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What is Domiciliary Care and how to get a carer?

Domiciliary Care is a term used to describe a wide range of services that support people with additional needs in the comfort of their own home. Also known as Home Care, Care at Home or private care, Domiciliary Care involves a professionally trained Carer visiting someone’s home.

Alina Homecare Care at Home provides Domiciliary Care for older people with additional needs and Alina Homecare Disability Support provides support for those with more complex care needs.

Domiciliary Care providers help with all sorts of daily tasks, including Personal Care – such as using the bathroom – or Domestic Care, like doing the laundry. Everyone has routines that give life a sense of normality. If circumstances change, however, certain daily activities can become more difficult. When this happens, a little support can go a long way.

Our Domiciliary Care is focused on helping people maintain a good quality of life, healthy and independently in their own home. Our Domiciliary Care guide explores your options, including information about the services we offer or about the jobs we provide.

Male client and female domiciliary Carer

I need Domiciliary Care…

What is Domiciliary Care?

Domiciliary Care is a type of support provided by Care Assistants or Support Workers in a person’s own home. This type of care is flexible and is tailored specifically to each individual’s specific needs. Whatever you need, whenever you need it.

If someone needs more than Domiciliary Care, we provide other Home Care services including round the clock assistance with our Live-in Care and Overnight Care services. Our Disability Support Team also provide Domiciliary Care as a form of Community Support. If this isn’t possible, we also provide Supported Living services for young adults with disabilities.

People can choose to receive Domiciliary Care at any point in their lives. Our services are often used by elderly people but are available to everyone, regardless of age or circumstance.

Domiciliary Carers help with all kinds of tasks around the home. This includes Personal Care, medication management, shopping assistance as well as more specialist care for conditions. Our Domiciliary Care Services for conditions include Dementia Care, Palliative Care, Parkinson’s help at home and Multiple Sclerosis Home Care. Our Disability Support Teams also support conditions such as epilepsy, autism and more.

All our Domiciliary Care services are tailored to each individual. You can read What is Home Care? guide to learn more.

What does Domiciliary Care mean?

Domiciliary Care simply means the provision of care and support services to people in the place they call home. This could be their own home or an supported living property. Domiciliary Care is interchangeably used with other terms such as Home Care, Care at Home, private care, home health care and even specific service names like Personal Care.

At its heart, Domiciliary Care is designed to assist people who may find it difficult to complete daily activities themselves. This could be due to illness, physical or mental disability, or old age.

Services include a wide range of assistance, such as maintaining personal hygiene, meal preparation, medication management, mobility support and companionship. Domiciliary Care enables individuals to receive care they need wherever they are. For elderly people, our visiting Home Care is crucial to helping people stay in their own home.

Domiciliary Care is as individual as the people we support. The goal of our services remain the same: maintaining independence and quality of life while meeting people’s needs.

Why choose Domiciliary Care?

Choosing Domiciliary Care is often a challenging decision that needs to be carefully considered. Often, it’s a decision shared between the person receiving care as well as their loved ones and sometimes, healthcare professionals such as GPs or social workers.

As an alternative to residential care or nursing homes, Domiciliary Care offers specific benefits that can improve wellbeing and quality of life. Here are some reasons why many of our Domiciliary Care clients choose our services:

Maintain independence

One of the key reasons why individuals choose Domiciliary Care is because they want to maintain independence. Staying in the familiarity and comfort of your own home can provide a sense of security and autonomy that may not be as noticeable in a residential care setting. 

Enjoy familiarity

Staying in familiar surroundings, surrounded by cherished memories, personal belongings and your local community is important. It not only contributes to emotional wellbeing, but it can also provide crucial reassurance if your loved has dementia or elderly paranoia

Personalised support

Domiciliary Care offers personalised, bespoke assistance that focuses on an individual’s specific needs and preferences. The way you make the bed, style your hair, or make breakfast is all part of what makes home feel like home. Our Carers work with you to ensure all of this continues. Domiciliary Care plans are customised based on each individual. Personalised Care is all about making life easier and maintaining as much independence as possible.

