Care at Home in the UK in Bedfordshire in Berkshire in Blaenau Gwent in Bridgend (Pen-y-bont ar Ogwr) in Bristol in Buckinghamshire in Caerphilly (Caerffili) in Cambridgeshire in Cardiff (Caerdydd) in Carmarthenshire (Sir Gaerfyrddin) in Ceredigion in Cheshire in Conwy in Cornwall in Cumbria in Denbighshire (Sir Ddinbych) in Derbyshire in Devon in Dorset in Durham in East Riding of Yorkshire in East Sussex in Essex in Flintshire (Sir y Fflint) in Gloucestershire in Greater Manchester in Gwynedd in Hampshire in Herefordshire in Hertfordshire in Isle of Anglesea (Ynys Môn) in Kent in Lancashire in Leicestershire in Lincolnshire in London (North East) in London (North) in London (South East) in London (South West) in London (West) in Merseyside in Merthyr Tydfil (Merthyr Tudful) in Monmouthshire (Sir Fynwy) in Neath Port Talbot in Newport (Casnewydd) in Norfolk in North Yorkshire in Northamptonshire in Northumberland in Nottinghamshire in Oxfordshire in Pembrokeshire (Sir Benfro) in Powys in Rhondda Cynon Taff in Shropshire in Somerset in South Yorkshire in Staffordshire in Suffolk in Surrey in Swansea (Abertawe) in Torfaen (Tor-faen) in Tyne and Wear in Vale of Glamorgan (Bro Morgannwg) in Warwickshire in West Midlands in West Sussex in West Yorkshire in Wiltshire in Worcestershire in Wrexham (Wrecsam)

“When asked, many older people would prefer to remain in their own homes if they needed care and indeed, for some time now, it has been government policy to encourage and enable this to happen. Whatever the reason for needing it there is a myriad of help, care and support available if you know where to turn to get it.” – First Stop

Introduction from Age Uk

Most of us want to live independently in our own homes for as long as possible. As we get older, we may need support and assistance to enable us to do so. This can take the form of personal care, making our home more suitable for our needs or financial assistance from benefits or elsewhere.

Help you might be able to get includes:

• Personal care
• Help to manage and feel safe at home
• Financial assistance
• Health services
• The local authority social services department is the main state provider of assistance.

As an older person you will almost certainly be entitled to an assessment to establish what your needs are and suggest how those needs can be taken care of.

Each local authority sets eligibility criteria, which are rules identifying the services they will provide for different levels of need. Even if you do not want your authority to arrange services for you, the assessment is useful as a way of identifying what services might benefit you.

Contact your local authority social services department and ask them to carry out an assessment of your needs. Their number should available under the "Your County" section of this website or your local Age UK partner can tell you how to contact them - call us free on 0800 169 6565 to find your nearest one.

Personal care

Personal care means help with tasks like getting up and getting dressed, washing and bathing. Providers of this kind of care include social services, private care agencies and voluntary organisations.

Across the UK, agencies that provide personal care workers have to be registered with the regulatory body for care services in that nation and are regularly inspected to ensure that minimum standards are met. If you need personal care or assistance with your essential daily tasks, you may be eligible for Attendance Allowance or Disability Living Allowance.

Information on living independently and employing care workers is available from the National Centre for Independent Living website: www.ncil.org.uk

Help with your house and garden

You may require help with housework, gardening, shopping, laundry and other day-to-day tasks. Many local authorities only offer limited assistance with these. Local voluntary organisations, including Age UK and Age Concern groups, may run services or you can employ someone privately.

Local voluntary services

Local voluntary organisations and charities operate in most areas. They may deliver services on behalf of the local authority but can be particularly useful in covering activities that your local authority does not provide. Examples include gardening and handyperson services, befriending schemes and social activities.

There are around 400 local Age UK / Age Concern groups, each offering a range of services and activities to the communities in which they are based. Call Age UK advice free on 0800 169 6565 to find your nearest one.

Is there any help for people who look after me?

You may be helped by a family member or friend rather than a paid care worker. That person is a carer even if they do not realise it.

When looking at your needs, the local authority should not make assumptions about how much support your carer can provide.

Nor should your carer feel pressured to do more than they can comfortably cope with.

