When a family member needs support at home, most people don’t know where to start. Do you call the council? An agency? Try to find someone yourself through a friend of a friend? Knowing how to find a private carer in the UK isn’t difficult once you understand the routes available but it does help to have someone walk you through it before you make a decision that affects someone you love.

This guide covers exactly how to get a carer, what to check before committing, how funding actually works and what separates a carer worth trusting from one you should walk away from. Greenwood Homecare has been arranging home care across Peterborough, Cambridge and Grantham for years and the questions below are the ones families ask us most often, whether they’re at the very start of this process or already comparing options.

Understanding What “Private Carer” Actually Means

Have you been asking yourself how do I get a carer? It helps to know there are really two routes open to you in the UK.

• A private care agency recruits, trains, supervises and insures its own carers. The agency handles rotas, sickness and holiday cover, DBS checks and ongoing training and in England it must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). In Scotland the equivalent regulator is the Care Inspectorate.
• An independently employed carer, sometimes found through an introduction agency, works for you directly. That makes you the employer so payroll, tax, insurance, DBS checks and arranging cover if they’re sick or on holiday all fall to you.

Both are described as “private carers” because you’re paying for the care yourself rather than relying entirely on what the local authority provides. Our guide to finding quality home care sets out this distinction in more detail, including the practical trade offs between the two.

Step 1: Work Out What Kind of Care Is Actually Needed

Before anything else, get clear on the type and level of support required. This shapes almost every decision that follows, including cost. The main types of home care in the UK are:

• Daytime visiting care, from a thirty minute check in up to full day support
• Overnight care, either a carer who stays awake or one who’s on call
• Live in care, round the clock support and a genuine alternative to moving into a care home
• Personal care, help with washing, dressing and continence
• Reablement care, short term support to rebuild independence after a hospital stay
• Specialist care, for conditions such as dementia, Parkinson’s or reduced mobility

If you’re not sure which of these fits, a free home visit is usually the fastest way to find out. Greenwood Homecare’s assessment covers daytime visits, overnight and night care, live in care, personal care and reablement support and for anyone dealing with dementia or a terminal diagnosis, we also offer dedicated dementia and Alzheimer’s care and palliative care. We’d rather spend an hour understanding your situation properly than sell you a package that doesn’t fit.

Step 2: Get a Care Needs Assessment

Even if you already know you’ll be paying for care privately, it’s worth requesting a care needs assessment from your local council first. It’s free and you’re entitled to one regardless of your income or savings. According to GOV.UK, this assessment is carried out by social services to work out what help someone needs which can include support at home, equipment or in some cases residential care. You can apply through your local council directly or start the process on GOV.UK.

If the assessment finds you have eligible needs, the council will usually follow up with a financial assessment, often called a means test, to see how much you might contribute. Age UK explains that this looks at your income, such as pensions and benefits and your capital, such as savings, to decide what help you’re entitled to. In England, anyone with savings above the upper capital threshold is generally expected to fund their own care, though the exact figure is reviewed periodically so it’s worth checking the current threshold on GOV.UK or with your local authority rather than relying on a number you read elsewhere.

If it turns out you’re self funding, that’s usually the point where families start looking properly into how to get a carer privately. Either through a regulated agency or by taking on the employer role themselves.

Step 3: Decide Between an Agency and a Privately Employed Carer

This is often the biggest fork in the road and it’s worth thinking through properly rather than defaulting to whichever option seems cheaper on paper.

Choosing a regulated agency usually means:

• Carers are recruited, trained, DBS checked and supervised on your behalf
• Sickness and holiday cover is arranged automatically, without you having to find a replacement
• The agency carries its own liability insurance
• The service is inspected and rated by the CQC
• You have one point of contact if anything needs to change

Employing someone directly usually means:

• You become the employer, handling PAYE, pension auto enrolment and employer’s liability insurance yourself
• You’re responsible for finding cover if your carer is ill or away
• You carry out DBS and reference checks yourself
• You get more say over exactly who is chosen but take on more of the admin

Plenty of families start out planning to employ someone directly, thinking it will work out cheaper, then discover the legal and practical load, especially around holiday and sickness cover, is more than they bargained for. If you’d rather see how a managed service handles this, our page on live in care costs breaks down what’s typically included when you go through an agency.

Step 4: Check Regulation, Ratings and Credentials

However you find a carer, checking their background properly isn’t optional.

For agencies, look for CQC registration in England or Care Inspectorate registration in Scotland. You can search any provider’s inspection history directly on the CQC website, where ratings run from Outstanding down to Inadequate and providers are legally required to display their current rating. Worth knowing: due to a well documented inspection backlog, a significant proportion of home care providers in England currently have either no CQC rating or one that’s several years old so it’s always worth checking the date of the most recent inspection alongside the rating itself, not just the headline score.

