Dementia care costs in care homes | 2025

Dementia care can be costly as people living with dementia can require a lot of care and support. The progressive nature of dementia can also mean that you may require more specialist care over time, which can make the costs rack up even more.

Dementia mostly affects older people. Modern medicine means that people are living longer but unfortunately there is yet to be a cure for dementia, so more people are living with the neurodegenerative condition than ever before. According to the NHS, 1 in 11 people in the UK aged over 65 has dementia. Alzheimer’s Research UK predicts that by 2030, it will be the costliest health condition in the UK.

How much is a dementia care home?

Dementia care does generally cost more than residential care. This is because dementia requires a higher level of care. Costs can vary widely depending on where in the UK you are, which care home you choose and your specific care needs.

The average fees for dementia care are currently:

Self-funded residential dementia care – £1,306 per week

Self-funded nursing dementia care – £1,554 per week

Dementia can affect people in various ways which can further affect how much their care costs. For example, if the person experiences challenging behaviour they may need more specialist care than somebody who only struggles with their memory.

The Alzheimer’s Society has made a heartbreaking video on the cost of dementia care.

Is dementia care free?

The process of paying for dementia care is the same as that of residential care.

If you have over a certain amount in capital and assets, you will need to fund dementia care privately. If you have under that amount, some or all of your care fees will be funded by the local authority.

Each country in the UK has its own financial limits. To find out exactly what the thresholds are in your country and whether you might qualify for local authority funding, please see the links to our articles below.

Care home funding in:

• England
• Scotland
• Wales
• Northern Ireland

Is there any funding for dementia care?

There is no funding available specifically for dementia care in the UK.

It is possible that you could be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC). This is when the NHS pays towards your care home fees (it is not the same as NHS-funded nursing care).

A diagnosis of dementia alone is not enough to qualify you for CHC, you must be assessed as having a ‘primary health need’. This depends on how dementia affects you and the type of care the funding would go towards.

CHC is for people living in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. In Scotland, CHC was replaced by Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care in 2015.

You can find out more information about NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding in our article.

As this is not means tested, your eligibility for it is not determined by how much wealth you have.

Dementia diagnosis: Preparing for the future

Anticipating developing dementia may not be something you have in mind when planning for your future but sadly it can be a practical thing to do in order to help yourself and your family should the necessity for dementia care arise. Dementia can rob you of the mental capacity to make informed decisions about your care, so making them now can ensure that your loved ones and any professionals involved know what you want.

As well as changing your lifestyle to reduce your risk of developing dementia there are things you can do to make things easier for yourself and your loved ones should that time ever come.

Things you can do to prepare for potentially needing dementia care one day include:

Make a living will

A living will, or an advance decision, is a document in which you can refuse any treatments in advance. Whether this document is legally binding varies across the UK.

You can find out more about advance decisions in our making a living will article.

Set up Lasting Powers of Attorney

A Power of Attorney is somebody who makes certain decision on your behalf, should you lose the ability to make informed decisions yourself. It’s a good idea to appoint a Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA) well in advance; often people choose their son or daughter or a close friend.

There are two types of LPA. You can have the same person for both if you choose to. You can also have the responsibility shared, for example if you have three adult children, you can give them all LPA and state that they have to agree on any decision made on your behalf, or any one of them can make an independent decision.

The two types of Lasting Power of Attorney are:

• Health and Welfare – for decisions about your care and medical needs.
• Property and Financial Affairs – for decisions about finances (including managing your bank accounts if you wish) and renting/selling your property.

Work out what you’ll be able to afford

Budgeting for care is difficult because you don’t know what your future needs will be (for example, if you’ll need dementia care) or how long you’ll need care for.

Fees also vary widely between care homes and regions, but it’s very worthwhile to make sure you have a plan in place.

You may want to seek professional financial advice on care and retirement.

You can also look into ways to fund your future care, such as Deferred Payment Agreements, equity release and finding out if you are eligible for any benefits.

Look at care homes

In making decisions about your future care, a big one is deciding what care home you’d like to live in should you ever need or want residential/residential dementia care. It’s a good idea to have a shortlist in mind and to notify your Lasting Power of Attorney (Health and Welfare) of your choices.

Looking at care homes in advance can also allow you to be more specific when planning your future budget for care.