Home Care (Domiciliary Care)

What is home care?

Home care is sometimes called domiciliary care or home help. It is when care workers visit people in their own homes to give them help and support. These care workers can help with your personal care needs, such as washing and getting dressed, and practical tasks such as preparing simple snacks or frozen meals. We don't usually provide cleaning.

At first, we may offer what we call a 'rehabilitation' service. ‘Rehabilitation’ means that we work with you for a short time, to give you the confidence and skills to live independently in your own home. So you may receive help at first, which might not carry on long-term.

Who can receive this service?

Firstly, you must:
• be over 18, and
• have had an assessment carried out by us, which showed that you need help. 

We explain more about what an assessment is below. We have guidelines called 'eligibility criteria' to help us decide who can use our services, because unfortunately we can’t help everyone.

The Government set these guidelines to make sure that everyone in the country has the same chance of getting help. To find out more visit our assessment and eligibility page.

How do you ask for home care?

You need to ring 01782-234050 or 01782-234235 where you can speak to a Contact Centre Advisor and they will ask you some questions to start the referral process.

 What is an assessment?

One of our assessors will visit you, to talk about what you need. After they have talked to you and anyone else involved, like your GP, District Nurse, or a person who cares for you, we will be able to decide if we can offer you support. Because our resources are limited, we can only help people who are most in need.

If the assessment shows that you don’t qualify for this help, we will give you a list of independent agencies or voluntary organisations, who also provide practical care in people’s homes. All these agencies will meet our quality standards. You will then be able to contact them directly if you wish.

Is there a charge?

If it's decided that you will be receiving care at home, you may need to pay something towards the cost of it. The cost will be worked out on what you can afford to pay. But we will tell you more about this when we speak to you. Or you can look at find out more by visiting our assessment and eligibility page.

To find out more about home care, including who might provide your care if you qualify for support, and how we check that your care is working, you can visit our home care page.