Holistic approach

Domiciliary Care isn’t just about physical health. Our services include emotional support too, such as companionship to provide a friendly face and to combat elderly loneliness. Our Companion Carers take clients out to do elderly activities and day trips and provide a friendly, paid befriending service when it’s needed most. Support isn’t just for the person receiving care either. Our Palliative Care service also offers a listening ear for people struggling with a loved one’s life limiting diagnosis.

Cost effective

Domiciliary Care can be particularly cost effective compared to other care options like residential care or a nursing home. Home Care rates and home adaptations are significant costs, but may be lower than costs associated with residential care. This is particularly because of how flexible Domiciliary Care is. The person receiving care and their loved ones, can choose how much or little care they need and can afford to suit any budget.

Flexibility

There’s no one size fits all for our Domiciliary Care service. Care homes and other residential facilities are heavily structured, but Domiciliary Care fits existing routines. Regular visits can be short or long, once a week or five times a day. However much or little help is needed, Domiciliary Care can be adapted to make a bespoke care plan.

Keep connected

Residential care can offer a sense of community in the immediate facility, but Domiciliary Care provides a chance to stay connected to the local area. Local community and elderly group activities are easy to access, along with day care and respite centres to suit individual needs. If the person receiving care needs help getting out and about, our Domiciliary Carers are on hand to help.

Continuity of care

Domiciliary Care offers continuity of care for many people. By staying at home, individuals can receive care from the same Team of people. Our Domiciliary Care Assistants get to know them, their routines and preferences. Continuity provides added reassurance as well as stability, which is crucial when things can often change at short notice.

Stay in control

Domiciliary Care services are focused on supporting individuals in daily life while respecting their individual autonomy. The person receiving care can make choices about their own routines, preferences and lifestyle. If they have a mental condition or disability, Domiciliary Care will focus on achieving goals and maintaining independence as much as is possible.

Who is Domiciliary Care for?

Domiciliary Care is a flexible service that can help a wide range of people with various challenges. Services can include Convalescent Care after a surgery or hospital stay, ongoing support for long term conditions, or ad hoc Respite Care when a primary caregiver is away from the home. Here are some examples of people we support:

Elderly people

Older adults, usually aged 65 and over, commonly choose Domiciliary Care as a way to stay at home for as long as possible. Our assistance for the elderly at home includes everything from using the bathroom to getting ready, preparing meals to managing medication.

People recovering from surgery or illness

Our After Hospital Care service is a form of Domiciliary Support focused on helping people convalesce during a vulnerable time. This could include Personal Care such as maintaining hygiene or an Elderly Sitting Service such as helping use the bathroom during the night.

People with terminal diagnoses

People with terminal illnesses can choose Palliative Domiciliary Care so they can spend their final moments at home, surrounded by treasured memories and home comforts.

People with mental health challenges

Both our Care at Home and Disability Support Teams can provide Domiciliary Care for people with mental health challenges, including elderly loneliness.

People with medication management needs

Our Domiciliary Care Assistants can remind clients or service users to take medication. This could involve support using a dosette box or with our Care at Home Teams, using our care monitoring app. Birdie to keep track of medication schedules.

People with ongoing conditions

Chronic conditions like arthritis, Parkinson’s, dementia and MS require ongoing long term care. In these instances, many people choose Domiciliary Care to stay home while receiving they care they need such as mobility support.

People with disabilities

Alina Homecare Disability Support provides Disabled Domiciliary Care for people with physical and cognitive disabilities to enable them achieve their goals and maintain independence.

Unpaid caregivers

Regular unpaid caregivers looking for regular breaks can choose our Domiciliary Respite Care to avoid carer burnout and our Emergency Care at Home is available when circumstances change suddenly.

People with mobility issues

Our Carers are professionally trained to provide mobility support for those who struggle to get around.

Who provides Domiciliary Care?

Domiciliary Care agencies provide a range of services and must be registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC) which monitors, inspects and regulate services to ensure they meet fundamental standards of quality and safety. Domiciliary, or dom care, providers like Alina Homecare provide trained staff to deliver our Home Care services in people’s own homes.

