What is Home Care? A guide to care services & types

Home Care is a term used to describe a wide range of services that support people with additional needs in the comfort of their own home.

Also commonly known as Domiciliary Care, Care at Home or private care, Home Care involves a professionally trained Carer or Carers visiting someone’s home to provide assistance. Home Carers help with all sorts of daily activities, including Personal Care – such as using the bathroom – or Domestic Care like preparing meals.

Everyone has routines that give life a sense of normality. If circumstances change, however, regular activities of daily living can become more difficult. When this happens, a little support can go a long way.

Our Home Care is all about you. We focus on helping people maintain their quality of life and independence safely at home. This guide explores the options we offer, including information about our services and also the jobs we provide:

I need Home Care…

What is Home Care?

Home Care includes all types of support that can be provided by a Care Assistant in a person’s home. This type of care is flexible and is tailored to each individual’s specific needs. Whatever you need, whenever you need it.

There are different ways Home Care can be provided – Visiting Care is where a Carer attends your home at an agreed time for an agreed amount of time, whereas round the clock assistance is available with Live-in Care and Overnight Care services.

People can choose to receive Home Care at any point in their lives when they need some specific professional help at home. Our services are often used by elderly people but are available to everyone, regardless of age.

Home Carers help with all kinds of support around the home. This includes Personal Care services for the elderly, medication management, grocery shopping assistance as well as more specialist care for conditions. Our Home Care services for conditions include Dementia Care, Palliative Care, Parkinson’s Care at Home and Multiple Sclerosis Home Care.

All our Home Care services are tailored to each individual. It’s all about you.

What does Home Care mean?

Home Care means providing care and support to people in their own home. It’s interchangeably used with other terms such as Domiciliary Care, Care at Home, private care, home health care and also specific service names like Personal Care or Companionship Care.

Home Care is designed to assist people who might otherwise find it difficult to complete daily activities and live independently at home. This could be due to an illness or hospital stay, physical or mental disability, or old age.

Services include a wide range of assistance, such as personal hygiene help, meal preparation, medication management, mobility support and companionship. Support can involve daily care or just a few hours a week.

Home Care allows individuals to receive the support they need without having to leave their home to go into a residential care facility or nursing home. Considering more than 97% of older adults would rather remain at home 1 , Home Care is crucial to helping people achieve this.

Our Home Care is as individual as the people we support but the goal of our services remains the same: maintaining independence and quality of life while meeting people’s needs.

Why choose Home Care?

Choosing Home Care is an important decision that needs to be carefully considered. Often, it’s a decision shared between the person receiving care, as well as their loved ones and, sometimes, healthcare professionals.

As an alternative option to residential care or nursing homes, there are specific benefits of Home Care that can improve wellbeing and quality of life. Here are some reasons why many of our clients choose to receive Home Care:

Home Care offers continuity of care. By staying at home, our clients receive care from the same Team of people. Our Home Care Assistants get to know them, their routines and preferences. Continuity provides added peace of mind as well as stability, which is crucial when things can change sometimes at short notice.

Home Care can be particularly cost effective compared to other care options like residential care or a nursing home. Home Care rates and home adaptations are significant costs but may be lower than costs associated with moving into residential care. This is because Home Care is very flexible; our clients and their loved ones can choose how much or little care they need based on their personal budget. The same is true about the Cost of Live-in Care.

Staying at home surrounded by cherished memories, personal belongings and their local community is important. It not only contributes to emotional wellbeing but can also provide vital reassurance for clients with dementia or elderly paranoia.

There’s no one size fits all. Care homes and other residential facilities are heavily structured, but Home Care fits existing routines. Our Visiting Care can be short or long, once a week or five times a day. However much or little is needed, Home Care can be adapted to make a bespoke care plan.

Home Care isn’t just about physical health. Our services include emotional support too, such as companionship to provide a friendly face and to mitigate elderly loneliness. Our Companion Carers accompany clients to activities and day trips they choose and provide a friendly, paid befriending service when it’s needed most. Support isn’t just for the person receiving care either. Our Palliative Care service also offers support for family and friends struggling with a loved one’s diagnosis.

Residential care can offer a sense of community in the immediate facility, but our clients like to stay connected to their local area where they can continue to access local community activities. Our Home Carers are on hand to help them get out and about in the local area and enjoy life.

