What is Nursing Care — and How Is It Different from Residential Care?

Nursing care is provided in a care home that employs registered nurses on-site, available 24 hours a day. It is for people whose care needs include regular clinical input — wound management, catheter care, complex medication management, post-operative recovery, or the management of advanced neurological conditions.

Who needs nursing care?

Nursing care is appropriate when a person's medical needs cannot be safely met by care staff alone, or by visiting community nurses. Common situations include advanced dementia with complex behavioural or physical needs, significant post-stroke disability, Parkinson's disease at an advanced stage, end-of-life care, and conditions requiring regular clinical monitoring.

What does it include?

Everything a residential care home provides — accommodation, meals, personal care, activities — plus registered nursing oversight and clinical care delivered by qualified nurses. Some nursing homes specialise in specific conditions such as dementia nursing, acquired brain injury, or palliative care.

What does it cost?

Nursing care is more expensive than residential care. In the Bromley, Sevenoaks, Tunbridge Wells, Greenwich and Croydon areas, families should expect to budget from £1,200 to over £1,800 per week as a self-funder depending on the home and level of need. The NHS contributes a standard weekly payment towards nursing costs — currently £235.88 — through NHS-Funded Nursing Care, which is paid directly to the home and should be reflected in the fees charged.

Deciding between residential and nursing care is one of the most consequential choices families make. We help you get it right from the start. Speak to an adviser →