If you’ve started looking into home care services for yourself or someone in your family, you’ve probably noticed there’s a lot to take in. What counts as home care, what it actually costs, who pays for it, whether it’s better than a care home. This guide brings all of that together in one place.

Home care services send a trained carer to your own home instead of asking you to move into a residential facility. That could mean a short visit in the morning to help someone get washed and dressed or a carer living with you full time. In the UK, these services are run by agencies registered with the Care Quality Commission and families pay for them privately, through their local council or in some cases the NHS covers the whole cost.

What are home care services?

Home care services, sometimes called domiciliary care or home help care services, mean professional support delivered in someone’s own home rather than in a care home or hospital ward. A carer comes to you. They might visit for half an hour or move in permanently, depending on what’s needed.

The whole thing usually starts with a conversation. A care coordinator visits the person first to understand their situation: how they get around, what health conditions they’re managing, what a normal day looks like for them and what actually matters to them day to day. From there, the agency builds a plan and a rota and the carer works from that when they visit.

Who tends to use home care services?

• Older people who need help with everyday tasks
• People recovering after a hospital stay or surgery
• Adults with a physical or learning disability
• People managing a long term condition such as Parkinson’s or dementia

What links all of them is simple. They’d rather stay in their own home than move somewhere else and home care makes that possible.

Some families use home care services to top up what they’re already doing themselves. Others rely on it as the main source of support, particularly when relatives live far away or work full time. Either way, the agency is the one responsible for training the carer, covering them when they’re off and supervising the quality of care. That’s really what separates a properly run home help care services provider from an informal, unregulated arrangement.

Types of home care services in the UK

No two households need exactly the same thing so providers usually offer a range of options.

• Hourly or visiting care – A carer calls at set times of day, maybe first thing in the morning and again in the evening, to help with getting up, washing, meals or medication. Visits can run from thirty minutes up to a few hours.
• Live in care – A carer moves into the home and provides support around the clock, one to one. Families often weigh this up against a care home, since it offers a similar level of constant support but without leaving home.
• Companion care – This focuses less on physical tasks and more on company. It suits people who can manage most things themselves but are at risk of feeling isolated or who need a hand getting to appointments and social activities. Have a look at our companion care service to see what this involves.
• Overnight and waking night care – A carer either sleeps at the property and is on hand if something happens or stays awake through the night for people who need closer monitoring.
• Specialist care – For conditions that need particular training, things like dementia, recovery from a stroke, Parkinson’s or complex medical needs where medication has to be given correctly and carers work alongside district nurses.
• Respite care – Short term cover so a family carer gets a proper break, whether that’s to recover from illness themselves or simply take a holiday.

We should also mention something not every agency offers: specialist support for autism and for people who are blind or visually impaired. That kind of care needs a different approach than general personal care and we cover it further down this guide. A good private home care services provider will offer several of these under one roof so support can flex up or down as someone’s needs change without switching agencies.

How to pay for home care services

There are three main ways people cover the cost in the UK.

• Self funding – You pay the agency directly. There’s no means test and you can get started as soon as a care plan is agreed.
• Local authority funding – Your council carries out a needs assessment first, then a separate financial assessment to work out what you can afford. In England, if you have capital above £23,250 in 2026/27, you’re expected to pay the full cost yourself. Below that threshold, the council may contribute something.
• NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) – This applies where someone’s main need is a health need rather than a social care need. If that’s assessed to be the case, the NHS can fund care at home in full, with no means test at all. Getting this right depends on a proper assessment against NHS criteria, not just a diagnosis or someone’s age.

On top of these three routes, there are benefits that can help regardless of how care is funded:

• Attendance Allowance, paid at two different rates (£76.70 or £114.60 a week in 2026/27) depending on how much help someone needs, for people over State Pension age.
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP), for people under State Pension age with a long term health condition or disability.
• Carer’s Allowance, paid to a family member who provides regular unpaid care.

A council needs assessment is free no matter your income so it’s usually worth doing that first, even if you already plan to pay privately for a home care services provider.

Home care services vs. care homes: which is right for you?

