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What is domiciliary care?
The domiciliary care meaning is when a person is provided with care in their own home – often making people receiving feel more comfortable and secure.
Domiciliary care – sometimes referred to as ‘care at home” – is a home care service that is carried out by either a domiciliary carer visiting you in your own home, or living in your home with you, ensuring someone is close at hand to support you.
Domiciliary home care can be appropriate if you require help with practical tasks or personal care but don’t want to move into a care home. This at-home assistance offers a range of services that can help you with your daily tasks, including:
- Cooking
- Cleaning and laundry
- Preparing meals
- Bathing and personal care
- Dressing
- Helping with medication
- Pet care
Many people prefer the home care service, as it allows people needing care to stay in their own home where they feel safe and secure, rather than moving into a care home – and that is why domiciliary care is a popular care option in the UK.
But what does domiciliary care mean for recipients?
Types of domiciliary care services
Domiciliary care examples include:
Companionship care
There is no task too small for domiciliary care workers. They could start their care relationship with your loved one as informally as popping in for a cup of tea and a chat – this is called companionship care.
Companionship care typically involves a social visit, help with shopping and sometimes cooking and light cleaning.
Housing support
Domiciliary carers undertaking housing support will visit a few times a week to help with paying bills, opening mail and generally anything that helps you maintain your home.
This home care service is especially useful for people with learning disabilities or mental health conditions.
Domiciliary care with two carers
If you need support getting in and out of bed or walking, many care agencies offer domiciliary care services with two carers.
Multiple care visits per day
Many domiciliary care agencies will offer care with multiple visits per day – for example, a visit to the home in the morning, midday and before bed.
Live-in care
If your loved one would like to remain in their own home, then live-in care will likely be the best option for them – as a trained domiciliary carer will move into your home to offer home care service when needed.
Live-in care is a good solution if you typically sleep well through the night, as the carer will also be asleep.
24-hour care
If you wake up more than twice a night, 24-hour care will be the better choice over live-in care. A live-in domiciliary carer will sleep when you sleep, whereas 24-hour care means there will be a carer in your own home who is awake while you sleep, and another carer on hand for when you are awake.
Nursing domiciliary care
If you need support with things like injections, changing or applying dressings, assisting with oxygen or other nursing help, some domiciliary home care agencies can offer you specialty nursing care support.
Domiciliary care examples
We’ve looked at domiciliary care services, but what are some domiciliary care examples for your day-to-day routine?
Example of companionship care
Barbara lives alone in her flat and does her own cooking and cleaning. She thinks it would be useful for someone to help out with the shopping, as she’s finding it more difficult to get to the supermarket.
Barbara’s domiciliary carer visits every Friday to drive her to the shops and help with the heavy items. She then stays on afterwards to unpack the shopping and have a cup of tea and a chat before leaving again.
Example of daily care visits to the home
Khalid is 78 and is managing well at home, but is finding that it’s taking longer and longer to get washed and dressed every day.
Khalid’s carer visits twice a day – first, she visits in the morning to help him get out of bed safely, assists him with showering, then helps him get dressed. She helps him prepare his breakfast and tidies up the kitchen afterwards. She also double-checks that he’s taken his medication and is set up for the day before she leaves.
In the evening, she comes back and makes supper if Khalid hasn’t already done it, chats with him and helps lay out his clothes for tomorrow morning. She helps him into bed then double-checks that all his doors and windows are secure before leaving again.
Example of 24-hour domiciliary care
Geoffrey is 84 and his wife Valerie is 80. Valerie is Geoffrey’s main carer and is starting to find it difficult as Geoffrey wakes up many times during the night and needs more support during the day.
Geoffrey’s daytime domiciliary carer arrives in the morning and helps Geoffrey get out of bed, shower and get dressed. She then makes breakfast for both Geoffrey and Valerie and tidies up while they eat.
During the day, she’s on hand for any of Geoffrey’s needs – for example, going for a walk, going to doctor’s appointments, changing the bed or helping him to the toilet. She also makes the meals and any snacks.
In the evening, Geoffrey’s night time domiciliary carer arrives and the daytime carer leaves. The night time carer helps Geoffrey get ready for bed and then assists him getting into bed, and is also on hand to assist Geoffrey if he wakes up in the night and gives him reassurance, helping Valerie get her sleep.
What are the benefits of domiciliary care?
What is the difference between domiciliary care and residential care? Receiving care in your own home and community, where you feel safe and comfortable, compared to a new environment within a residential home, is a huge benefit for many people.
This means a person receiving care can maintain their independence in familiar surroundings with peace of mind that they are always being supported.
Domiciliary care is regulated by the Care Inspectorate in Scotland and Wales, Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England, and the Regulation and Quality Improvement Authority (RQIA) in Northern Ireland.
How much does domiciliary care cost and who pays for it?
Domiciliary care costs will vary depending on a number of factors.
