Care in your own home

Local councils send care workers into people’s homes either directly, or through agencies.

Or you can arrange home care for yourself.

Home care can help you live in your own home if you are:

• an older person
• a person with a physical disability
• a person with a learning disability

Carers help with tasks in your home, such as:

• preparing meals
• bathing
• dressing

This is also known as personal care.

You may only want care in your own home a few hours a week or need 24-hour care.

Home care may also provide support or a break for carers.

There are also grants available to make homes more comfortable and user-friendly for older or disabled people.

• get advice on how to pay for social care sevices

Using home care

To find out what it can be like to receive home care read our real life story:

• read Joan's story about using a home care service

Need more support in your home?

If you need additional specialist or medical care to help you live in your own home a nurse's agency may be able to help:

• find out about nurse's agencies

Next steps

Check out these sections of our website for more advice:

• Paying for care: your options for paying for care, including how your council will decide if – and how much – they can pay towards your care
• Looking for care: where to find local services, what to look for and questions to ask to help find the right service
• Using care: your rights, what to expect and how to get the most from your care provider.