Alina Homecare is a highly reputable Domiciliary Care provider with a growing network of branches. Each branch has trained and qualified Carers able to offer a full range of Home Care services to people with different needs. Carers are thoroughly trained and many draw from years of experience to ensure the delivery of compassionate and high quality Home Care.

They’re able to provide a wide range of help with household tasks, Personal Care, accompanying clients on visits to the doctor or the local garden centre. Depending on the specific needs of the individual, a Domiciliary Caregiver can be flexible, offering a broad range of support to help the individual lead an independent and comfortable life.

Our Domiciliary Carers are patient, kind and sympathetic by nature.

How does Domiciliary Care compare?

How does Domiciliary Care compare with a care home?

Domiciliary CareCare Homes
Stay Independent
Domiciliary Care allows people to remain in their own home, promoting independence. Of course, this is independent on the level of support needed.
Constant Care
Care homes provide round the clock support, as Carers are always on duty. However, this care is shared between many residents rather than personalised to just one person.
Personalised Care
Domiciliary Care is tailored to specific needs for specific people. Care plans are kept under review to ensure the highest level of care is delivered at all times. 
Community and Social Activities
There are scheduled activities for the elderly in residential care homes. This can help with social interaction and keeping busy. Some may find this restrictive if they prefer to choose their own fun though.
Familiar Environment
Domiciliary Care means staying home, surrounded by familiar memories. This may mean home adaptations are necessary.
Specialised Facilities
Care or nursing homes are often equipped with specific facilities and staff for specialist care. This can be helpful if a person has particularly complex needs.
Flexibility
Domiciliary Care is flexible and can be arranged to suit specific needs, schedules and budgets. Flexibility is dependent on Carer capacity and availability. 
Relief for Family Caregivers
Care homes can provide temporary Respite Care for caregivers so they can have a break. However, this often depends on availability and notice.
Social Connection
Domiciliary Care can help someone keep connected with their local community, with friends and neighbours close by. 
Safety and Accessibility
Care homes are designed to be safe although studies show the risk of falls is reduced by staying in your own home.
Cost Effective
Domiciliary Care can be more cost effective than residential care, because you can choose how much or little support you need.

How can I decide between Domiciliary Care and a care home?

1. What are the specific care needs?
Think about the type and quantity of care needed; Domiciliary Care may not always be the best option for very complex needs and residential care may be expensive if only basic care needs are required.

2. What does the person needing care want to do?
Think about what’s important to you or your loved one; do they value independence and love their own home? Or would they benefit from having similar aged people around them and scheduled activities?

3. Is there a strong support network?
If you or your loved one do not have a support network at home, a residential facility offers a ready made network of professionals who can help. Domiciliary Care can help with this, though only during agreed visits. This can be managed by choosing Live-in Care or living in a Spported Living service instead.

4. How much does it cost?
Consider the costs of each care option; costs can vary depending on your specific needs. To get started, complete our care costs calculator or contact your local Alina Homecare Team.

How does Domiciliary Care compare with Live-in Care?

Domiciliary Care and Live-in Care are two types of care that offer assistance to people in their own home. There are some key differences, which we’ve explored below:

Domiciliary CareLive-in Care
How care works
Domiciliary Care involves scheduled visits by Domiciliary caregivers to a person’s home. Care is typically provided on an hourly basis. Live-in Care involves a caregiver moving into the individual’s home, providing round the clock support and companionship whenever it’s needed.
Flexibility
Domiciliary Care offers flexible schedules, allowing the person receiving care to choose when the Carer visits and how often.Live-in Care is more consistent and flexible in a different way, in that the Carer is available whatever time of day they are needed. 
Independence
Domiciliary Care means the person receiving care still lives in the place they call home, with a Carer or Support Worker visiting for agreed periods of time.Live-in Care requires providing a room for a Live-in Carer and living with the Carer round the clock. This can provide ongoing reassurance but it may take some time to adjust.
Companionship
Domiciliary Care offers companionship at the times that a visit is scheduled. Live-in Care means there is always someone nearby to provide necessary support and company.
Comprehensive support
Domiciliary Care can be as comprehensive as you choose. With visits scheduled for agreed times , and  specific tasks you choose to prioritise.Live-in Carers are available all day, so can provide support for both planned tasks and impromptu help when needs arise.
Complex Care
Domiciliary Care may not always be suitable or cost effective if the person needing care has particularly complex needs that require ongoing support.Live-in Care can be a good alternative to a residential facility if 24-hour care is needed. Unlike residential facilities, this is very useful if complex needs are temporary such as during recovery from illness or surgery.

