Home Care or a Care Home? What’s the Difference? 

Home care or a care home: which is right for your family?

In this guide

• • Home care vs a care home: the main differences 

• • What is the difference between a residential care home and a nursing home? 

• • Can home care provide a high level of support? 

• • Is home care suitable for someone living with dementia? 

• • Home care or a care home: which is right for your family? 

• • How Beaumont Home Care can help 

When someone you love begins to need a little more support, one of the first questions you may face is whether they can continue living safely at home or whether it is time to consider a care home. 

It can be confusing, particularly when home care and a care home sound so similar. 

They are, however, two very different ways of providing care. 

Put simply: 

Home care brings the care to the person within their own home. A care home means the person moves to where the care is provided. 

Neither is automatically better than the other. The right choice depends on the person, the support they need, their wishes, their home, their safety and what matters most to them and their family. Age UK has some helpful independent guidance on care homes too, alongside the information below. 

Here is a straightforward guide to the differences. 

What is home care? 

Home care, also known as domiciliary care or care at home, allows someone to continue living in their own home while receiving professional care and support. 

The amount of care can be very flexible. 

Someone may need a carer for a short visit once or twice a week, while another person may need several visits every day. Support can also include overnight care, respite care or a live-in carer. 

Home care can include help with: 

• • washing, dressing and other personal care 

• • continence care 

• • Medication support 

• • getting up and going to bed 

• • preparing meals and drinks 

• • mobility 

• • companionship 

• • shopping and appointments 

• • light household tasks 

• • support following a hospital stay 

• • dementia care 

• • respite care 

• • palliative and end-of-life care 

• • more complex care needs 

The important difference is that the person continues living in their own home. 

That means keeping their own bed, their favourite chair, their garden, neighbours, routines, belongings and, very often, a much-loved pet. 

Care is then built around the way that person already lives rather than asking them to move somewhere new. 

What is a care home? 

A care home is a residential setting where someone moves to live and receives accommodation and personal care together. 

Residents usually have their own bedroom, with communal areas such as lounges, dining rooms and gardens shared with other residents. 

Staff are available within the home to support residents according to their assessed needs. 

Care homes generally provide: 

• • accommodation 

• • meals and drinks 

• • personal care 

• • medication support 

• • housekeeping and laundry 

• • help with mobility 

• • social activities 

• • support throughout the day and night according to individual needs 

There are different types of care home, which is important when comparing the options. 

Home care vs a care home: what are the main differences? 

The biggest difference is not necessarily the amount of care somebody can receive. 

It is where and how they want to live while receiving it. 

What is the difference between a residential care home and a nursing home? 

This is another area that can be confusing. 

A residential care home provides accommodation together with personal care. This can include help with washing, dressing, medication, mobility and everyday living. 

A nursing home, sometimes described as a care home with nursing, also provides personal care but has qualified nurses available to provide nursing care. 

This can make nursing homes appropriate for some people whose health needs require regular input from qualified nursing staff. 

So when somebody says, “Perhaps Mum needs a care home,” it is worth understanding exactly what type of support Mum actually needs before deciding which option to consider. 

Can home care provide a high level of support? 

Yes. 

Home care is sometimes misunderstood as somebody simply popping in once a day to make a cup of tea. 

It can certainly be that simple if companionship or a little practical help is all that is needed. 

But care at home can also be considerably more comprehensive. 

Someone may have several visits throughout the day for personal care, meals, medication and getting ready for bed. 

They may have overnight support. 

They may need two carers for particular aspects of their care. 

Or they may have live-in care, where a carer lives in the person’s home and provides planned care, support and companionship throughout the day. 

Where someone needs significant support during the night as well as during the day, additional arrangements such as waking-night care or a wider team of carers may be required. 

One live-in carer cannot, and should not, work continuously for 24 hours without appropriate rest and breaks. 

The question is therefore not simply: 

“Does this person need a lot of care?” 

It is: 

“Can their needs be safely and appropriately met in their own home?” 

For many people, the answer is yes. 

For others, a residential or nursing setting may be more appropriate. 

Is home care suitable for someone living with dementia? 

It can be. 

Many people living with dementia value familiar surroundings, familiar routines and recognisable possessions. 

Remaining at home can mean waking up in the same bedroom, sitting in the same chair, seeing the same neighbours, following familiar routines and remaining surrounded by the things that form part of everyday life. 

Home care for someone living with dementia can include support with: 

• • personal care 

• • medication 

• • meals and hydration 

• • routines 

• • companionship 

• • mobility 

• • household tasks 

• • appointments and outings 

• • reassurance 

• • overnight support 

• • respite for family carers 

However, dementia affects everybody differently. 

As someone’s dementia progresses, their needs and risks can change. Home care may need to increase, the home may need adaptations or, in some circumstances, a specialist residential setting may become the safer or more appropriate option. 

There should never be a blanket rule that somebody with dementia either must remain at home or must move into a care home. 

