In shortAsk the council for a free needs assessment, or contact a provider directly if you will pay yourself. Check any provider is registered with the Care Quality Commission, ask how they plan and staff visits, and make sure you get a written care plan and clear terms before care starts.
Step 1: Decide who arranges it
If you may need help paying, contact your council’s adult social care team and ask for a needs assessment. It is free. If you will pay yourself, you can go straight to a provider, and you can still ask the council for an assessment and advice.
Step 2: If someone is in hospital
Talk to the ward’s discharge team early. They can arrange short-term support to get someone home and tell you what will happen after that. You can say which provider you would like to use if you are paying, or if you take a direct payment.
Step 3: Check the provider
- CQC registration: any agency providing personal care in England must be registered with the Care Quality Commission. Search the provider on the CQC website.
- Rating: read the latest inspection report. Newer services may not have been inspected yet. KCP Care is registered and has not been rated yet; see our CQC profile.
- Area: check they cover your address at the times you need.
Step 4: Questions to ask
- Will we have the same carers each time?
- How long is each visit, and what if the carer is running late?
- What training do carers have, and how often is it refreshed?
- How do you support medication?
- Who do we call out of hours?
- How do we see what happened on each visit?
- How often is the care plan reviewed?
- What is the price, and what notice is needed to change or cancel?
Step 5: The planning visit and care plan
A good provider visits before care starts to understand needs, routines, risks and what matters to the person. The result is a written care plan that the person, or their representative, agrees to. Carers follow it on every visit.
Step 6: Keep reviewing
Needs change. Expect regular reviews, and ask for one whenever something changes, such as a fall, a hospital stay or a new diagnosis.
If something goes wrong
Raise it with the provider first; every registered provider must have a complaints process. If you are not happy with the response, you can go to the Local Government and Social Care Ombudsman, which also handles complaints about privately paid care. You can tell the CQC about your experience at any time.
Sources (checked 13 November 2026)