51 care employers in Darlington could find you

Working in care in Darlington

Market town, main line, mixed market: how does caring in Darlington add up?

Darlington is a single market town with its own borough council, around 110,000 people at the last census, and countryside running out towards the Tees and the North Yorkshire border. That makes it a manageable place to work in care. Most rounds and most care homes are within a few miles of the town centre, and the employers here are split fairly evenly between home care agencies and care homes, with a smaller group of nursing homes on top.

The town is getting older at a steady pace. Census figures show the median age went up from 41 to 43 between 2011 and 2021, and the number of people aged 50 to 64 grew by more than a tenth. That is the age group that will be looking for care support over the coming years.

Personal assistant work is a real option too, because people on direct payments from Darlington Borough Council can hire their own staff. The council funds a Direct Payments Support Service that helps people recruit and manage staff and run payroll, which is reassuring if you are working for an individual for the first time. The council also runs its own short term reablement service, called RIACT, which helps people regain independence for up to six weeks after a decline in their health.

If you live outside the town, the railway helps. Darlington station is on the East Coast Main Line and is the changing point for trains to Bishop Auckland, Middlesbrough and Saltburn. County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust is based at Darlington Memorial Hospital, the place to look if you want to compare care work with a healthcare assistant role. Darlington College lists Health and Social Care among its course areas.

89% of the inspected care employers in Darlington are rated Good or Outstanding by the CQC, below the 93% across the North East and above England as a whole (85%).