How can I decide between Domiciliary Care and Live-in Care?

1. How much care is needed?
Domiciliary Care may be more suitable if the person needing care has more moderate needs, whereas Live-in Care provides round the clock, continuous support which can suit more complex needs.

2. What does the person needing care want to do?
For people who value privacy and don’t want someone living in their home, Domiciliary Care would make more sense. On the other hand, if someone is looking for continuous companionship, the immediacy of Live-in Care would be preferable.

3. Is there a strong support network?
If you or your loved one do not have a support network, Live-in Care offers round the clock assistance and immediate support. Domiciliary Care can also provide this, but only during agreed visits.

4. What budget is available?
Domiciliary Care and Live-in Care costs aren’t directly comparable because they offer different levels of support. Domiciliary Care costs are more flexible by nature, as choosing to have less visits can reduce costs if your budget requires this. Live-in Care is a more expensive option but this is because a Live-in Carer is available all times of day as opposed to set home visits. To learn more and explore the cost of Domiciliary Care, complete our care costs calculator.

How much is Domiciliary Care?

There are different funding options for care; your local council may offer financial support, or you may have to fund it yourself. Regardless of your circumstances, contact your Alina Homecare Team and we’ll help you work out the best way forward.

While the specific needs of each case and the time required will determine the cost of care, our charges are competitive. Our Carers highly trained and care can be put in place quickly.

Whatever care provider you choose, you can select Domiciliary Care that suits your specific needs. This could start from short Domiciliary Care visits to longer and overnight visits to 24 Hour Care at Home. Other care needs, such as using a hoist to get access to a bathroom and/or to get out of bed in the morning, can also be arranged.

How can I pay for Domiciliary Care?

How to pay and fund Domiciliary Care will vary depending on a person’s individual circumstances, needs and assets. Here are some common ways you can fund Domiciliary Care in the UK:

You may qualify for local authority funding. Local authorities only have resources to fund people who meet certain criteria. It’s means tested to determine who can receive financial help.

You can have a financial assessment from your local council to see if you qualify. If you do, the local authority for your area will contribute towards your care. If you’re ineligible, the local authority must still provide information on how to get help in your area.

During the assessment, a Financial Assessment Officer visits your home and investigates earnings, pensions, benefits, savings and your property (including overseas property). It’s worth nothing, if you need a paid Home Carer then the value of your house won’t be included in the financial assessment. However, if you’re paying for a care home, the value of your house will be included unless your partner is still living in it.

Local authority care funding is determined by the following:

  • If you have between £14,250 and £23,250, the local authority will contribute 
  • If you have less than £14,250, the local authority will pay for your care

The financial assessment is free and the local authority will work out how much you need to contribute. If you’re eligible, it may be that the local authority pays the maximum amount towards your care and you must contribute the rest. Alternatively, they’ll determine whether you need to pay the larger contribution and they’ll pay the smaller amount. They’ll regularly reassess your finances, usually annually, to reaffirm your eligibility.

If the local authority is going to pay towards your care, they’ll give you a personal budget. The personal budget can be managed by your local authority, which will arrange care and pay the care provider directly on your behalf.

Alternatively, you can choose to receive the personal budget as a direct payment into your bank account for you to use against certain types of care. The local authority may then ask for receipts to prove you’re spending the money appropriately.

