When loved ones need help to live comfortably and safely at home, it can be difficult to decide between the various options available. In a city as large and vibrant as London, choosing safe, secure and effective home care services is essential. At Tidal Living, we bring compassionate, person- centred care directly into people’s homes, ensuring that our service users can remain in familiar surroundings, maintain their quality of life, and live fulfilling lives.
Home care (sometimes termed domiciliary care) enables service users to receive support in their own homes with daily living, personal care and health-related tasks. The duration of home care can range from a short-term intervention after illness or discharge (e.g. reablement home care) to a long-term alternative to residential care solutions such as care homes.
Who is this guide for?
This guide is for people looking for home care in London, for themselves or for a family member, whether they are self-funding, using direct payments or seeking care via their local authority, or council.
How does home care work?
The process of home care begins by getting assessed: if you are finding daily life tasks challenging, you can request a care needs assessment from your local council. This assessment evaluates whether you are eligible to receive support, and may also include a financial needs assessment to work out if the cost of the support provided is within your means: if not, the council can contribute, or make direct payments to you for funding your care.
Even if these assessments find you are not eligible to receive funding, the council has a legal duty to give free advice about local support.
Agencies which provide personal care in the UK must be CQC-registered and inspected, by law, to ensure their quality and regulatory compliance. NICE guidance sets out person-centred standards for care at home, which also inform how CQC inspect services.
As a CQC-regulated care agency, we at Tidal Living deliver care in line with NICE guidelines of person-centred, safe and consistent support.
Choosing A Home Care Provider in London
The following checklist can help you to choose a home care provider based in London:
1. Does the care provider have a CQC registration? If so, do they have an inspection rating?
Before booking a consultation with a home care provider, check if the provider is registered with the CQC for the regulated activity of personal care, and review the latest inspection report.
2. How quickly can the care provider start work, and what is the scope of the care they provide?
If you or a loved one need emergency care or post-discharge care, it is important to consider how quickly the care provider in question can start providing care, in order that you receive the care you need on time. In addition, it is important to consider how specialised the care provider is in providing the type(s) of care you need. For example, we at Tidal Living specialise in dementia and Alzheimer’s care; if you or a loved one suffer from dementia, do not hesitate to reach out to us for an initial care assessment.
3. How does the care provider plan and review care?
In terms of care planning, it is important to evaluate how a prospective care provider plans and reviews the care and support they provide to their service users. It is important to look for whether they provide a face-to-face assessment, as well as a formal plan (written or digital) which is reviewed regularly with you and your family.
4. How does the care provider evaluate prospective employees, train and supervise them?
It is important to consider how applicants to the care provider you plan to work with are evaluated (or vetted, including an enhanced DBS with Barred Lists check, as required by law), in addition to their training and supervision and what it covers; for example, dementia, moving and handling as well as medication support.
5. How good is the care provider at communicating about the service user with their family/loved ones? How do they ensure continuity of care?
It is also important to evaluate how good the care provider is at communicating how care is being provided alongside your care needs to you or your loved ones, as well as involving you in the care delivery process, alongside communicating your care plan with other organizations which are involved in providing care to you. These can include hospitals, mental health services and GP practices.
Our small, close-knit teams at Tidal Living work to ensure that your needs are communicated with your loved ones and other people involved in your care, coordinated by our Registered Manager, Sabbir Ahmed.
6. How clear is the care provider in conveying pricing information to service users and their loved ones?
Pricing clarity is important: if you find that a care provider is unclear about the fees they charge you for your care, this can be confusing and discomforting.
Types of Home Care Service We Offer:
At Tidal Living, we provide a range of home care services for our service users. These include the following, encompassing the evolving care needs of service users:
- Hourly care (or visiting care)
- Overnight (or Sleepover) Care
- 24-hour Care
- Live-in Care
- Reablement Care
- Specialist Care
- Dementia and Alzheimer’s Care
- Companionship Care
- Domestic Home Help
- Emergency Care
- Respite and Holiday Care
Person-Centred Care:
At Tidal Living, we don’t believe in “prepackaged” care. Every plan begins with a personalised care assessment, and we design services around you, not the other way around: in two words, “person-centred care”.
As your requirements shift, so does your care plan. As a CQC-regulated care provider, we emphasise independence, quality, and providing the customer with a sense of ownership over their care, in line with NICE guidance.
Expert Care You Can Trust:
Our caregivers are trained professionals, not just aides. They receive ongoing training in areas ranging from dementia care, domestic home help, first aid, medicines administration, and health & safety. Our care workers are DBS-checked, compassionate, and committed to forming meaningful connections with our service users and their families.
Rigorous Oversight & Quality Control
As a care provider, we at Tidal Living are Care Quality Commission (CQC)-regulated and adhere to their regulations, best-practice guidance, and ethics.
Our internal processes include:
- Staff supervision and checkups
- Regular customer and family feedback
- Ongoing staff education
- Regular review of care plans
These ensure that our home care services in London are reliable and trustworthy.
