Domiciliary care, sometimes called home care, is rapidly becoming a popular alternative to residential and nursing care. Domiciliary care enables those with varying care needs (through illness, long-term medical issues or old age) to remain in their own home indefinitely, or for a longer period of time than was previously possible.

Home care can be offered in a number of capacities – and the intensity and frequency of visits will depend on individual circumstances and care needs. Some only need intensive domiciliary care for short periods of time, whilst others simply need low-level, long-term care.

Domiciliary care, also called dom care, can also be offered to young people, children and adults with temporary or permanent care needs and is not an exclusive service for the elderly alone.

The main advantage of homecare is that it is carried out in a person’s own home, eliminating the need for them to spend large amounts of time in hospital and enabling them to stay in their own home indefinitely, if not for a longer period of time than would normally have been possible before domiciliary care was an option.

Domiciliary care can be either on a short term basis, where a carer may come to your home for up to an hour up to a carer living with you 24 hours per day.  This is known as live in care and is increasingly becoming an option for people that do not want to go into a care home but want the comfort of having someone on hand to help them