However, across the UK, the average cost is £23-£34 per hour. If you needed home care for two hours a day at a rate of £30 per hour, for example, that means you will pay:
- £420 per week
- £1,680 per month
- £20,160 a year
Domiciliary care costs in the UK, and the amount of funding you could receive for domiciliary home care will likely change significantly depending on where you like in the country and your specific needs and circumstances.
Domiciliary care funding in England
Domiciliary care funding is means-tested in England, which means that the amount of support you will get depends on how much you have in savings and assets (not including the value of your home).
Residents of England should qualify for full support if they own less than £23,250 in savings and assets.
Domiciliary care funding in Scotland
Everyone in Scotland over the age of 65 is entitled to free personal care in their home if they are assessed by a social worker as requiring it, however, there can be significant delays to receive this free care. This guide details what funding is available for domiciliary care in Scotland.
Domiciliary care funding in Wales
Social care is not free in Wales, but the Welsh Government caps the amount you may be charged for domiciliary care or home help services. Your local authority cannot charge you more than £100 a week for domiciliary care. This guide details what funding is available for domiciliary care in Wales.
Domiciliary care funding in Northern Ireland
In Northern Ireland, domiciliary care is often provided free of charge to the recipient. For more details, read our guide to what funding is available for domiciliary care in Northern Ireland.
What is a care assessment from a care agency?
Once you have contacted a domiciliary home care provider who can help you, they will visit your home to provide a care assessment.
The purpose of the care assessment – otherwise known as a ‘risk assessment’ – is to make sure that care providers can safely deliver the care you need. A typical care assessment will include:
- Visit and goals: a care manager will visit your home and ask questions about what you want from your home care service and any goals your loved one has. For example, they may want to go for longer walks, recover from an injury, etc Environmental assessment: the care manager will carry out an “environmental assessment” of your home. This is a simple check to see if any adjustments need to be made to your home to deliver your care. For example, this might involve rearranging furniture
- Basics of visiting: the care manager will confirm how the domiciliary carer will enter your home, the times of the visit(s) and how the carer will log their visits
- Emergency contacts: the care manager will check that they have the correct contact details for you and any family members or friends in case of any emergency
- Discussing terms and payment: the care manager will go over their terms of business, how any payments will work, their complaints process and other terms.
- Questions: the care assessment is for you to ask questions as well. Here is a list of questions you may want to ask the care manager during your assessment.
How do I decide which care agency is right for me?
First, you need to decide the types of domiciliary care that would work best for your loved one, and then you need to find which particular care agency will provide the best service for them.
Here are a few guides to help you decide:
- Ask if you can meet your domiciliary carer(s). It’s OK to ask your care agency if you can meet the people who will be visiting your home before any care starts
- Ask the care agency for any testimonials and reviews about their service. You can also search Google for reviews about the agency.
- Review the CQC or Care Inspectorate rating: all care providers will have an official care rating issued by the Care Quality Commission in England or the Care Inspectorate in Scotland
- Talk to each agency about what’s most important to you. It’s important that you are getting the kind of care that you want, and if you discuss your priorities with each agency, you can get a clearer idea of how exactly they can support you
To find the right care for your loved one, we recommend completing the care plan via the KareHero App and then book in a call with a Care Expert who can help you find the best care for your loved one.
What if I’m not happy with the care that I have received?
If you’re not happy with the care you have received, your first step should be to work with your care agency to resolve the problem.
Your care agency should have a formal complaints process that you can follow, with an opportunity to escalate any complaint, and you can call the agency to ask for the details.
Most care agencies will work with you if you would like to ask to change your domiciliary carer, the timings of the care or because of other problems that need to be addressed.
It’s important for your loved one to not let problems build up. It’s OK to raise your concerns at any time, and doing so promptly will allow you and the care agency to work together to resolve any concerns you have.
If you still aren’t happy with the level of care that you have received, you can ask to change providers. This is often called a “re-provision” of care. If the local authority or local council is funding all or part of your care, you will need to tell them that you want to change care agencies.
If you are paying for the care privately, you can simply search for a new care agency who will better suit your needs.
If you have a serious concern about a care agency’s service or someone’s safety, you can anonymously report an agency to the Care Quality Commission, the Care Inspectorate. or the
Frequently asked questions
- What does domiciliary care mean? The domiciliary care meaning is when a person is provided with care in their own home – often making people receiving feel more comfortable and secure
- What is the difference between supported living and domiciliary care? Domiciliary care is provided within your own home where a domiciliary carer will assist you, whereas the purpose of supported living is to enable people with physical needs, a learning disability, autism or mental health condition to retain their independence
- How much do domiciliary carers get paid? The average salary for Domiciliary Care jobs is £20,536
- Who can use domiciliary care? Domiciliary Care is available for people of all ages if they need assistance and care but would like to stay in their own home