One of the key reasons why people choose Home Care is because they want to maintain independence. Staying at home means familiarity and comfort, which can give a sense of security and autonomy that may not be as true of a residential care setting.

Home Care offers personalised, bespoke assistance that focuses on people’s specific needs and preferences. The way you make the bed, style your hair, or make breakfast is all part of what makes home feel like home. Our Carers work with you to ensure this continues. Personalised care plans are customised to each person. Our personalised care is all about making life easier and maintaining as much independence as possible.

Home Care services are focused on supporting individuals in daily life while respecting individual autonomy. Our clients make choices about their own routines, preferences and lifestyle. If they have a mental condition or disability, our Home Care services focus on achieving goals and maintaining independence as much as possible.

Who can benefit from Home Care?

Home Care is a flexible service that can benefit all kinds of people with different needs and challenges. Services can include Convalescent Care after a surgery or hospital stay, ongoing support for long term conditions, or Respite Care when a primary caregiver is away from the home. Here are some examples of people we support:

People, as they age, choose Home Care as a way to stay at home for as long as possible. Our Elderly Care at Home includes everything from help using the bathroom to getting ready for the day, preparing meals to managing medication.

Regular unpaid caregivers needing regular breaks can choose our Home Respite Care to avoid carer burnout and our Emergency Care at Home is available when circumstances change suddenly.

Alina Homecare provides Home Care for people with physical and cognitive disabilities enabling them to achieve their goals and maintain independence.

Our Carers are professionally trained to provide mobility support for those who struggle to get around.

People with terminal illnesses can choose Palliative Home Care so they can be at home, surrounded by treasured memories and home comforts.

Chronic conditions like arthritis, Parkinson’s, dementia and Multiple Sclerosis require ongoing long term care. In these instances, many people choose Home Care to stay at home while receiving the care they need such as mobility support.

Our Care at Home Team members can provide Home Care for people with mental health challenges, including elderly loneliness.

Our Home Care Assistants can remind clients to take prescribed medication, whether it be supporting with opening a dosette box or using our care monitoring app. to track medication schedules and reminders.

Our After Hospital Care service is a form of support focused on helping people convalesce during a vulnerable time. This could include Personal Care such as maintaining hygiene or an elderly sitting service such as help using the bathroom during the night.

Who provides Home Care?

Home Care agencies provide a range of services and must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which monitors, inspects and regulates these agencies to ensure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. Home Care providers like Alina Homecare provide trained staff to deliver our Home Care services in people’s homes.

Alina Homecare is a highly reputable Home Care provider with a growing network of branches. Each branch has trained and qualified Carers able to offer a full range of Home Care services to people with different needs. Carers are thoroughly trained in our own exclusive Academy and many draw from years of experience to ensure the delivery of high quality and compassionate Home Care.

They provide a wide range of help with household tasks, Personal Care, accompanying clients to medical appointments or more pleasurable trips to local venues. Depending on the specific needs of the individual, a Home Caregiver can be flexible , offering a broad range of support to help the person lead an independent, happy and safe life.

Our Home Carers are patient, kind and sympathetic by nature.

How does Home Care compare?

How does Home Care compare with a care home?

How to decide between a care home and Home Care?

1. What are the specific care needs?
Think about the type and quantity of care needed – Home Care may not always be the best option for very complex needs and residential care may be expensive if only basic care needs are required.

2. What does the person needing care want to do?
Think about what’s important to you or your family members and loved ones – do they value independence and want to stay in their own home? Or would they benefit from having similar aged people around them and scheduled activities?

3. Is there a strong support network?
If you, your family members or a loved one do not have a support network at home, a residential facility offers a ready made network of professionals who are there to help. Conversely, Home Care can help with this during agreed visits, although this can be managed by choosing Live-in Care or Overnight Care instead.

4. How much does it cost?
Consider the costs of each care option; costs vary depending on specific needs. To get started, complete our costs calculator or contact your local Alina Homecare Team.

How does Home Care compare with Live-in Care?

Home Care and Live-in Care are two types of care that offer assistance to people in their own home. There are some key differences, which we’ve explored below:

How can I decide between Live-in Care and Home Care?

1. How much care is needed?
Home Care may be more suitable if the person requiring care has more moderate needs, whereas Live-in Care provides round the clock, continuous support which can suit more complex needs.