Your carer is also entitled to ask for their own needs assessment. Carers can receive services to help them carry out their caring role. Often what carers find most valuable is the opportunity to have a break from their responsibilities, even for a short time.

Financial support for carers is not generous. There is a benefit called Carers Allowance paid to carers who provide more than 35 hours’ care for a disabled person but the amount payable is low and any other income your carer has may affect their eligibility.

Carers can often benefit from sharing their experiences with other carers. There may be a group in your area where carers can support each other – Visit the Carers UK website:www.carersuk.org or call them free on: 0808 808 7777 for information about help available to carers.

‘My befriender comes in for a chat, a cup of tea and a chocolate biscuit. It is the highlight of my week.’

Short breaks for you or your carer

You or your carer may need a break to recharge your batteries. Services provided to enable you to do this are known as respite care. It might involve a short stay in a care home or other residential establishment. Even a break for a short time, such as an afternoon to go to the cinema or attend a social club, can make a big difference to the person concerned. Ask your local authority for information about respite care, including how it is charged for.

Assessing Your Care and Support needs

The need for care can arise for different reasons. It might be a permanent need as a result of a disability, illness or frailty in old age or it might be just a temporary need to get over an accident or illness. Whatever the reason it is important to obtain a professional assessment of your needs. The first port of call for this is your local social services department which has a duty to assess the care needs of anyone who has been identified as possibly needing community care services that can be provided by them. These could include home care at home, meals on wheels, day care, equipment and alterations to your home, care in a care home or respite care. There is no charge for an assessment from the council. Alternatively, if you can afford it, there are also independent agencies that can do this privately. Professionals assessing your needs decide what services or support can be provided to meet your needs. These could range from home help to a live-in carer or from adapting your home to recommending alternative accommodation.

Sadly, many local authorities on tight budgets can only provide care to those people who have substantial or critical needs so it is a good idea to ask them to describe what procedures, priorities, and rules they use to decide whether they will provide services, and if they will help to pay for them. Ask them to explain about how their rules apply to your situation.

There are no national eligibility criteria for community care services, but there is government guidance, on which each council must base its services on. Details of the services that your council provides should be available from the local council offices or in most cases available on their website. Your GP’s surgery or local Age Concern should also be able to help you understand the local eligibility criteria and how to access services.

The assessment is the first stage in getting the help and support you might need and must be carried out by your local council before they can provide or arrange any services for you. Even if you will be arranging for and paying privately for your care it is still a good idea to have a proper assessment to help you understand and decide what sort of care and support you need and is available. To get an assessment you should contact your local social services department. If you are unable to do this your GP, community nurse, any other professional worker or a friend or relative, with your permission can contact social services on your behalf.

Advice Line: 0800 377 7070 

Help At Home

The first step towards getting help from Social Services is to ask your GP or to contact your local authority. The local authority are then obliged to carry out an assessment to determine your needs.

If it is assessed that you require carers in your own home, your local authority can provide services directly or arrange for services from another organisation. Alternatively local authorities can make Direct Payments to you for arranging care yourself. (Please see you local council)

It may be that you are able to live with greater independence with a few adaptations to your home. Your local authority can arrange for an assessment from an occupational therapist to help you identify your needs.

Help With Care in Your Own Home

Most of us want to live independently in our own homes for as long as possible. As we get older, we may need support and assistance to enable us to do so. This can take the form of personal care, making our home more suitable for our needs or financial assistance from benefits or elsewhere.

It can be difficult to identify what assistance will benefit you, particularly if you have not sought help before.

Help you might be able to get could include: personal care, help to manage and feel safe at home, financial assistance, and/or health services.

For more information and details for your local Age Concern, please visit www.ageuk.org.uk 

Age UK produces a range of free advice leaflets and information sheets for older people. You can see a full list of Age UK publications by clicking here

Or you can call the advice line on: 0800 169 6565

The National Homecare Council  

Services that support people at home are widely acknowledged as being central to the quality of life of those people who need support to regain, maintain or sustain their independence. It is essential to have a forum for debate and to learn from good practice concerning services which provide this support, recognising that, in today’s world, these services come from many sources. The National Homecare Council provides this forum, working closely with other partners active in these areas of work, regionally, nationally and internationally and is a representative organisation of public sector organisations concerned with the commissioning and direct provision of services that support people at home.

 www.homecare.gov.uk