The decision should be based on the individual. 

Is a care home safer than home care? 

Not automatically. 

Safety depends on the person, their needs and the care arrangements in place. 

For some people, scheduled home care visits provide exactly the right level of support. 

For somebody needing more regular help, the care package can potentially increase to include several daily visits, overnight support or live-in care. 

For others, particularly where there are needs that cannot safely or sustainably be met at home, a residential or nursing home may offer a more appropriate environment. 

It is therefore important to consider the whole picture, including: 

• • mobility and falls 

• • medication 

• • memory and cognition 

• • eating and drinking 

• • continence 

• • night-time needs 

• • the home environment 

• • social contact 

• • nursing or clinical needs 

• • whether the person is safe between care visits 

• • the person’s own wishes 

• • what support is realistically available 

Sometimes the answer is obvious. 

Often, it isn’t. 

And that is why a proper conversation about the person’s circumstances is far more useful than simply asking whether home care or a care home is “better”. 

What about independence? 

For many families, this becomes one of the most important parts of the decision. 

With home care, someone remains in their own home and can usually continue living according to their own routines. 

If they have always had breakfast at 10 o’clock, enjoy watching a particular television programme in the afternoon, like their tea in a certain mug or want the dog let into the garden before bedtime, those everyday things can continue to matter. 

That may sound small. 

We don’t think it is. 

Those routines, preferences and familiar little details are part of someone’s life and identity. 

A good care home will also aim to provide personalised, person-centred care, but by its nature it is a shared residential environment with other people living and receiving care there too. 

Some people enjoy that structure and the companionship of other residents enormously. 

Others value the privacy and familiarity of remaining at home. 

Again, it comes back to the individual. 

Is home care or a care home better for loneliness? 

This depends very much on the person. 

A care home can offer built-in opportunities for social interaction with staff and other residents, communal meals and activities. 

For someone who has become very isolated at home, that may be a real benefit. 

But moving into a care home is not the only answer to loneliness. 

Home care can include companionship, trips out, help attending clubs or appointments, shopping, going for a walk, having lunch out or simply spending time together over a cup of tea and a chat. 

It also means someone can remain part of the community, friendships and neighbourhood they already know. 

The question is not simply whether there are people around. 

It is what kind of company and social life the person themselves would enjoy. 

What about the cost of home care compared with a care home? 

Cost understandably forms part of most families’ decisions, but the comparison is not always straightforward. 

Visiting home care is normally charged according to the amount of care required, while residential care homes generally charge a weekly fee that includes accommodation and care. 

Live-in care is usually priced differently again. 

The right comparison therefore depends on the level of support somebody actually needs, and we are always happy to talk this through honestly over the phone. 

Home care or a care home: which is right for your family? 

There is no universal answer. 

Home care may be particularly worth exploring where someone: 

• • wants to remain in their own home 

• • values their independence and established routines 

• • needs support with everyday living but can continue living safely at home with the right care 

• • wants care that can be increased or adjusted as their needs change 

• • wishes to remain close to familiar neighbours and their existing community 

• • lives with a partner they do not want to be separated from 

• • has pets or other important aspects of home life they want to retain 

A care home may be worth considering where someone: 

• • would enjoy or benefit from living within a communal environment 

• • needs support that cannot reasonably or safely be provided in their current home 

• • requires nursing care that would be better provided within a nursing-home setting 

• • needs a level of supervision or support that cannot be sustainably arranged at home 

• • no longer wants the responsibility of maintaining their own home 

And sometimes the decision changes over time. 

Someone may begin with a few hours of visiting care each week, increase to several visits a day, move to overnight or live-in care and continue living happily at home for many years. 

For another person, a care home may eventually become the right choice. 

Good care is not about keeping somebody at home at all costs. It is about finding the safest and most appropriate way for that person to live well. 

How Beaumont Home Care can help 

Beaumont Home Care is an independent, family-owned home care provider based in Ingatestone, Essex. 

We provide visiting home care, personal care, companionship, dementia care, respite care, overnight care, live-in care, complex care, palliative care and end-of-life care. 

Our visiting care team supports families across Ingatestone, Brentwood, Billericay, Shenfield, Chelmsford, Basildon and surrounding areas, with live-in care available more widely across Essex. 

Most importantly, you do not have to understand all the different types of care before you contact us. 

Many families don’t. 

Sometimes the first conversation really is: 

“This is what’s happening. What do you think we should do?” 

That’s absolutely fine. 

We will listen to what is happening, ask the right questions and explain the options as clearly as we can. 

If we think home care could provide the right support, we will explain how it could work. 

And if, from what you tell us, we believe that you should also explore a care home, nursing care or another option, we will say so. 

There is no pressure and no obligation. 

Because when you are making a decision about someone you love, you need honest information rather than a sales pitch. 

Call Beaumont Home Care on 01277 356645 to talk through your situation. 

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