What is Home Care? Understanding Care Support in Your Own Home

Home care is professional support delivered in your own home, from a few hours weekly to 24-hour assistance. It covers personal care, companionship, household tasks, medication support, and meal preparation—allowing you to maintain independence while receiving the help you need.

Choosing home care means you don’t have to leave your home to get professional support. Your carer comes to you, working around your routines and preferences rather than expecting you to adapt to a care facility’s schedule.

The Core of Home Care: Independence at Home

Home care creates a safety net of professional support around your existing lifestyle. You stay in control of your daily routines, continue living in familiar surroundings with your belongings and memories nearby, and receive exactly the level of help you need—nothing more, nothing less.

At Lidder Care, we operate with a 30-minute minimum visit length for good reason:

“Within a 30-minute time frame, staff have enough time to communicate with clients without feeling rushed, which is especially beneficial for clients with reduced mobility, sensory needs or dementia. Care can be completed safely, with dignity and respect.”

This approach ensures genuine person-centred care rather than rushed task completion.

Who Home Care Helps

Home care supports people across a wide range of situations:

• Older adults needing help with daily tasks like washing, dressing, or meal preparation
• People recovering from surgery or illness who need temporary support during rehabilitation
• Individuals with long-term conditions such as Parkinson’s, MS, or arthritis
• People living with dementia who benefit from dementia care at home in familiar surroundings
• Those needing respite support to give family carers a break through respite home care services
• Anyone wanting to maintain independence while ensuring safety and support

The flexibility means care adapts to your needs, not the other way round.

Different Types of Home Care Services

Visiting Care Services

Visiting care services involve a carer coming to your home at scheduled times—perhaps once daily, multiple times per day, or a few times weekly. Each visit focuses on agreed tasks while building a consistent relationship.

Live-In Care

Live-in care means a carer stays in your home, typically in a spare room, providing support throughout waking hours. This offers maximum continuity and is often suitable for people needing frequent assistance or those who feel anxious alone.

Night Care

Night care provides overnight support, either with a carer sleeping in your home ready to help if needed, or providing active support throughout the night for those requiring regular assistance.

What Home Carers Actually Do

Home care isn’t one-size-fits-all. The support provided depends entirely on your individual needs and preferences.

Personal Care

Personal care includes intimate support with:

• Washing and bathing
• Getting dressed and undressed
• Using the toilet
• Oral hygiene and grooming
• Continence care
• Mobility assistance around the home

This type of care requires trust and sensitivity. At Lidder Care, we aim to provide consistent carers so you’re supported by familiar faces who understand your preferences.

“Where possible, we aim to provide consistency of carers, as we know familiar faces help clients feel comfortable and build trust. Many clients are supported by a small, regular team, rather than lots of different carers.”

Companionship Care

Companionship care focuses on social interaction and emotional wellbeing:

• Conversation and company
• Accompanying you on walks or outings
• Joining you for hobbies or activities
• Reading together or watching television
• Reducing isolation and loneliness

This support is particularly valuable for people living alone who miss regular social interaction.

Meal Preparation

Meal preparation ensures you eat nutritious, enjoyable meals:

• Planning meals based on your preferences and dietary needs
• Shopping for ingredients
• Cooking fresh meals
• Assistance with eating if needed
• Ensuring adequate hydration

Medication Assistance

Medication assistance helps you take medications safely and on time:

• Reminders about medication times
• Help opening bottles or packets
• Recording what’s been taken
• Collecting prescriptions from the pharmacy
• Monitoring for any side effects or concerns

Household Tasks

Household tasks keep your home clean and comfortable:

• Light housework and tidying
• Laundry and ironing
• Changing bed linen
• Washing up
• Basic home organisation

Errands and Shopping

Errands and shopping services help you manage practical tasks:

• Food shopping
• Collecting prescriptions
• Posting mail
• Paying bills (with your permission)
• Accompanying you to appointments

Independence Care

Independence care focuses on enabling you to do as much as possible for yourself, with support only where needed. This might mean a carer encouraging and supporting you to dress yourself rather than doing it for you, preserving your skills and confidence.

What Home Carers Don’t Do

For safety and insurance reasons, there are limits to what home carers can undertake:

“Typically, our staff are there to focus on personal care, companionship and daily living support. For safety and insurance reasons, there will be tasks staff are unable to carry out that will be considered high risk.”

This generally includes heavy gardening, dog walking, extensive DIY, or clinical nursing procedures. Your care provider should be transparent about this from the start.

How Home Care is Organised

The Assessment Process

Home care starts with understanding your unique situation. This assessment isn’t just a checklist of tasks—it’s about understanding how you live, what matters to you, and how care can best support your lifestyle.

Creating Your Care Plan

Your care plan is a personalised document outlining exactly what support you’ll receive, when, and how. At Lidder Care, carers access this through the Nourish system on their mobile devices, ensuring they have all your key information, preferences, and any medical considerations to hand during each visit.

Daily Care Delivery

During each visit, your carer works through the agreed tasks while remaining flexible to how you’re feeling that day. They record what’s been completed, note anything declined or unable to complete, and write detailed handover notes for the next carer.

“During each visit carers record what tasks have been completed, detail tasks that have been declined or were unable to complete, write detailed handover notes for the next visiting carer and raise alerts to the supervisor if there are any concerns.”

Staying Connected: The Family Portal

Family members can access the Nourish Family Portal to stay informed about their loved one’s care:

• View visit times and duration
• See which tasks were completed
• Read detailed carer notes
• Stay informed about wellbeing

“This is a valuable function for families who do not live locally or are unable to visit regularly.”