2. What budget is available?
Home Care and Live-in Care costs aren’t directly comparable because they offer different levels of support. Home Care costs are more flexible by nature, as choosing to have less visits can reduce costs if your budget requires this. Live-in Care is a more expensive option but this is because a Live-in Carer is available all times of day as opposed to set home visits. To learn more and explore the cost of Home Care, complete our costs calculator.

3. What does the person needing care want to do?
For people who value privacy and don’t want someone living in their home, Home Care could make more sense. On the other hand, if someone is looking for continuous companionship, the immediacy of Live-in Care could be preferable.

4. Is there a strong support network?
If you or your loved one don’t have a support network, Live-in Care offers round the clock assistance and immediate support. Home Care can also provide this, but only during agreed visits.

How much is Home Care?

There are different financial options and funding choices for care; your local council may offer financial support, or you may have to self-fund. Regardless of your circumstances, contact Alina Homecare and we’ll help you work out the best way forward.

While the specific needs of each person and the time required for each care visit will determine the cost of care, our charges are competitive. Our Carers are highly trained and care can be put in place quickly.

Whatever care provider you choose, select Home Care that suits your specific needs. This could start from short Home Care visits to longer and overnight visits to 24 Hour Care at Home. More complex needs, such as the need for a hoist to get access to a bathroom and/or to get out of bed in the morning, can also be arranged.

How to pay for Home Care?

How to pay and fund Home Care will vary depending on a person’s individual circumstances, needs and assets. Here are some common ways you can fund Home Care in the UK:

You may qualify for some local authority care funding. Local authorities only have resources to fund people who meet certain criteria. It’s means tested to determine who can receive financial help.

You can have a financial assessment from your local council to see if you qualify. If you do, your local authority will contribute towards the care. If you’re ineligible, the local authority must still provide information on how to get help in your area.

During the assessment, a Financial Assessment Officer visits your home and investigates earnings, pensions, benefits, savings and your property (including overseas property). It’s worth nothing, if you need a paid Home Carer then the value of your house won’t be included in the financial assessment. However, if you’re paying for a care home, the value of your house will be included unless your partner is still living in it.

Local authority care funding is determined by the following:

• If you have between £14,250 and £23,250, the local authority will contribute
• If you have less than £14,250, the local authority will pay for your care

The financial assessment is free and the local authority will work out how much you need to contribute. If you’re eligible, it may be that the local authority pays the maximum amount towards your care and you must contribute the rest. Alternatively, they’ll determine whether you need to pay the larger contribution and they’ll pay the smaller amount. They’ll regularly reassess your finances, usually annually, to reaffirm if you meet the eligibility requirements.

If the local authority is going to pay towards your care, they’ll give you a personal budget. The personal budget can be managed by your local authority, which will arrange care and pay the care provider directly on your behalf.

Alternatively, you can choose to receive the personal budget as a direct payment into your bank account for you to use against certain types of care. The local authority may then ask for receipts to prove you’re spending the money appropriately.

Receiving direct payments allows you to have more flexibility with spending your personal budget on care. For example, you could:

• Buy equipment or pay for necessary home adaptations to suit your needs
• Employ your own Care Workers
• Explore services from private, professional care providers

If the financial assessment finds you’re ineligible for local authority contributions, you may still be eligible for other state benefits, depending on personal circumstances.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP) is a state benefit available to people living with a long term physical or mental health condition or disability. It’s available for people between 16 and State Pension age (65) who have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of their condition.

There are two elements to PIP and you may be able to claim one or both:

• Daily Living: if you need help with daily tasks, such as eating and drinking, washing and dressing
• Mobility: if you need help going out because of physical, sensory, mental or learning difficulties

Having a long term illness or disability can make everyday life more challenging and affect your income. For instance, if you need to give up work or reduce working hours then PIP gives you extra money to help pay for things. It’s tax free and available whether you work or not. It’s not means tested so how much you earn is irrelevant.

If you’re awarded PIP before you get to State Pension Age, you’ll continue to receive it afterwards too.

If you’re State Pension Age (65) or above and have care needs, you can claim for Attendance Allowance. Like PIP, Attendance Allowance is a state benefit that helps with the extra costs of living with a disability severe enough that you need help caring for yourself.

