Respite Care in Deal: Costs, Funding and 19 Local Agencies (Oct 2026)

Your respite options

Respite at home: a few hours of visits, or a live-in carer for days or weeks while you are away.
Care home stay: usually one or two weeks, booked well ahead for holiday periods. Ask the 19 registered care homes in Deal whether they take short stays.
Day centre: run by the council or a charity.

Start with a carer's assessment

If you look after someone, you are entitled to your own free carer's assessment from Kent council, separate from the assessment of the person you care for. It looks at the effect caring has on you and can lead to funded breaks, a carer's personal budget or other support. Carers UK runs a free helpline on 0808 808 7777. Requesting an assessment from Kent council.

If you are paying privately

Agencies: ask for the minimum visit length and the notice they need.
Care homes: ask whether rooms are kept for short stays, and visit before booking.
Before the stay: share the care plan, the medicines and the daily routine.

Home care in Deal by the numbers

Of Deal and the 6 nearest towns we cover, Deal ranks 7th for the share of all listed agencies rated Good or Outstanding (53%); Dover is highest at 59%. 1 is rated Outstanding here, out of 11 across Kent. Ratings are more recent than average here: 16% of agencies have one less than two years old, compared with 9% across Kent. At 77% Good or Outstanding, Deal sits below the Kent figure of 80% (from 831 agencies). By specialism, 15 of 19 list physical disabilities, 11 of 19 list learning disabilities and 9 of 19 list mental health conditions. The newest registration is Lauriem Ceaser Court (EC), registered with CQC in March 2026. The oldest current rating dates from September 2018 (Nurse Plus UK - Dover). 13 of the 19 agencies (68%) list dementia as a specialism, against 77% across Kent.

What respite care costs in Deal

Prices typically seen across England in 2026
Visiting care	around £32–£34 an hour
Live-in care	around £1,540–£1,610 a week
Residential care home	£1,555 a week
Nursing home	£1,830 a week

What the council pays (Kent County Council): £28.05 an hour for home care (2025/26 average paid to agencies); £1,186.81 a week for residential care (2025/26 average, over-65s); £1,378 a week for nursing care (2025/26 average, over-65s) (source).

The gap between agencies is bigger than the gap between regions. Ask for prices in writing, and check what weekends and bank holidays cost. The Homecare Association puts the minimum sustainable price for council-funded home care in England at £34.42 an hour for 2026/27. Source: Lottie Care Index, Q3 2026. Estimate the weekly cost or see what you might pay

Your questions on respite care in Deal

Where can I find respite care in Deal?

The CQC register does not show who offers respite care. There are 19 registered agencies that have an office within 7 miles of Deal, 10 of them rated Good or Outstanding, so ask each one.

Is there free respite care?

Free or low-cost sitting services are run by charities and carers' centres. The council can also arrange or fund breaks when a carer's assessment, which you request from Kent council, shows you are eligible.

When should we book a respite stay in a care home?

Several weeks if you can, and longer for school holidays. Not every home keeps rooms for short stays, so ask when you first call.

Are home care agencies in Deal well rated?

10 of the 13 rated agencies (77%) are Good or Outstanding; 13 list dementia as a specialism and 3 were inspected or rated in the last two years.

Arranging respite care in Deal?

Tell us what's needed once. Featured partners and up to three rated agencies that take enquiries through us reply to you directly, by email.

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Care options in Deal

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CQC register data (Oct 2026), reused under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The Care Panel is independent of every provider listed.

Respite care in Deal