Home care services

Six groups of services

We've grouped our services the way families usually think about them: help with the body and daily routine, help with health, help around the home, company and wellbeing, getting out and about, and care for particular situations such as dementia or the end of life.

Each group has its own page. On it, every service is described in the same way: what's included, how we assess the need, who provides it, and its important limits. That way you can compare like with like, and nothing is hidden in small print.

The assessment decides what's needed

You don't choose services from a menu and hope they fit. Before care starts, we visit for an assessment to understand the person's needs, routine, home and wishes, and to talk to the family. The care plan that follows lists the services that will actually help, and leaves out the ones that won't.

Needs change, so plans change too. A person recovering after a hospital stay might need nursing visits at first and only a little help later on. The plan is reviewed as things change. How care works explains each step.

Care services and nursing services

Most everyday help, such as washing, dressing, cooking, company or shopping, is provided by caregivers. Some services can only be provided by a nurse: giving medicines and injections, caring for wounds, catheters and stomas, and other clinical tasks. Those are marked Nursing service on each page.

Nursing services are planned after a nurse has assessed the person, and they follow the instructions of the person's doctor or hospital. One example matters a lot to families: a medication reminder (a caregiver prompts the person to take their own medicines) is a different service from medication administration (a nurse gives the medicines as prescribed). The request form asks about them separately so your request reaches the right person.

Limits, stated openly

Every service has limits, and we'd rather you knew them now than discovered them later. For example, our transport service is not an ambulance, emotional support is not counselling, help with exercises is not physiotherapy, and palliative support at home works alongside the person's doctor rather than replacing a hospice. Where something is outside what we provide, we'll say so and, where we can, suggest who could help.