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Maintaining independence is a key priority for many people, but getting older, suffering an injury or being diagnosed with an illness can compromise the ability to carry out day to day tasks successfully.
Home care provides the option of additional help from the comfort of your own home, allowing you, or a loved one, to remain independent and retain your current lifestyle whilst receiving support personalised to you and your individual needs.
To ensure home care is the right option for you, it’s important to understand how much it will cost, both now and in the longer term.
This advice applies to Northern Ireland only, please see here for advice on other countries in the UK. We also have individual advice articles for England, Scotland and Wales.
How much does home care cost in Northern Ireland?
The price of home care differs depending on a number of factors including the type of care you need, where you live, and the time that you require care. For example, weekends generally cost more, and some providers charge double for bank holidays.
On average, you should expect to pay around £23-£34 per hour for home care. So if you were paying £25 and you needed 14 hours of care per week, you’d be paying an average of £18,200 per year.
The cost of home care will also generally increase the more complex your care needs are. You will likely pay less for domestic help than you will for personal care, for example.
How much does live-in care cost in Northern Ireland?
In the UK, you can expect to pay an average of at least between £900 to £1,400 per week for live-in care. This can increase to around £2,000 in some cases. Whilst it is undoubtedly expensive, live-in care offers the benefit of allowing you to continue to live in your home whilst receiving full time care, and avoid you having to move to a care or nursing home.
If you need some advice for deciding between live-in care or moving to a care home, you can read more in our article here.
Home adaptations
If you need any type of home care, it might be necessary to adapt your home to ensure it’s accessible, suitable for you and your needs and to make it possible for professionals to deliver the care you require in a suitable environment.
To find out more about different adaptations and how to pay for this, you can read our article here.
How do I arrange home care funding in Northern Ireland?
Before you receive home care, you should arrange for a care needs assessment. This is carried out by a specially trained staff member of the council or care company and will determine what type of care you need by looking at your health needs as well as your lifestyle and other areas where you might benefit from additional help.
If your needs assessment determines that you are eligible for home care, a financial assessment will then be carried out to determine how much you will pay towards this.
Financial assessment
The financial assessment, also known as a means test, looks at how much money you have. This doesn’t include the value of your property because you are not moving to a care home, but it will look at your:
- Earnings
- Pensions
- Benefits
- Savings
Simply speaking, the more money you have, the more you will pay towards your care.
In Northern Ireland how much you pay also depends on where in the country you live. Each local Health and Social Care Trust determines what help you are entitled to and how much you should contribute.
You should contact your local Trust for more information:
- Belfast Health and Social Care Trust
- Northern Health and Social Care Trust
- South Eastern Health and Social Care Trust
- Southern Health and Social Care Trust
- Western Health and Social Care Trust
NHS Continuing Healthcare Northern Ireland
NHS Continuing Healthcare is a care package available to adults with long-term, ongoing complex health needs, referred to as a ‘primary health need’. People who qualify get social care for free, including services received from the local council, organised and funded by the NHS.
NHS continuing healthcare is not means tested and covers the costs of someone’s health and social care needs, such as personal care or specialist support. It is not for people with a specific health condition or illness, but is based on how the condition affects you.
To find out more about NHS Continuing Healthcare, how it works and the assessment process, you can read our article here.
What benefits are available to help pay for home care in Northern Ireland?
Whether you are funding your home care yourself or are receiving funding from your local authority, you may be entitled to additional benefits to help you with everyday living costs.
These include:
- Attendance Allowance
- Constant Attendance Allowance
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Industrial Injuries Disablement
- Pension Credit
- Disability Premiums
- Employment and Support Allowance (ESA)
- Independent Living Fund (ILF)
You can read more about these benefits and how to apply in our article here.
To find out more about arranging health and social care in Northern Ireland click here.
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