Home Care We Offer at Tidal Living:
At Tidal Living, we offer a range of care services for our service users, which include the following:
- Hourly Home Care (Visiting Care): Hourly (or visiting) care is ideal when people need moderate support with self-care and household tasks such as bathing, changing/getting into clothes, light housekeeping tasks (e.g. cleaning/washing/tidying), medicines administration, and cooking. These flexible visits can range from 30 minutes up to most of the day. These visits can form the backbone of care for service users who are still fairly independent, but need regular, or periodic, help and support.
- 24 Hour Home Care Services – For service users who require continuous support and supervision, 24-hour home care services offer ultimate peace of mind. With coordinated shifts, our caregivers ensure that someone is always there, day or night. This type of support is essential for service users with serious medical conditions such as dementia, mobility challenges, or those at high risk of falls. With 24/7 support, families can rest assured that their loved ones are not alone in critical times.
- Overnight Care for Elderly – Night-time can pose many dangers for service users, including falls and confusion. Our night care services provide a safe and responsive presence overnight. Carers either stay awake or sleep over, ready to intervene if necessary to ensure service users remain safe at night.
- Reablement Care at Home – Reablement care is a rehabilitative intervention concentrated on restoring service users’ independence. After events such as surgery, illness, or functional decline, our reablement services aim to help service users relearn or strengthen skills such as walking, raining, cooking, or home tasks. This approach is not about doing everything for someone; it’s about doing tasks with them until they recapture confidence and autonomy. It can reduce long-term reliance on full-time care by making recovery for service users faster.
- Private Home Care London – Numerous people prefer bespoke, private care, instead of applying for home care through government channels or fixed allocations. Our private home care services in London give you control over the frequency, services provided, caregiver matching process, timing, and customisation. You skip waiting lists and bureaucracy, allowing you direct access to high-quality care.
- Post-Surgery & Recovery Support – Recovery at home can be complex. Our caregivers at Tidal Living handle injury care, specific recovery support, including with mobility, general recuperation guidance, safety monitoring, and emotional support as part of companionship. By furnishing these services at home, we help reduce hospital stays and support the convalescence process for service users.
- Emergency & Crisis Care – Unforeseen changes, such as an acute illness, caregiver absence, or unanticipated hospitalisation require care which is responsive to service users’ needs. Our emergency care unit aims to provide care within 24 hours, offering provisional support and helping stabilise the situation while a longer-term plan is put in place.
How the Tidal Living Care Process Works
- Initial Assessment & Consultation – We gather service users’ medical history, life preferences, mobility, support needs and input from their families, which we use to develop a care plan.
- Care Plan Development – We map out the frequency of care required, tasks needed, staff assignments, risk assessment and corresponding mitigation, and communication, taking this into note in our care plan.
- Guardian Matching & preface – Based upon personality, skillset, and experience in working with people facing similar difficulties, we match caregivers to service users, also conducting an in-home initial meeting between the caregiver and service user to build trust.
- Care Delivery & Monitoring – The care plan is put into action. The Registered Manager, Sabbir Ahmed, oversees staff performance, service user and family satisfaction, and adherence to norms.
- Feedback, Review & Adjustment – We maintain close communication, regularly re-evaluate the care plan, incorporate feedback from service users and their families, and adapt to new care situations as requirements change.
Common Questions About Home Care Services in London
Q. How quickly can Tidal Living launch home care?
Ans. In numerous cases, we can mobilise services within 24 hours or indeed on the same day if the need is critical (emergency care). For other types of care, we initiate assessments within 48 to 72 hours of an enquiry being submitted.
Q. Can services be combined (e.g. hourly care with overnight care, emergency care with specialist care)?
Ans. Yes. numerous service users, for example, combine hourly (or visiting, i.e. daycare) care with overnight care if it has been identified they need both types of care in their needs assessment. This allows for the provision of tailor-made, personalised care packages to service users.
Q. When are 24 hour home care services ideal?
Ans. 24/7 care is ideal for service users at high risk of falls, experiencing dementia or Alzheimer’s, as well as those with complex medical conditions, limited mobility, or those who require round-the-clock care due to changing, evolving medical needs.
Q. What training do caregivers suffer?
Ans. Our caregivers receive induction and ongoing training in areas including domestic home help, first aid, dementia care, secure handling and administration of medications, health & safety, and more. They’re DBS- checked as required by law (DBS Enhanced with Barred Lists) and clinically supervised.
Q. How is pricing determined?
Ans. Pricing is grounded on assessment, where service users’ needs are identified and the type(s) of care appropriate for service users are allocated: for example, how long/frequent is the care, the type of support provided, or whether full 24 hour home care services are required. We offer flexible short-term, hourly, overnight, or nonstop care plans with transparent, no-hidden-costs pricing.
Conclusion
Choosing the right provider for home care services in London can feel daunting but with the right caregivers, it can become a source of security, freedom, and peace of mind for service users and their families alike. At Tidal Living, we’re devoted to delivering compassionate, personalised, and high-quality care meeting your requirements.
Whether you need occasional hourly help, 24 hour home care services, overnight care for senior, Reablement Care at Home, or private home care in London, we’ve designed our services to be flexible, responsive, and centred on you.
If you are looking for dependable, expert and consistent care in London, feel free to make an enquiry today to arrange your initial care assessment and start a care plan that works best for you.
