Domiciliary care is the range of support services put in place to help individuals in their own homes. In essence, it is the same as home care providing assistance with day-to-day tasks and personal needs so that people can continue living independently.
Domiciliary care services is designed to support an individual at home with routine household tasks, personal care, and other activities necessary to maintain health, hygiene, and safety. This type of care is crucial for older adults, people with disabilities, or anyone who needs extra help to remain at home.
What Services Are Included?
Domiciliary care covers a broad range of services depending on a person’s needs:
Personal Care: Help with bathing, dressing, using the toilet, and maintaining personal hygiene.
Meal Preparation: Cooking meals or assisting at mealtimes to ensure proper nutrition.
Medication Management: Reminding clients to take medication on time or helping administer medication if the carer is qualified.
Household Chores: Light cleaning, laundry, shopping, and other household tasks to keep the home in good order.
Companionship: Providing conversation, emotional support, and accompaniment to appointments or social activities.
These services are tailored to each individual. Some people might only need a carer for an hour or two per week. For example, help with cleaning or bathing, while others may require multiple visits per day. For those with high needs, domiciliary care can even be arranged as live-in care, where a carer stays in the home full-time.
Benefits of Domiciliary Care
The primary benefit of domiciliary care is that it enables people to continue living in the comfort of their own homes. This leads to better emotional well-being, as individuals can stay in familiar surroundings close to family and friends.
Care at home is also highly personalised support is one-to-one and cantered around the person’s routine and preferences. Many families appreciate domiciliary care because it provides peace of mind: professional carers ensure the safety and health of their loved one, while family members can remain involved without shouldering the full burden of caregiving.
Demand for domiciliary care has been rising; in 2021 the home care workforce in the UK grew by about 7%, outpacing growth in care home staffing. This reflects a trend where more people are choosing care at home over residential care when possible.
Arranging Domiciliary Care
In the UK, domiciliary care services can be arranged through local authorities or private agencies. If someone needs support, they can request an assessment from their local council’s adult social care department.
Based on that assessment, the council may provide or fund a domiciliary carer for eligible individuals. Alternatively, families can contact domiciliary care agencies directly to hire caregivers. It is important to choose a reputable agency all agencies providing personal care must be registered with the CQC, which regulates and inspects quality.
Costs for domiciliary care vary depending on the amount of help needed and region. Typically, home care costs between £25–£35 per hour. Local councils can cover some of the costs for those who qualify after a financial assessment. Many people pay privately if they don’t meet eligibility for council funding, sometimes using benefits or allowances to help with expenses.
Domiciliary care is an invaluable service that helps people live at home with dignity. By providing flexible, personalised support from household help to personal care and health monitoring domiciliary carers enable clients to maintain their independence and quality of life. For families, it offers reassurance that loved ones are receiving professional care in the comfort of home.