in Dorchester: Home care in Dorchester (26) · Best rated home care agencies in Dorchester · Dementia care at home in Dorchester · Elderly care at home in Dorchester · Physical disability care at home in Dorchester · Live-in care in Dorchester

See this service on the CQC website · CQC location ID 1-7575430714

The service in brief

Home Instead in Dorchester is registered with the Care Quality Commission as a home care agency, run by Dorset Home Care Limited. The service is registered to support adults of all ages and lists dementia, physical disabilities, mental health conditions and sight or hearing loss among its specialisms.

CQC rated it Good overall (December 2021), with Caring rated Outstanding. It is one of 26 CQC-registered home care agencies that have an office within 7 miles of Dorchester; 17 of those are rated Good or Outstanding.

Strengths and weak spots in the ratings

Area by area, Caring is rated Outstanding; 4 other areas are Good.

Across Dorset, 8 of 67 rated agencies are Outstanding for Caring (12%).

Outstanding ratings for a single area are uncommon; the Caring section of the report gives examples of what inspectors saw.

Ratings for safety, care and leadership

  • SafeGood65 of 67 in Dorset
  • EffectiveGood63 of 67 in Dorset
  • CaringOutstanding8 of 67 in Dorset
  • ResponsiveGood63 of 67 in Dorset
  • Well-ledGood59 of 67 in Dorset

CQC key question ratings, published 4 December 2021. Under each rating: how many agencies in Dorset share it; for example, 8 of 67 agencies in Dorset rated Outstanding for Caring.

Registered specialisms

As listed with the regulator.

Budgeting for this agency

We estimate visits from Home Instead at £32.50–£40 an hour (visiting care, weekdays), based on published prices in the region (Home Instead branches publish rates above the national median). As an example, an hour each morning and a 30-minute evening call comes to about £380 a week.

Regional live-in prices sit at roughly £1,560–£1,910 per week.

If savings are under the upper limit (£23,250 in England), Dorset Council may pay part of the cost after a free care needs assessment.

Who runs it

Home Instead is run by Dorset Home Care Limited (company 11830743), incorporated in 2019.

At Companies House, the company is listed as active, its accounts are filed on time, it has 1 active director and there is no insolvency history.

Its registered business activity is residential care for older and disabled people.

How it fits locally

There are 21 other agencies within 3 miles, 14 of them rated Good or Outstanding; the nearest is Everycare (Wessex) Limited, under 0.5 miles away.

11 of the 14 nearest rated agencies have a more recent rating than this one.

It sits in Dorchester West ward, classed by ONS as urban (further from a major town or city), among the 40% most deprived neighbourhoods in England. NHS services here are planned by NHS Dorset ICB.

Rating history

  1. Dec 2021 Good
  2. Today Rating 4 years old

Published CQC ratings in date order.

Inspection reports to read

Map and area details

Ward
Dorchester West
Parliamentary constituency
West Dorset
Local NHS (ICB)
NHS Dorset Integrated Care Board
Urban or rural
Urban; further from a major town or city
Neighbourhood deprivation
Among the 40% most deprived areas in England
Postcode district
Home care in DT1 (22)

View on OpenStreetMap · How to get there · OpenStreetMap (ODbL)

Ward and NHS boundaries from official postcode data, Open Government Licence. A home care agency's office address; carers travel to people's homes nearby.

Inspection findings in brief

  • Everyone we spoke with praised the care and support they received.
  • People were supported by a management and staff team who were exceptionally kind and went over and above their job role to make sure people were content and comfortable with their care.
  • People we spoke with commented on the kindness and friendliness of the care workers who visited them and the office staff.
  • People said that all staff were approachable and sorted out any issues or concerns they had.

Inspected 13 October 2021; report published 4 December 2021. In CQC's words, from its published findings (Open Government Licence). Read the full report.

History with CQC

Home Instead has been registered with CQC since September 2019, about 7 years.

Its only published overall rating so far is Good, from December 2021.

4 years have passed since the last overall rating. Services judged lower-risk wait longer for a visit, but teams change, so check what is different today.

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How Home Instead compares

  • Rated Good. Across Dorset, 98% of the 66 rated home care agencies are Good or Outstanding and 3 are Outstanding.
  • Its rating (December 2021) is more recent than 27% of agency ratings in Dorset.
  • Registered with CQC in 2019: it has been registered longer than 51% of home care agencies in the area.
  • It lists 6 specialisms with CQC; the typical agency in Dorset lists 5.

Based on the CQC register for Dorset as at Oct 2026.

Closest alternatives

Guides for families

Other home care agencies near Dorchester with recent ratings

Questions about Home Instead

What type of care does Home Instead provide?
Registration for Home Instead covers: homecare agencies. Check which of these it offers today.
Who is the registered provider for Home Instead?
Dorset Home Care Limited is the registered provider for Home Instead.
What are Home Instead's fees?
We don't have published prices from Home Instead yet. Visiting care typically costs around £32–£34 an hour (typical 2026 prices across England). Get the quote in writing, including any extra charges.
How is Home Instead rated for safety and leadership?
The five CQC areas: Safe: Good; Effective: Good; Caring: Outstanding; Responsive: Good; Well-led: Good. Read Safe and Well-led first; they say most about reliability.
What is Home Instead's address?
31 High West Street, Dorchester, DT1 1UP is the agency's office; check it serves your postcode.
Is Home Instead registered with CQC?
It is. The CQC register records Home Instead as a home care agency, location ID 1-7575430714 and was rated Good overall in December 2021.
Does Home Instead support people with dementia?
Its registration includes dementia. Useful questions: how many staff hold dementia training, and how is a bad day handled?
How recent is Home Instead's CQC rating?
Its current CQC rating dates from 4 December 2021, 4 years ago. Ratings can be several years old; ask what has changed since, such as a new manager.

Agencies in neighbouring towns

In Dorset

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Home Instead: rated Good by CQC, on The Care Panel

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