Adult day care supports adults in need of extra care. This includes older people, people with dementia, or people with learning disabilities, mental health issues or a long-term health condition.
The centres offer meaningful activities that provide entertainment, social opportunities and the chance to learn new skills.
Adult day care usually takes place in either an adult day care centre or within a care home. It could also be held in another public space, such as a village hall, leisure centre or café. People can attend independently or with the support of a carer. Day care also enables respite for people who care for a loved one.
Adult day care is run and funded by councils, voluntary organisations or private firms. Some are free of charge to attend while others require a fee or ask for a voluntary contribution.
What activities and facilities are available?
Each adult day care facility has a programme of planned activities that are designed to be stimulating and entertaining. In a care home, this might be joining in with the residents’ activity programme, while in a day care facility they will be put on specially for the day care visitors. The activities available differ depending on the facilities and the needs of the people attending. Day care for older people will have different activities to care for young adults with learning disabilities.
Some activities available are:
Arts and crafts
As well as drawing and painting, some groups have activities such as pottery painting, basket weaving or jewellery making.
Games
Games can range from cards and board games to sports to games designed for people with additional needs, such as Tovertafel magic dementia tables.
Sensory activities
Sensory activities are particularly beneficial for people with autism or sensory impairment. Many centres have sensory rooms, that include LED lights, calming music and even smells.
Animal therapy is an oft-used sensory activity as people with visual or auditory impairment can feel animals’ fur or scales. Many day care centres book mobile zoos for this, allowing day care visitors to interact with animals from alpacas to lizards to giant snails.
Health
People can receive healthcare support in day care, such as visiting hairdressers, chiropodists or physiotherapists.
Day trips
Outings are a regular feature of activity programmes and can include trips to local towns and tourist attractions, beaches, zoos or theatre shows. Day care visitors and their carers are welcome and there is often a small fee to cover costs of transport and tickets.
Life skills
Life skills, or independent living training provided for people with learning disabilities can include activities that teach valuable skills such as using public transport, shopping and managing money, staying healthy with nutritious cooking and visits to the gym, household skills and social skills.
Lunch clubs
Lunch clubs offer social opportunities for people of all ages. These clubs provide lunch in a restaurant, café or as a buffet, with quizzes and seasonal events also a feature.
What care is provided?
As adult day care is a form of care, people looking to join will have a needs assessment where they can discuss their health care needs and what they want to get out of attending the centre.
Depending on the facility, staff may be trained to support people with dementia, learning disabilities, difficult behaviour and sensory impairment.
Many can offer personal care, which includes support with going to the toilet, eating and drinking, or even assisted bathing. Day care settings follow similar health and safety guidelines to other care providers, so will use PPE when delivering personal care and have procedures in place in the event of an emergency.
Many centres have wheelchair-accessible minibuses to collect attendees from their homes, while others require people to travel independently. Transport is planned to ensure that everybody arrives at day care, and arrives home afterwards, safely.
How to find adult day care in your area
You can find day care in your area using this website. If you use our search feature, you can enter your county, town or postcode to see what’s available, what care and activities they offer and how far they are from where you live. You can contact the centre directly by clocking ‘send email’ or ‘view phone number’.
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