How to Arrange Home Care for a Parent or Loved One
When someone needs help at home, the hardest part can be knowing where to start. This guide takes you through the practical journey — from understanding the care required to finding a provider and checking that the arrangement actually works.
There are five questions to answer
You don’t need to solve everything at once. Work through the questions in order.
What help is needed?
Describe what the person can no longer manage safely and what support they need.
What support are they entitled to?
Find out whether a local authority care and support assessment is appropriate.
Who will pay?
Understand financial assessment, self-funding, Direct Payments and NHS funding.
Who can provide it?
Find a provider with the right availability, staffing and capability.
And one question is easy to overlook…
Will the package still work when nobody is there? Think about what happens between visits — meals, medication, toileting, falls, confusion and emergencies.
Step 1 — Describe the care that is actually needed
Try to describe the person’s day rather than simply saying that they “need care”. Specific information makes it much easier for professionals and providers to understand the package required.
Personal care
Washing, dressing, shaving, oral care, toileting and continence.
Mobility
Getting out of bed, transfers, walking, falls and moving around the home.
Medication
Prompts, administration, PRN medication and monitoring requirements.
Food and drink
Preparing meals, eating, drinking and risks around nutrition or hydration.
Cognition
Memory, confusion, orientation, supervision and communication.
Night-time needs
What happens overnight and whether the person can safely manage without support.
Not sure what kind of help is needed? Start with the Carentis Care Navigation Check.
Step 2 — Find out what support is available
If you think someone may need care and support, contact the local authority to ask about a care and support assessment. The assessment should focus on the person’s needs and the outcomes they want to achieve.
Needs assessment
Understand what support the person needs and whether those needs meet the relevant eligibility criteria.
Support plan
Understand how identified needs will be met and what outcomes the support is intended to achieve.
Review
If needs change, the arrangement may need to be reviewed rather than simply stretched further.
Step 3 — Work out how the care will be funded
Local authority support
Where eligible needs are identified, the council may contribute towards meeting them, subject to the relevant financial arrangements.
Direct Payment
An eligible person may be able to receive a Direct Payment and arrange their own support.
Private care
Families can arrange and pay for care privately, subject to the provider’s availability and terms.
NHS funding
Where needs may meet the criteria for NHS Continuing Healthcare, the NHS funding pathway may need to be explored.
Want to understand the money?
Use the Carentis Care Funding Calculator as a planning aid before discussing the actual contribution with the relevant authority.
Care Funding Calculator Paying for Home CareStep 4 — Find someone who can actually provide the care
Once you know what the package needs to look like, you can start contacting providers.
What if you can’t find anyone?
This is a surprisingly common practical problem. A person can have identified care needs and still struggle to find a provider with the right availability.
No capacity
The provider simply doesn’t have staff or visits available.
Wrong times
The provider has availability but cannot cover the required visit window.
Complex package
Double-handed care or specialist requirements limit the number of providers able to help.
Once care starts, keep checking the arrangement
Care is not “done” once a provider has been found. Needs change and packages can stop working.