Home Care

What is it?

Home Care services, also known as home support, home help, domiciliary care or care at home, provide care and support to people in the comfort of their own home.  The aim of Home Care is to support people to live as independently as possible in their own home and receive care that meets their needs. People using these services will be supported to feel physically and emotionally safe in their home and community. Many people prefer a Home Care service as an alternative to moving into a care home.

Home Care involves having someone come into your home and provide help with a range of care needs, which includes assistance with personal care such as:

• washing and dressing
• food preparation
• assistance going to bed and getting out of bed

and assistance with practical and domestic tasks such as:

• shopping
• laundry
• collecting prescription

More specialised home care tasks such as assistance with catheter care, assistance with specialised feeding, assistance with stoma care and/or assistance with skin care are also available where a social work assessment considers these appropriate. This service is provided by a home carer who receives support and guidance from a District Nurse.

Home Care can usually be a flexible arrangement and you may only need a small amount of support. The Home Care service may be on a temporary, occasional or long-term basis and can be available during the day, at night, over weekends, or different days of the week.

How do I know if I need Home Care?

Home care services are for people who need help with personal care and/or practical domestic tasks. If you need assistance with either of these then you may benefit from Home Care.

How do I arrange a Home Care Service?

You can contact home care providers directly for help in order to arrange your own Home Care Service.

Alternatively you can contact Social Work Services to see if they can provide help. If you do not have a Social Worker then you, or someone on your behalf, can call Health and Social Care Connect, on 0141 287 0555, for advice and information or to arrange for your needs to be assessed. If you already have a Social Worker then contact your Health and Social Care Connect to request an assessment of your needs. An assessment is an important step in deciding the type and level of support you may require and the best way to meet your care needs. Even if you organise or pay privately for your care, it is still a good idea to have an assessment in order to help you understand what type of care and support is available to you.

How much will it cost?

If you organise and pay for Home Care support yourself through a private arrangement, prices will vary.

No matter who your provider is, you must be told what service they will provide and how much it will cost before the service begins.

If you have been assessed as needing Home Care by Social Work Services, there may be a charge for your Home Care Service. This will be based on your ability to pay rather than the cost of services you need. We will carry out a financial assessment to assess your ability to pay. As part of the assessment we will also check you are receiving any benefits you may be entitled to. For standard Home Care charges - see our Client Contribution Guide for more information.

Because of a government policy called 'free personal care', there is no charge for the provision of personal care tasks. There may, however, be charges for other non-personal care services, for example, shopping.

Personal Care tasks 

Personal care is:

• Assistance with laundry associated with a medical condition, for example bed changing
• Food preparation
• Special preparation of food associated with dietary requirements
• Assistance with eating/drinking
• Assistance with specialist feeding
• Assistance with getting out of bed
• Assistance going to bed
• Assistance with dressing/undressing
• Assistance with washing and bathing
• Assistance with personal grooming / dental hygiene, for example shaving and nail care
• Assistance with continence care
• Assistance with toileting
• Assistance with stoma care
• Assistance with medication supervising / reminding
• Assistance with mobility
• Assistance with skin care
• Administering of medication (including administering of oxygen)
• Rehab work (under the support of a professional)

For standard Home Care charges - see our Client Contribution Guide for more information.