Homecare Services Glossary

As a homecare service, we understand that exploring home care services for yourself or a loved one can feel overwhelming. It’s completely natural to be unfamiliar with some of the terms used across our service pages.

With this in mind, we’ve put together an alphabetised homecare glossary, filled with useful terms and definitions. We hope this guide helps broaden your understanding of what we do, how our services work, and how they can benefit you and your family.

A

• Advocacy: Someone who speaks up on the service user’s behalf, ensuring their best interests are at the centre of every care-related decision (something we will always do here at Nuliving).
• Assessment: A conversation and observation conducted by a care professional in the service user’s home to understand their care needs, lifestyle, and preferences. Assessment information is then used to form a tailored care plan.
• Assistive devices: Devices like walking sticks, grab rails, and ergonomic cutlery, designed to make daily tasks safer and easier to complete.

B

• Bathing support: Respectful assistance with bathing or showering, prioritising cleanliness, comfort, and safety.

C

• Carer/caregiver: A trained professional who is qualified to provide support to a service user with daily tasks, companionship, medical needs, and more.
• Care plan: A personalised document for each service user, outlining the type of care they’ll receive and how.
  
• Care Quality Commission (CQC): The independent regulator in England. The CQC inspects care services across the country to ensure they are safe, effective, and meet its strict standards.
• Complex homecare: Specialist care for those with advanced or long-term medical and physical needs. Learn more about our complex homecare services, or read our guide to caring for someone with long-term health conditions at home for more detail on managing this day to day.
• Companionship care: Care services that prioritise genuine conversation, meaningful company, and social outings to reduce feelings of loneliness in service users. Find out more about companionship care.
• Continuing Healthcare (CHC): NHS-funded care for those eligible with complex health needs. Learn more on our funding page.
• Continuity of care: Ensuring that the same carers visit a service user regularly, to build familiarity, trust, and comfort.
• Couples care: Care services designed for two people living together, allowing them to receive the individual support they require while staying at home. A popular option for our elderly homecare services.

D

• Daycare homecare: Homecare services delivered during the day. They can include everything from companionship and personal care to meal preparation and medication assistance.
• Dementia homecare: Specialist care support for service users living with dementia. Explore our dementia homecare services, or read more about caring for a loved one with dementia at home for practical guidance if you’re supporting a family member yourself.
• Domestic homecare: Practical help around the home, ranging from cleaning and cooking to laundry and general tidying. Find out more about domestic homecare.
• Duty of care: The legal and moral responsibility of carers to always act in the best interest of the service user.

E

• Enabling homecare: Care services that encourage the service user’s independence and confidence wherever possible. Learn more about enabling homecare services, or read more about supporting elderly relative independence at home for further advice.
• End of life care: Compassionate support delivered to service users in the final stages of their life, prioritising dignity and comfort at all times.

F

• Falls prevention: Reducing the risk of falls with the help of mobility aids, home adaptations, and routine changes.
• Flexible care: Care that adapts to the changing needs and preferences of the service user. This could include more frequent visits, changing the times of visits, or adding new care services to their care plan.
  
• Family carer: A family relative or friend who offers unpaid care and support for someone.

G

• GP liaison: The act of working closely with a service user’s doctor to ensure that their healthcare and homecare needs align.

H

• Homecare providers: Organisations that supply professional carers to deliver care services in people’s own homes — like us at Nuliving.
• Hourly care: Care visits that are booked by the hour.
• Hydration support: Offering gentle hydration reminders to ensure that service users stay hydrated and energised throughout the day.

I

• Independence: The ability to make your own choices in life.
• Independent living: Staying in your own home while receiving the care and assistance required for a good quality of life.

J

• Joint care: When two carers work together during a task. Commonly used in handling, moving, and transportation care.
  
• Journeys and outings: Trips taken with a carer, usually delivered as part of companionship care. This can include going to the shops, appointments, or joining in with social activities and events.

L

• Loneliness support: Provided via companionship care. Loneliness support includes regular visits, meaningful conversations, quality time, and genuine companionship to reduce feelings of isolation.

M

• Medication support: Assisting with medication reminders, administration, and recording to ensure that it is being taken safely, consistently, and correctly.
• Mobility assistance: Helping a service user move safely around the home or local community. Can be provided when walking, transferring, or using mobility equipment and aids.
• Meal preparation: Providing support with planning, shopping, cooking, serving, and storing meals to ensure the service user always has nutritious food available to them.

N

• Nutrition care: Delivered through meal planning and preparation to ensure that the service user’s meals are healthy, balanced, and wholesome.

O

• Overnight homecare: Care services provided throughout the night. This can include offering reassurance, help with toileting, as well as monitoring.
• Outreach care: Care services that extend beyond the home. For example, accompanying a service user to meet up with a friend, or to join in with a community activity.

P

• Personal homecare: Support with everyday tasks, including washing, dressing, and grooming. Learn more about our personal homecare services, or read more about personal care at home for a fuller explanation of what it involves.
• Person-centred care: Care that places the service user’s preferences, choices, and lifestyle at the centre of their care plan. This is something we prioritise at Nuliving.
• Physical homecare: Tailored care services designed to help those with reduced mobility and/or long-term physical health conditions. Find out more about physical homecare, or read more about physical care and whether your loved one needs it for a closer look at the signs to watch for.

Q

• Quality standards: The benchmarks and goals set by regulators (like CQC) to ensure that care services stay safe, respectful, and effective.
• Quality assurance: The internal processes used by homecare providers to evaluate and improve their quality of care.

R

• Reablement: Short-term care support to help service users gain independence after illness or injury.

S

• Safeguarding: The duty of protecting vulnerable adults from harm, neglect, and abuse. A key part of homecare services for the elderly.
• Support for elderly living at home: Care services specifically targeted to keep the elderly safe, comfortable, and independent within their own home.

T

• Time-critical visits: Care visits scheduled at a specific time of day, most commonly for medication management or for carrying out familiar bedtime routines.
• Transferring: Helping a service user move safely from one position to another. For example, from the bed to a chair, or from a wheelchair to a vehicle.
• Transportation assistance: Supporting a service user in getting to or from an appointment, meeting, or activity with public transport.

W

• Washing and dressing: Daily help with personal hygiene and grooming while maintaining the dignity of the service user at all times.
• Well-being support: Care that aims to improve emotional, physical, and social well-being.

Enquire today to learn more about Nuliving homecare services

If you’re looking for homecare in North Yorkshire or home care in Cumbria, our specialist team is here to help. 

Whether you’re looking for regular domestic care help or ongoing complex overnight care for yourself or a loved one, we’ll take the time needed to understand how we can help.

With Nuliving by your side, you can rest assured that all the care services provided will be bespoke to your requirements and preferences, and we’ll be with you and your family every step of the way in making the transition to homecare.

Contact your nearest Nuliving branch today for more information and to explore your options.