Your Checklist Of Questions To Ask When Searching For Home Care
Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Whether you’re searching for yourself or a loved one, choosing home care is a deeply personal decision. Several services are available on a permanent or temporary basis, including visiting care, full-time live-in care, and overnight care.
Asking the right questions will help ensure your home care is reliable, safe, and tailored to specific needs. That’s why we’ve created a checklist of questions to ask prospective home care agencies, including about the agencies themselves, their carers, and how evolving care needs will be supported. You can also download our checklist below and use it when speaking to potential providers.
Are you searching for home care?
Download our PDF for your own copy of questions to ask.
Questions To Ask A Home Care Provider:
Questions About The Provider
| Question To Ask | Have You Asked This Question? |
|---|---|
| What care services do you offer? | |
| How flexible can the carer’s visits be? Is there a minimum duration per visit or week? | |
| How does your pricing work? Do you charge a fixed rate? Are there any additional costs? | |
| What does your care assessment consist of, and how does it work? | |
| Are your care services available 24/7? | |
| Are there any days that your carers don’t work? | |
| Do you offer a trial period? |
Questions About The Carers
| Question To Ask | Have You Asked This Question? |
|---|---|
| What happens if my regular carer is unavailable to visit that day? | |
| Will my loved one always be visited by the same carer(s)? | |
| Should we wish, can I request a different carer? | |
| How are your carers vetted or regulated? | |
| Do you have staff who speak [insert your preferred language here]? | |
| What happens if the scheduled carer is unwell or on holiday? | |
| Do your carers specialise in certain areas of care, including for complex conditions, such as dementia or Parkinson’s? |
Questions About You or Your Loved One
| Question To Ask | Have You Asked This Question? |
|---|---|
| What happens in the event of an emergency? How is this usually dealt with? | |
| If my loved one’s needs change or increase, will you still be able to support them? |
What Else Should You Consider When Looking For Home Care?
Along with asking the above questions, there are plenty of other things to consider when searching for the right home care agency. These include:
Regulatory ratings - Like care homes, all home care agencies are regulated by your country’s regulatory body, such as the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England and the Care Inspectorate (CI) in Scotland. You can find an agency’s rating directly through a regulator’s website, or you can find home care using Lottie
Types of care offered - Within hourly, live-in, and overnight care, numerous services are available, such as personal care, household support, companionship, and specialist nursing care for complex conditions. Make sure to clarify what care types are offered by an agency
Visit durations - Some home care agencies only offer short visits, which can lead to rushed care. Other agencies have longer minimum visit durations. Make sure these duration periods fit your or your loved one’s preferences
Continuity of care - This is really important for building trust, particularly if your loved one is living with a condition such as dementia. Continuity of care means being consistently looked after by the same carer or team of carers, rather than a constantly rotating selection
Communication with family - There should be a way to regularly receive updates, whether that’s through an app, a different method for logging information, or phone check-ins. Ideally, family members will be consulted or notified when care plans change
Use Lottie To Find Home Care Near You
We’re partnered with the UK’s best home care agencies. Through Lottie, you can find home care near you. To ease your search, you can also request a free list of home care agencies, and our care experts will send you home care providers with availability in your area.
When searching for home care through our free service, simply enter your postcode and then filter by your requirements, including the type of care needed, your budget, whether funding support is required, and more.
If you’re searching for home care, then download our PDF for your own copy of questions to ask. This PDF contains all the questions featured in this article and is free to download!