Receiving direct payments allows you to have more flexibility with spending your personal budget on care. For example, you could:

  • Employ your own Care Workers
  • Explore services from private, professional care providers
  • Buy equipment or pay for necessary home adaptations to suit your needs

If the financial assessment finds you’re ineligible for local authority contributions, you may still be eligible for other state benefits, depending on personal circumstances.

Personal Independence Payment (PIP)1 is a state benefit available to people living with a long term physical or mental health condition or disability. It’s available for people between 16 and State Pension age (65) who have difficulty doing certain everyday tasks or getting around because of their condition.

There are two elements to PIP and you may be able to claim one or both:

Daily Living: if you need help with daily tasks, such as eating and drinking, washing and dressing

Mobility: if you need help going out because of physical, sensory, mental or learning difficulties

Having a long term illness or disability can make everyday life more challenging  and affect your income. For instance, if you need to give up work or reduce working hours then PIP gives you extra money to help pay for things. It’s tax free and available whether you work or not. It’s not means tested so how much you earn is irrelevant.

If you’re awarded PIP before you get to State Pension Age, you’ll continue to receive it afterwards too.

If you’re State Pension Age (65) or above and have care needs, you can claim for Attendance Allowance.2 Like PIP, Attendance Allowance is a state benefit that helps with the extra costs of living with a disability severe enough that you need help caring for yourself.

The eligibility for Attendance Allowance is:

  • You have a physical disability or mental disability, including sight or hearing impairments or a condition such as dementia
  • The disability is severe enough that you need care or supervision for your own safety
  • You’ve needed that care or supervision for at least six months

It’s not means tested so your earnings or any savings won’t affect how much you receive. However, it’s paid two-weekly at two different rates and the rate you receive depends on the level of help needed.

The NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)3 scheme is a care package provided outside of a hospital to adults with complex health needs. It’s arranged and funded solely by the NHS.

The scheme isn’t dependent on specific diagnoses or conditions. Instead, eligibility is determined according to the following criteria:

  • What help you need
  • Complexity of your needs
  • Intensity of your needs
  • Unpredictability of your needs, including any health risks if the right care isn’t provided

To check eligibility, you must be assessed for NHS Continuing Healthcare by a Team of healthcare professionals, known as Integrated Care Boards (ICBs). If your needs change then your eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare may also change.

Self funded Domiciliary Care means you’re paying for your own care. This may be because you’re ineligible for local authority care funding if your assets are greater than £23,250.

In this case, you can arrange and pay for private care yourself without involving the local council. Alternatively, you can ask the council to arrange and pay for your Home Care, then the council will bill you directly. It’s worth nothing that not all councils offer this service and some may charge a fee for acting between you and your care provider.

If your local council isn’t providing financial help towards your care, you can still seek advice from them to support you. The local council can do a needs assessment to check what care you might need. This assessment is free and can determine whether you need help from a paid Carer for a few hours a day or week and precisely what they should help you with.

There are several ways you can raise funds to pay for your own care, such as using savings and investments or income from pensions. It’s essential to make sure you’re getting all the benefits you’re entitled to, such as Personal Independence Payment and Attendance Allowance mentioned above.

If you’re struggling to self fund care, you may consider selling your home and downsizing to a smaller property, or letting a spare room to a lodger if you can. Another popular option is to consider equity release schemes, but you should always seek professional advice from a financial advisor before considering this.

Remember, you may not always be self funded. Once your assets fall below the current threshold, you may then qualify for local authority care funding and can request another financial assessment.

A lifetime mortgage is a type of equity release available to homeowners aged 55 or over. They allow homeowners to access equity in their property whilst they retain ownership.

They’re the most common way of releasing equity by allowing you to borrow money against your home as a lump sum or as regular income.

Unlike a traditional mortgage, a lifetime mortgage doesn’t involve repayments to the lender. Instead, interest is added to the balance so the amount owed increases over time. The loan is only repaid when the homeowner dies or moves into residential care. Once the property is sold, the loan is repaid from the sale.

An advantage of lifetime mortgages is that the homeowner can access equity in their property without selling it. However, this may not be the best way to borrow money. As interest is added to the loan over what could be a long period of time, this mounts up and you could end up repaying almost as much as you borrowed. Once the property is sold, this could have an impact on how much is left for inheritance.

