Cost of care at home in Northern Ireland

If you live in Northern Ireland then arranging care at home (also known as in-home care, home care, or domiciliary care) can be a cost-effective option.

What is the cost of care at home in Northern Ireland?

The average cost of care at home in Northern Ireland is £13.70 (source: UKHCA Minimum Price for Homecare 2018).

This works out to £10,000 per year, based on 14 hours of care per week.

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Paying for care at home in Northern Ireland

When thinking about paying for care at home, you should check if you qualify for funding. This starts by arranging a care needs assessment through your local trust. The assessment evaluates your daily support requirements. It’s designed to reveal whether your needs can be accommodated at home.

Don’t forget: you must do the assessment prior to agreeing any at-home care contracts. If you don’t, and proceed to arrange care, you may lose out on funding.

If the trust agrees you need care at home, you can usually receive direct payments. Direct payments are local trust payments for people who have been assessed as needing help from social services, and who would like to arrange and pay for their own care and support services instead of having them provided by the trust.

Once you know how much your direct payments will be, you can work out how much to pay a carer and how many hours a week you would like them to work.

Your care package may include:

• washing
• dressing
• cooking
• cleaning
• managing finances

Care packages can start very small – it can be as simple as coming around and having a cup of tea and a chat, helping with the shopping, or helping to tidy up.

If you want to use a more expensive care service than is covered by the direct payments, or pay for extra hours, you can top up the direct payments yourself.

Live-in home care (when a trained carer lives in the home of the person needing care) can cost from around £650 per week. For more complex needs, that charge could reach approximately £1,600 per week.

But what if you require 24/7 care at home? Round-the-clock care can easily exceed £150,000 per year, on average. If that’s the case, you may decide that residential care is more cost-effective.

That being the case, you may still be able to pay less for a live-in carer. Some introductory agencies, who connect you with self-employed carers, can cost significantly less.

Are you comparing the cost of care at home in Northern Ireland with the cost of a care home? We can help — click here to learn more about care home fees in Northern Ireland.

If you’ve reached the stage where you’re thinking about care at home, you may also benefit from advice on how to broach the subject of care.

Frequently asked questions

Do you pay for care at home in Northern Ireland?

Trusts in Northern Ireland tend not to charge for care at home services. Home help is sometimes charged on a means-tested basis. However, no one over the age of 75 is required to pay for home help. 

How much does care at home cost in Northern Ireland?

In Northern Ireland the average price of care at home is £13.70 (source: UKHCA Minimum Price for Homecare 2018). This works out to £10,000 per year, based on 14 hours of care per week.

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