The eligibility for Attendance Allowance is:

• You have a physical disability or mental disability, including sight or hearing impairments or a condition such as dementia
• The disability is severe enough that you need care or supervision for your own safety
• You’ve needed that care or supervision for at least six months

It’s not means tested so your earnings or any savings won’t affect how much you receive. However, it’s paid two-weekly at two different rates and the rate you receive depends on the level of help needed.

The NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) scheme is a package of support provided outside of a hospital to adults with complex health needs. It’s arranged and funded solely by the NHS.

The scheme isn’t dependent on specific diagnoses or conditions. Instead, eligibility is determined according to the following criteria:

• What help you need
• Complexity of your needs
• Intensity of your needs
• Unpredictability of your needs, including any health risks if the right care isn’t provided

To check eligibility, you must be assessed for NHS Continuing Healthcare by a Team of healthcare professionals, known as Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). If your needs change then your eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare may also change.

Self funded Home Care means you’re paying for your own care. This may be because you’re ineligible for local authority care funding if your assets are greater than £23,250.

In this case, you can arrange and pay for private care yourself without involving the local council. Alternatively, you can ask the council to arrange and pay for your Home Care, then the council will bill you directly. It’s worth nothing that not all councils offer this service and some may charge a fee for acting between you and your care provider.

If your local council isn’t providing financial help towards your care, you can still seek advice from them to support you. The local council can do a needs assessment to check what care you might need. This assessment is free and can determine whether you need help from a paid Carer for a few hours a day or week and precisely what they should help you with.

There are several ways you can raise funds to pay for your own care, such as using savings and investments or income from pensions. It’s essential to make sure you’re getting all the benefits you’re entitled to, such as Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance mentioned above.

If you’re struggling to self fund care, you may consider selling your home and downsizing to a smaller property, or letting a spare room to a lodger if you can. Another option is to consider equity release schemes, but you should always seek professional advice from a financial advisor before considering this.

Remember, you may not always be self funded. Once your assets fall below the current threshold, you may then qualify for local authority care funding and can request another financial assessment.

A lifetime mortgage is a type of equity release available to homeowners aged 55 or over. They allow homeowners to access equity in their property whilst they retain ownership.

They’re the most common way of releasing equity by allowing you to borrow money against your home as a lump sum or as regular income.

Unlike a traditional mortgage, a lifetime mortgage doesn’t involve repayments to the lender. Instead, interest is added to the balance so the amount owed increases over time. The loan is only repaid when the homeowner dies or moves into residential care. Once the property is sold, the loan is repaid from the sale.

An advantage of lifetime mortgages is that the homeowner can access equity in their property without selling it. However, this may not be the best way to borrow money. As interest is added to the loan over what could be a long period of time, this mounts up and you could end up repaying almost as much as you borrowed. Once the property is sold, this could have an impact on how much is left for inheritance.

Borrowing money as a lump sum means interest is charged on the whole amount at a fixed rate. However, borrowing money as and when you need it means only paying interest on the money you’ve taken. Spreading out your borrowing will therefore reduce the impact of compound interest.

If you decide to repay your loan early, this often results in an early repayment charge. The penalty charge depends on how long you’ve had the loan but, in some cases, it can be as high as 25%. However, some partial repayments can be penalty free, but there may be a limit on how much you can repay per year.

Equity release can be right for some people but it’s an expensive way to borrow money. If you’re considering it, it’s crucial you seek financial advice from a professional advisor.

Home reversion plans are another type of equity release, only available to people aged 65 or over. They allow the homeowner to sell a share of their home to a reversion company in exchange for a lump sum or regular income.

Unlike lifetime mortgages, the homeowner sells a portion of their property rather than borrowing against it. They can then continue living in the home rent free for the rest of their life or until they decide to sell the property.

Once the property is sold, the reversion company will receive their purchased share of the sale proceeds while the homeowner receives the rest. For example, if the homeowner sold 25% of the property to the home reversion company, the reversion company would subsequently receive 25% of the sale price.

The main advantage of a home reversion plan is that the homeowner can access equity from their home without selling it completely. They’re able to continue living at home rent free. However, the amount of equity left in the property is reduced which will have an impact on inheritance.

Releasing equity from your property is a big decision and home reversion plans can ultimately be very expensive. They should only be considered if you’ve sought professional financial advice.