For an independently employed carer, you should personally verify:

• An enhanced DBS check, ideally registered with the update service
• At least two recent, checkable references from previous care roles
• Relevant training, such as moving and handling, medication support, first aid and safeguarding
• Right to work in the UK documentation
• A valid driving licence and insurance if driving is part of the role

Step 5: Compare Costs and Explore Funding Support

Cost is nearly always part of how to find a private carer that’s sustainable long term, not just for the first few months. Home care is generally more affordable than a residential care home, particularly if only occasional support is needed, since you’re paying for hours of care rather than full board accommodation.

Rates vary depending on where you live, the hours required and whether specialist care is involved so ask for a clear written quote before committing and confirm exactly what’s included, for example whether travel time or bank holiday rates are added on top. Our page on paying for live in care walks through the typical funding routes families use.

It’s also worth checking what financial support might be available, including:

• Contributions from your local council following a financial assessment
• Attendance Allowance, a benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care which isn’t means tested
• Personal Independence Payment (PIP), for people below State Pension age with a long term health condition or disability
• NHS Continuing Healthcare, for people with significant, ongoing health needs assessed by the NHS

Eligibility rules for all of these can change so check current criteria on GOV.UK before assuming what you may or may not qualify for. MoneyHelper also has a clear explainer on how the means test works and what it means for what you’ll pay.

Step 6: Arrange a Home Assessment and Ask the Right Questions

Once you’ve narrowed things down to an agency or carer, a home assessment is the natural next step. This is where the provider comes to you, talks through what’s actually needed and builds a plan around your routine instead of asking you to fit theirs. At Greenwood Homecare this is always where we start and you can book a free home assessment through our website or by calling your local office.

While they’re there, it’s worth asking:

• How carers are matched to clients and whether continuity can be guaranteed
• What happens if your usual carer is unwell or on leave
• How complaints or concerns are handled
• What training carers receive and whether it’s ongoing rather than a one off
• How the care plan gets reviewed and adjusted as needs change
• What the minimum visit length is and how that time is actually spent

Straightforward, honest answers to these questions tell you a lot more than a glossy brochure ever will.

Step 7: Start Care and Keep Reviewing It

Care shouldn’t be something you set up once and forget about. A good provider checks in regularly. They adjust the plan as needs shift and take feedback seriously rather than treating it as a complaint. If you’re weighing up live in care against a care home, our piece on a day in the life of a live in carer gives a realistic picture of what that actually looks like day to day, rather than the brochure version.

Needs also change. If mobility becomes more of an issue or a diagnosis changes what’s required, services like our mobility support, specialist elderly care or support for learning disabilities can usually be introduced without losing the continuity of the carer relationship you’ve already built.

Why Families Choose Greenwood Homecare

Greenwood Homecare is an independent CQC regulated home care provider with offices in Peterborough, Cambridge and Grantham, covering the surrounding areas across Cambridgeshire and Lincolnshire. Homecare.co.uk, an independent review platform used across the sector, has ranked us among the top rated home care groups in the country out of the hundreds it tracks. Every carer we place goes through our own training programme before working with a client and our office teams stay closely involved once care begins rather than stepping back after the first visit.

We manage recruitment, training, DBS checks, supervision and holiday or sickness cover on your behalf so you’re not left carrying the administrative weight of employing someone yourself. From a short daytime visit to full time live in care, our approach starts with listening to what you actually need, not fitting you into a standard package.

If you’re ready to find a private carer who’s properly vetted, trained and backed by a regulated team, get in touch with Greenwood Homecare to book a free, no obligation home assessment or call your local office directly in Peterborough, Cambridge or Grantham.

FAQs

How do I get a carer for an elderly parent who doesn’t want help?

Start with a conversation focused on independence rather than dependence, framing carer visits as a way to stay in their own home for longer rather than a loss of control. A short trial, such as one light touch daytime visit a week, often does more to ease resistance than proposing full-time care straight away.

Is it cheaper to hire a private carer directly or go through an agency?

Direct employment can look cheaper at first glance but once you factor in employer’s liability insurance, cover for holidays and sickness, payroll administration and the time spent recruiting, an agency is often comparable in cost and considerably lower in risk.

Can I get council funded home care and still choose my own carer?

In many cases, yes. If you qualify for council funding after a financial assessment, most councils either let you pick a provider from their approved list or offer a direct payment so you can arrange care privately yourself.

What checks should a private carer have before they start?

At minimum, an enhanced DBS check, verified references from previous care work and evidence of relevant training such as moving and handling, medication support and first aid. A regulated agency will already have completed all of this before a carer is introduced to you.

How quickly can a private carer start after I get in touch?

It depends on the provider and how urgent the need is but many agencies, Greenwood Homecare included, can carry out a home assessment within days and begin care shortly after which matters most for families arranging support following a hospital discharge.

*This article is for general information only and does not constitute financial or legal advice. Funding rules, thresholds and benefit eligibility criteria can change so always confirm current details with your local council or on GOV.UK before making a decision.