Care homes give you shared accommodation with staff on site day and night, set meal times and organised activities. For some people, particularly those with complex needs who benefit from constant supervision, that structure works well.

Home care services let you stay put. Your own bed, your own routine, your pets, your garden, all still there. For couples where only one person needs care, it also means they don’t have to be separated. Financially, lighter or occasional support usually costs less through hourly home care than moving into a residential place, while live in care tends to land in roughly the same range as a good care home, just with one to one attention rather than shared staff.

There’s also the practical side. Moving into a care home can mean selling or renting out a property to cover the fees and plenty of families would rather avoid that if they can. There’s genuinely no single right answer here. It comes down to how much support someone needs, how consistent that need is and how much staying somewhere familiar matters to them.

Choosing a home care services provider: what to check

A handful of questions make the difference between a smooth experience and a stressful one.

• CQC registration and rating – Every home care agency operating in England has to be registered with the Care Quality Commission so check the provider’s current rating and read their most recent inspection report before signing anything.
• Managed or introductory – Ask directly. A managed agency employs its carers. An introductory one places a self employed carer with you. This one question changes who’s legally responsible for training, cover and everything to do with employment.
• DBS checks and training – Confirm every carer is DBS checked and trained for the specific things you need, especially if that includes giving medication or supporting a particular condition.
• Continuity of care – Ask how the agency handles staff being off, whether that means you’ll see a small, consistent team or a rotating group of carers you’ve never met.
• A written care plan – A reputable home service care provider will do a proper assessment and put everything down on paper before care starts, including costs and exactly what’s included.
• How updates are shared – Many agencies now use a digital log so relatives can read visit notes as they happen instead of waiting for a phone call at the end of the day.

Free consultations are pretty standard across the industry so use one to ask about pricing, the minimum length of a visit, whether travel time gets charged separately and what happens if a carer calls in sick.

Home care services near you: Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire

If you’re looking for home care services closer to home, our teams cover Cambridge, Peterborough and Grantham, offering personal care, companion care and specialist support delivered by local carers who know the area and are fully checked before they start.

Specialist home care: autism and visual impairment support

General personal care doesn’t always fit what someone with autism or a visual impairment actually needs and it’s an area a lot of home care services providers only touch on briefly.

Our autism care service is built around consistent routines, familiar faces and ways of communicating that suit the individual, rather than a standard personal care visit repeated the same way for everyone. Our support for people who are blind or visually impaired focuses on helping someone move around their home safely, reading post and paperwork with them and generally keeping their independence intact day to day. A lot of clients pair this with our wider companion care service too, for social contact and getting out of the house.

Frequently asked questions

What is the difference between home care and home health care?

Home care covers personal and practical support such as washing, meals, medication reminders and company. Home health care usually means clinical tasks done by a nurse or healthcare professional, things like wound care or injections. Some agencies offer both but they’re assessed and staffed quite differently.

What does domiciliary care mean?

Domiciliary care is just the formal name for home care services. It means care delivered at someone’s own address rather than in a residential setting. You’ll see the two terms used interchangeably in NHS and council paperwork.

How much does home care cost per hour in the UK?

Hourly home care services usually cost somewhere between £20 and £42, with a national average around £32 in 2026. Where you fall in that range depends on your location, whether the agency is managed or introductory and whether the care involves anything specialist.

How much does a live in carer cost?

Live in care in the UK typically runs from around £900 to £1,700 or more a week, depending on how complex the needs are and where you live. Families often compare this directly against what a residential care home would charge.

What do carers do on a typical visit?

It varies by care plan but common tasks include help with washing and dressing, medication reminders, preparing meals, light housework, help getting around and simply spending time with the person. Carers work from the written plan agreed with the client and their family.

How do I find a private carer?

Start with a council needs assessment even if you’re planning to pay privately. It’s free and it gives you a clearer picture of what support is actually needed. From there, compare CQC registered agencies near you, check their ratings and reviews and ask whether they’re a managed or introductory service before you decide.

Ready to talk through home care services for yourself or a family member? Get in touch with Greenwood Homecare for a free consultation and find out more about care in Cambridge, Peterborough and Grantham.