Whether you want to stay in your own home, move to a care home, or look for supported living accommodation, you need to understand the different types of care available to you. 

If you want to stay in your own home, you could consider home care – either from a visiting care worker, or live-in care, where a carer lives in your home with you.

If you’d prefer to move somewhere where care will be available 24 hours a day, you should think about a care home or nursing home. 

For people who don’t need 24-hour care, but who do need some extra support in a specialised environment, supported living might be the right choice.

Some people will need long-term professional care, whereas others might just need it for a short while – perhaps after an illness or operation, or while a family carer isn’t available.

Your choices will largely depend on your own preferences, as well as your care needs. You may also be looking for care in a certain area, or trying to keep below a particular budget.

In this guide, we’ll explain the different types of care available in the UK, and talk about how you can find the right care for you or your loved one.

If you need support urgently, Find Your Room can help you to get care quickly. 

Simply download our app or visit our homepage to search for care. Enter your location, and we’ll find you a list of local care services.

Unpaid family care

Lots of people with care needs get help from family or friends. This might include lower-level support, such as driving you to doctors’ appointments or helping you do your shopping, all the way up to providing full personal care and giving you your medication.

However, family care is often not a sustainable long-term solution. Your friends and family often have other responsibilities, and being an unpaid carer can be both time-consuming and stressful. You might find that your relationship with your carer suffers.

As your care needs increase, you might also need more support than family can provide. Getting professional care from paid care workers can help to keep you safe and healthy for longer.

If you’re a family carer, you have certain rights, and you might be entitled to some benefits.

Care homes and nursing homes

Some people with care and support needs choose to move to a care home. 

In a care home, staff will provide personal care, meals, and housekeeping. Most care homes also run a varied activity programme.

Residents in care homes often spend time together, socialising and attending activities. It’s a good way to combat loneliness, which is sadly common in people with care needs.

Staff are usually on site 24 hours a day, and you can generally trust that the building will be accessible for those with mobility needs – although, if you have specific requirements, it’s always a good idea to visit the property before moving in.

What type of care home do I need?

There are lots of different types of care homes. Some support people with certain conditions, such as dementia, learning disabilities, or brain injuries. Others look after people who fit in a particular age group, or cater primarily for people from a specific culture.

When you’re looking for a care home, make sure that the staff have experience supporting people with your conditions. If you have complex health needs, you may need to choose a nursing home, for example, or if you’re looking for a placement for something with advanced dementia, a specialist dementia care home might be the best choice.

Find out more about how to choose the right care home for you or your loved one.

Home care

Some people prefer to stay in their own home. If that’s the case for you or your loved one, you might want to look into home care. This is where a paid care worker visits an individual in their home to provide support.

Home carers can help with a variety of tasks, including:

  • Personal care, such as washing, getting dressed, and going to the toilet
  • Medication support, such as reminding you to take your medicine, helping you to apply medicated creams, or administering other types of medication
  • Meals, including shopping, food preparation, and feeding
  • Light housekeeping, such as helping with laundry or vacuuming
  • Companionship, such as keeping you company during the day or accompanying you to appointments

Home care is tailored to your needs. Some people might just need a quick visit a few times a week, whereas others might need care workers to stay with them throughout the day and night.

Find out more about home care and whether it’s right for you.

Live-in care

Some people want the peace of mind of knowing that someone is in their home with them all day and night. If that’s the case for you or your loved one, a live-in carer could be the answer.

A live-in carer stays in your home with you, and provides support during the day and night as necessary. 

Like other home care workers, they can usually help you with personal care, medication support, meal preparation and feeding, and light housekeeping. Because they’re in your home all day, they can provide a great deal of companionship, too. 

However, it’s important to remember that live-in carers need breaks. They can’t support you constantly throughout the day and night. If you need 24-hour care at home, you’ll need to hire more than one carer.

Supported living accommodation

Supported living schemes allow people with care needs to live independently, while still being able to access support and socialise with others.

In some supported living schemes, you’ll have your own flat or apartment that’s part of a larger complex. In others, you might share a house or flat with other people.

Some people living in supported living schemes need long-term help with personal care and other activities of daily living. For other people, supported living is a pathway to living independently, and somewhere they can concentrate on learning life skills.

Supported living accommodation usually houses groups of people in similar situations, or with similar health conditions, such as:

  • People with learning disabilities
  • People with brain injuries
  • Autistic people
  • People living with mental illnesses
  • People with physical disabilities or mobility issues
  • People with substance abuse issues
  • People at risk of homelessness
  • Care leavers
  • Young parents
  • Older people

Find out more about supported living.

Shared Lives

In a Shared Lives scheme, someone who needs care is matched up with someone who can support them. You might move in with your Shared Lives carer, or they might visit you in your home regularly, and sometimes stay overnight.

You’ll become part of their life, spending time with their family and getting to know their local area. 

Shared Lives schemes are also sometimes known as adult placements. Depending on your situation, they might be a short- or long-term solution to your care needs.

Short-term care

Some people don’t need long-term care. Perhaps you have a trusted family carer who wants to continue supporting you, but needs a short break. Or you might have short term care needs after an operation, injury, or illness. 

Let’s look at short-term care in more detail.

Respite care

Respite care is where someone looks after you when your usual carer isn’t available. They might be on holiday, ill, or just having a brief break. 

Some respite care is planned in advance, and sometimes it’s arranged in an emergency, if your usual carer is taken suddenly unwell.

You can have respite care at home or in a residential facility, depending on your needs and wishes. Some people get respite care from family members or friends, and others choose to pay a professional carer or service. 

Find out more about respite care.

Convalescent care, intermediate care or reablement

If you’ve recently been ill, had an operation, or are recovering from an injury, you might have short-term care needs. Perhaps you need support with washing and dressing, help taking medication, or assistance with caring for a wound. 

Convalescent care, intermediate care or reablement is a type of short-term care where support workers help you while you recover. It can be delivered in your own home or in a residential facility.

If you’re currently in hospital, the discharge team may be able to help you find suitable convalescent care. Alternatively, you can look for short-term care yourself. 

Depending on your circumstances and location, your reablement services might be delivered for free if you’ve just been discharged from hospital. However, even if you don’t qualify for free intermediate care, you may still be able to get help with paying for care.

How do I find care?

Now that you’ve learnt more about the different types of care, it’s time to find the right support for you or your loved one. 

If you have a social worker or you’re under the support of a hospital discharge team, they may be able to help you find a suitable care service. 

However, you can also look for care yourself. And Find Your Room can help you.

First, decide whether you want to stay in your own home, move to a supported living scheme, or choose a care or nursing home. Go to Find Your Room’s care search, and select your preferred option. Enter your location, and search for care services near you.

You can also filter your search. Choose whether you’re looking for short or long term care, include the type of care you need, and even filter by CQC rating. At Find Your Room, you can also search by availability – so you can be sure that the care services displayed will have room for you or your loved one.