Arranging Home Care (Domiciliary Care) Explained

For a lot of families, home care is the step that comes before, or instead of, a care home, help coming to your loved one, in their own home, rather than the other way round. Here's how it actually works.

What "domiciliary care" actually means

Domiciliary care is the official term for care and support delivered in someone's own home. It covers a wide range, short morning or evening visits, several visits a day, overnight care, or a live-in carer who moves in for days or weeks at a time. In England, agencies providing personal care must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), Scotland and Wales have their own separate regulators (the Care Inspectorate, and Care Inspectorate Wales).

What it typically costs

Costs vary by area and by what's needed, but as a rough guide:

• Hourly visits: roughly £20-£30+ an hour, UK averages around £32/hour in 2026
• Live-in care: usually charged daily or weekly, often in the region of £150-£220 a day
• Respite cover: typically the same hourly rate as standard visits, often arranged as a block

Ask upfront whether anything's charged as an extra on top of the headline rate.

How to actually get started

If you want the council to help arrange or fund home care, the starting point is the same as anywhere else in the funding process, a needs assessment from your local authority, which establishes what level of care is actually required. If you're arranging and paying privately, you can approach an agency directly, though a clear picture of what's needed still helps you get an accurate quote.

How to check an agency is trustworthy

• Check their CQC registration and rating directly on the CQC website, don't just take an agency's word for it. A "Good" or "Outstanding" rating is a strong positive signal. "Requires Improvement" is worth asking direct, specific questions about. "Inadequate" is a reason to look elsewhere.
• Ask how carers are matched to clients, and whether you'll usually see the same familiar faces, consistency matters a great deal, especially where dementia is part of the picture.
• Ask about their process if a scheduled carer is unwell or unavailable, what's the backup plan?
• Ask directly what's included in the quoted rate, and what, if anything, is charged separately.

Home care or a care home?

There's no single right answer, it depends on the level and unpredictability of need, whether round-the-clock support is required, and what your loved one wants. Home care offers familiarity and independence for as long as it's genuinely safe and sufficient. A care home tends to become the better option once needs become more complex, more frequent, or less predictable than scheduled visits can safely cover.

A word from The Care Compass

This decision often isn't made once and settled, it's revisited as needs change, sometimes more than once. That's completely normal, and it doesn't mean an earlier decision was wrong, it means the situation moved on, as it often does.

This article is for general guidance only and does not constitute financial or medical advice. Costs and regulations vary by nation and area, always confirm current details directly with agencies and your local authority.

You don’t have to navigate it alone.