Bespoke Personal Home Care
Complex needs & personalised care at home
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Paying for home care & NHS Continuing Healthcare

Working out how to pay for home care can feel complicated. This guide gives a simple overview of the main ways care is funded, including private payment, local authority support, direct payments and NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC).

Important note before we start

This article is for general information only and is not financial or legal advice. Rules and amounts change over time and can be different in each part of the UK. Always check current information from official sources and consider speaking to an independent adviser if you are unsure.

Why funding feels confusing

Health services, social care, benefits and personal finances all interact when you’re arranging care. It’s normal to feel overwhelmed – you’re not alone.

How we can help

We can’t tell you what you are entitled to, but we can explain how different funding streams typically work with complex home care packages and help you think about what questions to ask.

Our Pricing & Funding page →

1. Paying for home care privately

Many families pay for some or all of their home care themselves, especially in the early stages or while assessments are being arranged.

What private funding means

  • You pay the provider directly for agreed hours of care
  • You choose the provider, visit times and type of support
  • You can increase or reduce care more flexibly

Pros

  • More choice and control
  • Easier to start care quickly
  • Can be combined with other funding later

Things to consider

  • Impact on savings and income
  • How long you can sustain the cost
  • Whether to seek independent financial advice

2. Local authority funding & direct payments

Your local council may help with the cost of care at home if you meet certain needs and financial criteria.

Care needs assessment

Adult social care teams can complete a care needs assessment to understand what support is required. This is about your needs, not your money.

Financial assessment

A financial assessment looks at your income and savings to decide whether the council will contribute towards the cost of your care and, if so, how much.

Direct payments

If you are eligible for support, you may be offered direct payments – money paid to you so you can choose your own care provider, rather than using only services arranged by the council.

Many people use a mix of council-funded hours and privately funded extras. We are used to designing packages that fit around what your local authority has agreed.

3. NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)

Some people with very complex, primarily health-based needs may be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare – a package of care fully funded by the NHS.

Key points about CHC

  • It is based on your level of health need, not your diagnosis alone
  • Eligibility is decided via a specific NHS assessment process
  • If eligible, the NHS funds your full package of care
  • CHC can be provided at home, not just in care homes

Personal health budgets

People who receive CHC funding may be offered a personal health budget – money from the NHS to spend on agreed health and care needs, giving more choice over who provides the care.

If you think you or your loved one may be eligible for CHC, speak to your GP, hospital team or local NHS Continuing Healthcare team and ask about an assessment.

4. Combining different funding sources

In real life, many care packages are funded by a mixture of sources over time. For example:

Example 1 – Starting privately, then getting support

A family pays privately for a few daily visits while waiting for assessments. Later, the council agrees to fund part of the package and the family tops up privately.

Example 2 – Moving to CHC

Someone living with very complex health needs begins with social care funding and private support. After a CHC assessment, they become eligible for fully funded NHS Continuing Healthcare.

Example 3 – Personal health budget

A person receiving CHC opts for a personal health budget so they can choose a specific home care provider for their complex care at home.

5. Where does Bespoke Personal Home Care fit into this?

Our main focus is whether we can safely and reliably deliver the care you need at home. Once we understand your situation, we can talk about how this might be funded and signpost you to sources of up-to-date advice.

What we can do

  • Explain how our pricing works in plain language
  • Design packages that fit with local authority or CHC decisions
  • Adapt care if funding changes over time

What we can’t do

  • Guarantee that funding will be approved
  • Give financial or legal advice
  • Decide eligibility for CHC or council support

Want to talk through your options?

If you are trying to plan complex home care in or around Milton Keynes and feel overwhelmed by the funding side, you are very welcome to contact us for a calm, non-pressured conversation.

Request a call back

Share a few details about your situation and we’ll call you to talk through possible care options and how they might be funded.

Send an enquiry