Back to Care services, equipment and care homes. Having a paid carer come to visit you in your home can make a huge difference to your life, especially if you have difficulty walking or getting around. It can help you stay living independently in your own home. Having a paid carer can be temporary β for example for a few weeks while you recover from an illness. Or it can be long term. This type of care is known as homecare or domiciliary care or sometimes home help.
Sometimes, the council will contribute to the cost. Homecare is very flexible. You might need a paid carer for only an hour a week or for several hours a day, or at night. You might need a live-in carer. Some live-in care organisations provide carers who can give specialist nursing care, including stroke or dementia care. You might also consider home adaptations or household gadgets or equipment to make life easier. For further information about live-in care, visit the Live-in Care Hub website.
A paid carer can visit you at home to help you with all kinds of things including:. This is slightly different to homecare and means day-to-day domestic tasks that you may need a helping hand with such as:.
Most councils do not provide home help. If you want the council to help with homecare for you, start by asking them for a care needs assessment. Your needs assessment will help the council to decide whether you're eligible for care. If you're eligible, the council may recommend help at home from a paid carer. They will arrange the homecare for you. If you're not eligible for care, the council must still give you free advice about where you can get help in your community.
Even if you're intending to make arrangements yourself with an agency or private carer, it's still a good idea to have a needs assessment as it will help you to explain to the agency or carer what kind of help you need. Apply for a needs assessment by social services on GOV. Depending on your circumstances, your local council may contribute to the cost of homecare or you may have to pay for it yourself.
