About the directory

The care providers the big directories bury.

Most places you search for care are dominated by the national franchises and chains with the biggest advertising budgets. The small, independent, family-run providers get pushed down the page, even when they are the ones offering the most personal care. This directory lists only them.

Why independent

What independent care means for a family

The differences are not abstract. They show up in who comes to the door, who answers when you call, and what the whole service is built around.

  1. Continuity of care

    A small provider tends to send the same familiar faces, not whoever the rota assigned that morning. That familiarity is a real part of the care.

  2. Someone who answers for it

    When the owner runs the service, a worry reaches the person who can act on it. No regional office sits between you and a decision.

  3. Care first, not returns

    No franchise fees, no investor growth targets, no quarterly numbers to hit. The pressures that pull a chain away from the family are not in the room.

The problem

Sorted by marketing budget, not by care.

Search for care and the same national brands sit at the top, not because they fit your family best, but because they have the biggest advertising budgets. The good independent provider a few streets away is the one that gets buried.

How it works

How a provider gets listed

Every entry is independent by design. Before we add a provider, we check that it is:

  • Genuinely independent

    Not a franchise, not a chain, not a private-equity rollup.

  • Real and operating

    An active care provider based in the UK or Ireland.

  • Founder-led in size

    Around the size of a small business, not a national operator.

We build each listing from public records: the provider's CQC entry, its Companies House filing and its own website. Listing is free. No adverts, no paid placements, and no way to buy a higher spot.

The order is not for sale.

Who we are

Built by a studio that works with care

This directory is built by Caia Care Studio, a brand and design studio for care companies in the UK and Ireland. We spend our days working with independent providers, and we kept hearing the same thing from families: the good ones are hard to find. So we built the directory we wished already existed.

If you run an independent service and would like to be listed, or you are already here and want to claim your entry, we would be glad to hear from you.

Good to know

Questions families ask

A few of the things people want to know before they trust a listing. If yours isn't here, just ask.

No. Listing is free, and there is no paid placement or advertising. We take no fee from providers or from families.

We list independent providers only: no franchises, chains or private-equity rollups. We confirm each one is a real, operating care provider in the UK or Ireland before it goes on.

If you are independent and operating in the UK or Ireland, we would be glad to hear from you. Get in touch and we will take a look.

No. The directory sets no cookies and runs no analytics or tracking. The privacy page has the full detail.

Find care

Find an independent provider near you

Browse by region, or search by the type of care you need. Every provider listed is independent, always.

Browse the directory

Run an independent service? Get listed.