Home care services to help you stay in your own home

Receiving care in your home is an increasingly common alternative to staying in hospital or moving into a care home.

Not only do you avoid any upheaval and stay in familiar surroundings, it can also be a cheaper alternative to residential care.

The services you’re offered will be based on an assessment carried out by your local council’s social services department (or Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland).

It’s called a ‘package of care’ and will be written into your personal care plan.

Services can include help with:

• getting out of bed in the morning, washing and dressing
• toileting and using continence aids
• preparing meals and drinks
• eating and drinking
• picking up prescriptions
• giving, or prompting to take, prescribed medication
• health-related tasks, as agreed with medical practitioners or community nursing nurses
• nursing care from a registered nurse
• shopping
• collecting pensions
• money, managing and paying bills
• getting out of the house and meeting friends
• supervision and companionship
• getting settled for the evening and going to bed.

It’s important to make sure you claim all the benefits you’re entitled to – Attendance Allowance and Disability Living Allowance (or Personal Independence Payment) are the most common.

Even if you’ll be arranging and paying for the care yourself, it’s still a good idea to have an assessment. This will help you understand and decide what sort of care and support you need, and what’s available.

After the care needs assessment, you’ll also have a financial assessment to determine whether you need to pay for your own care, or whether your local council will contribute.

If your local council (or your Health and Social Care Trust in Northern Ireland) agrees to fund some or all your care services, you’ll be offered the choice of:

• the council providing the services directly to you, or
• receiving direct payments from the council, and arranging and paying for your care and support services yourself.

There are various options if you have to pay for your own care at home, including:

• an immediate needs annuity – available from some insurance companies that guarantee to pay care fees at a given level for as long as they are needed in exchange for a one-off lumpsum payment.
• downsizing to a smaller home – for example, a bungalow to release funds to pay for your care
• an appropriate equity release scheme –  if you’re a homeowner
• insurance policies you or a spouse might have set up a long time ago.