Borrowing money as a lump sum means interest is charged on the whole amount at a fixed rate. However, borrowing money as and when you need it means only paying interest on the money you’ve taken. Spreading out your borrowing will therefore reduce the impact of compound interest.

If you decide to repay your loan early, this often results in an early repayment charge. The penalty charge depends on how long you’ve had the loan but, in some cases, it can be as high as 25%. However, some partial repayments can be penalty free, but there may be a limit on how much you can repay per year.

Equity release can be right for some people but it’s an expensive way to borrow money. If you’re considering it, it’s crucial you seek financial advice from a professional advisor.

Home reversion plans are another type of equity release, only available to people aged 65 or over. They allow the homeowner to sell a share of their home to a reversion company in exchange for a lump sum or regular income.

Unlike lifetime mortgages, the homeowner sells a portion of their property rather than borrowing against it. They can then continue living in the home rent free for the rest of their life or until they decide to sell the property.

Once the property is sold, the reversion company will receive their purchased share of the sale proceeds while the homeowner receives the rest. For example, if the homeowner sold 25% of the property to the home reversion company, the reversion company would subsequently receive 25% of the sale price.

The main advantage of a home reversion plan is that the homeowner can access equity from their home without selling it completely. They’re able to continue living at home rent free. However, the amount of equity left in the property is reduced which will have an impact on inheritance.

Releasing equity from your property is a big decision and home reversion plans can ultimately be very expensive. They should only be considered if you’ve sought professional financial advice.

I want a care job…

What does a Domiciliary Care Worker do?

Domiciliary Care Workers have many different job titles which mean the same thing. You may seem them referred to as Care Assistants, Home Carers, Domiciliary Carers and more. Support Workers can also provide Domiciliary Care.

A key difference between a Domiciliary Carer and a Support Worker is who they help. Care Assistants often support older people as their clients, whereas our Support Workers will often provide disability care to young people and service users with disabilities.

The role of a Domiciliary Care Assistant is incredibly varied and also incredibly important. You’ll play a crucial role helping clients live more fulfilling lives. Every day is different, but the general responsibilities of a Domiciliary Carer include:

Personal Care

Domiciliary Care Workers often assist individuals with Personal Care, such as maintaining hygiene. This can include help with bathing, getting ready for the day and for bed, applying lotions and brushing teeth. For people with mobility challenges, Carers can also assist with hoisting.

Managing medication

Care Assistants provide valuable reminders and ensure clients take medication as prescribed on schedule. This can include using a dosette box. Our Home Care Carers use Birdie, a care monitoring app. which has automatic medication reminders to ensure everything happens on schedule. It’s important to note that in the UK, Domiciliary Carers are not allowed to administer over the counter medicine. They are also not trained nurses so the job description only involves non-medical care.

Preparing meals

Our Domiciliary Carers help with meal planning and preparation. This can involve assisting the person receiving care, warming a meal or ensuring routine is maintained if someone has dementia.

Light housekeeping

Domiciliary Care can include daily household tasks like light housekeeping, cleaning, doing the laundry and more. Our Carers keep your home just how you like it.

Companionship

Our Carers provide a friendly face and reassurance. From chatting, sharing a cuppa or playing a board game, our Companion Care Workers promote socialising to protect against isolation, loneliness and even paranoia or delirium.

Monitoring health

Our Carers record key details about our clients in our care monitoring app. such as mood and a log of care tasks. With consent, this information can be shared with loved ones to ensure any changes in behaviour or health are noticed and acted upon.

Mobility assistance

We ask that our Domiciliary Care Assistants have driving licences and access to a vehicle so they can help our clients get out and about. Domiciliary Care also includes mobility support such as getting in and out of bed and using the bathroom.

Planning care

Our local Care Teams create a personalised, bespoke care plan for each of their clients. This is kept under review and adapted as and when needed to ensure the highest quality Domiciliary Care is always provided.

What skills and qualities do you need as a Domiciliary Care Assistant?