Safety and Emergency Protocols

Professional home care includes clear emergency procedures. For example, if a Lidder Care carer arrives to find a client has fallen, they follow a strict protocol:

• Assessment: Check responsiveness, breathing, pain levels, and visible injuries
• Do not lift: Carers never attempt to lift someone from the floor, as this could worsen injuries
• Risk factors: Check for head injury and whether the client takes anticoagulant medications (higher risk of internal bleeding)
• Escalation: Call 999 if the client is unconscious, not breathing normally, in severe pain, or has suspected fracture or head injury
• Documentation: The incident is fully documented and the office notified immediately

These protocols ensure professional, safe responses to emergencies.

The Cost of Home Care

Understanding how much home care costs helps with planning. Costs vary based on the level and frequency of support needed, your location, and whether you’re paying privately or receiving funded support.

For those requiring financial assistance, exploring how to get funding for home care is crucial. You may be eligible for local authority funding if you meet certain criteria, and understanding whether home care is means tested helps you understand your financial obligations.

Comparing costs is important too. Many families wonder whether 24-hour care at home is cheaper than a care home, as intensive home care can sometimes exceed residential care costs.

How Long Does It Take to Arrange?

The timeframe for arranging a home care package varies. At Lidder Care, we aim to respond quickly to assessment requests and can often begin care within days for urgent situations, though this depends on individual circumstances and carer availability.

Generally, the process involves:

1. Initial contact and enquiry
2. Assessment visit (often within a few days)
3. Care plan creation and agreement
4. Matching with appropriate carers
5. Start of care (can be 1-2 weeks, or sooner for emergencies)

Questions to Ask When Choosing a Provider

When finding home care, asking the right questions helps you make an informed choice. Our guide on questions to ask when choosing a home care provider covers this comprehensively, but key questions include:

• What’s your minimum visit length?
• Will I have consistent carers or different people each time?
• How do you handle emergencies?
• Can family members access care records?
• What happens if my regular carer is sick or on holiday?
• What tasks can’t your carers do?
• How quickly can care start?

Home Care vs Other Options

Home care isn’t the only option. Understanding different home care options and comparing them to alternatives helps you make the right choice.

Some families consider live-in care versus visiting care. Others explore companionship care specifically if social isolation is the main concern.

The decision between care home vs homecare depends on individual circumstances. Care homes offer 24-hour supervision, built-in social opportunities, and comprehensive facilities, but require leaving your home. Home care preserves independence and familiar surroundings but may have gaps in supervision and can be more expensive for intensive needs.

Our article on the pros and cons of home care explores this balance in detail.

When Home Care Might Not Be Enough

Home care works brilliantly for many people, but there are situations where residential care becomes more appropriate:

• When safety risks at home become too significant to manage
• If social isolation and loneliness are severely affecting wellbeing
• When the cost of intensive home care exceeds residential care
• If family carers are experiencing burnout
• When 24-hour supervision becomes necessary

Recognising signs it may be time to consider a care home doesn’t mean home care has failed—it means care needs have evolved.

What to Expect from a Good Home Care Provider

Quality home care providers share certain characteristics. Our guide on what to expect from a good home care provider goes into detail, but you should expect:

• Thorough assessments and personalised care plans
• Consistent, well-trained carers
• Clear communication and family involvement
• Transparent pricing without hidden fees
• Robust emergency procedures
• Regular reviews and adjustments to care
• Professional uniforms and identification
• Digital care management systems

“In domiciliary care, carers wear professional uniforms to ensure they are clearly identifiable when visiting clients in their homes. Uniforms promote reassurance, trust, and professionalism, particularly for vulnerable clients.”

How to Arrange Home Care

If you’ve decided home care is right for you, understanding how to arrange home care makes the process smoother:

1. Research providers in your area and check their CQC ratings
2. Contact providers for initial discussions about your needs
3. Arrange assessments with your preferred providers
4. Review care plans and costs before making a decision
5. Meet potential carers if possible before care starts
6. Agree start date and ensure all documentation is in place
7. Review regularly to ensure care continues to meet your needs

Exploring Specific Home Care Types

Different people need different types of support. Exploring different types of home care services and understanding what is personal care specifically helps clarify what you need.

For those primarily needing social interaction, companionship care might be the focus. Others might need live-in care for round-the-clock support.

Is Home Care Right for You?

Home care suits people who:

• Want to remain in their own home
• Need flexible, personalised support
• Value independence and control over daily routines
• Have a safe home environment (or one that can be adapted)
• Want to maintain community connections
• Need support ranging from a few hours weekly to 24-hour care

The decision is deeply personal and depends on your unique circumstances, preferences, and care needs.

Starting Your Home Care Journey with Lidder Care

At Lidder Care, we’ve built our home care services around person-centred principles. We don’t just provide carers—we build relationships, maintain consistency, and use technology like the Nourish system to ensure transparent, high-quality care delivery.

Our approach includes:

• 30-minute minimum visits for unhurried, dignified care
• Consistent care teams of familiar faces
• Professional uniforms and identification
• Digital care records accessible to families
• Comprehensive emergency protocols
• Transparent communication about what we can and can’t do

Whether you need a few hours of support weekly or more comprehensive care, we’re here to discuss how home care could work for your situation. Our team can guide you through the process, answer your questions, and help you understand whether home care is the right choice.

If you’re considering home care options or would like to understand more about our approach, contact us for a no-obligation discussion about your needs.