Everyone wants a job that is fulfilling and rewarding . Bring your caring and happy attitude and we’ll teach you the rest! If you’re wondering if you’d make a great fit for the role, here are some common skills you’d need to fulfil the duties of a Care Assistant:

  • Friendly and positive attitude
  • Empathy and kindness towards others
  • A great Team player
  • Ability to be proactive and use your initiative to make decisions
  • Excellent communication skills
  • Attention to detail

To apply for a Home Care Worker job at Alina Homecare, all you need is a willingness to learn and good communication skills. It can be helpful if you have social care experience, but it is not necessary. Most Care Assistant roles require a driver’s licence and access to a vehicle to be able to travel between clients’ homes. If you can’t drive or don’t have access to a vehicle, you could still apply for a Support Worker job and provide Domiciliary Care to service users with disabilities.

What are the disadvantages of working in Domiciliary Care?

As a Domiciliary Care provider, we believe our Carer jobs are rewarding, dynamic and offer the chance to make a difference to people’s lives. That said, we’ve made a list of common challenges that you can encounter in Domiciliary Care:

  • Isolation – Domiciliary Carers often work independently in clients’ homes. Our central and local Teams are behind you every step of the way and we offer a confidential 24/7 helpline managed by external professionals should you need it.
  • Variable working hours – Domiciliary Care jobs often mean working different hours, such as evenings and weekends. However, this does mean that Domiciliary Care offers a chance to earn income as a Saturday or Sunday job or as a Night Carer!
  • Emotional impact – witnessing the challenges our clients can sometimes face can be difficult. That’s why we provide a specialist helpline to offer confidential telephone counselling at any time of day
  • Limited training – some private Domiciliary Carers may find that they don’t have enough training to complete some of the tasks that clients ask them to do. That’s why we invest in our exclusive Alina Homecare Academy to ensure all our training is excellent. After your onboarding process, you’ll be a qualified Carer ready to support clients.

How much do Domiciliary Care Workers get paid?

Our pay rates are competitive and vary according to where you work. To find out the pay rate for your local Care Worker job vacancy, chat with our Jobs Team.

Is it better to work in Domiciliary Care or a care home?

The decision between working in a care home or Domiciliary Care depends on various factors, including personal preferences, career goals and the type of work environment that aligns with your skills and values. Both care home and Domiciliary Care settings play crucial roles in supporting individuals and each has its unique advantages and challenges. Here are some considerations to help you make an informed decision:

Domiciliary Care jobsCare home jobs
Structure
Every day is different as a Domiciliary Carer. You’ll travel on the road from one client’s home to another, often working independently and sometimes as a double up with another Carer.Care homes are more structured, with the same routine each day and a more predictable setting where you arrive at the same facility and work there all day.
Teamwork
You’ll often work independently but as part of a wider local Team. You’ll also enjoy central support as part of the wider Alina Homecare Team.You’ll collaborate with other Domiciliary Carers within the same facility and split your support between multiple residents at the same time.
Support
Support is immediately available by contacting your local branch Team, with central Team support also offered.Immediate support is available with colleagues in the same facility as you. Some care homes also have central Teams.
Interaction
You’ll have a chance to build personal relationships with clients, as you’ll be providing care on a one to one basis.You’ll split your time among several residents at the same time, with chances to arrange activities to build community.
Independence
You’ll mostly work independently, supporting clients or service users in their own home. Sometimes, you’ll also work with other Carers when needs arise.You won’t work independently for most of the time, sharing responsibilities with your colleagues who are also on duty.
Flexibility
Domiciliary Care jobs are flexible, with the chance to choose your own hours, contracts and the option for weekend jobs and part time work. Care home jobs are less flexible, often with set shift hours including evenings, weekends and holidays.
Variety
Each client will have unique needs and different tasks that they need support with. Every day is different as a Domiciliary Care Worker!Shifts are more structured, with the same tasks though there’ll be changes depending on residents.

Apply now for a Domiciliary Care job

Group Jobs | Main Apply Now Form (3 Part)

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