Home Care Glossary
Every term you will meet, in a sentence
Home care has its own vocabulary, some of it legal, some of it clinical and some of it just the sector’s habit. This glossary defines each term in a sentence and links to the page that explains it properly. The definitions follow the wording of the legislation and the Care Quality Commission where one exists. It is updated whenever a new page on this site introduces a term.
Written by the Starling Homecare leadership team and reviewed by Rupen Faldu, Managing Director and the provider’s nominated individual. Last reviewed 24 October 2026; next review by April 2027. Sources are listed at the end of this page.
The glossary at a glance
- 44 terms, A to Z, each with a one-sentence definition.
- Regulatory terms follow the Health and Social Care Act 2008 and the 2014 Regulations.
- Funding terms follow the Care Act 2014 and GOV.UK guidance.
- Each term links to the page on this site that explains it in full.
A to C
A
Attendance Allowance
A non-means-tested benefit for people over State Pension age who need help with personal care because of illness or disability. It can be spent on home care. Read more.
B
Best interests decision
A decision made on behalf of someone who lacks capacity for that decision, under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, weighing their wishes, feelings and welfare. Read more.
Blister pack
A sealed pharmacy pack with medication sorted by day and time, used so carers can prompt or assist with doses accurately. Read more.
C
Care assistant
The care worker who visits the home and provides the care in the care plan. Also called a care worker or carer. Read more.
Care Certificate
The set of fifteen standards against which every new care worker in England is inducted and assessed; Skills for Care expects it to be completed within the first 12 weeks, and the CQC expects providers to use it for induction, although it is not a legal qualification. Read more.
Care coordinator
The office role that builds the rota, matches carers to people and arranges cover. Read more.
Care needs assessment
The assessment Hertfordshire County Council carries out under the Care Act 2014 to decide whether a person is eligible for council support. Read more.
Care plan
The written document setting out what support a person needs, how and when it is given, and the risks and preferences involved. Read more.
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
The independent regulator of health and adult social care in England. Every home care provider delivering personal care must be registered with it. Read more.
Companionship care
Visits built around company, conversation, activities and getting out rather than personal care. Read more.
Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC)
NHS funding for the full cost of care where an adult has a primary health need, assessed against a national framework. Read more.
Continuity of care
The same small team of carers visiting a person, so they are known and change is noticed. Read more.
D
Deferred payment agreement
An arrangement with the council to delay paying for care against the value of a person’s home. Read more.
Deputy
A person appointed by the Court of Protection to make decisions for someone who lacks capacity and has no attorney. Read more.
Direct Payments
Money paid by the council to an eligible person to arrange their own care instead of the council arranging it. Read more.
Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check
The criminal record check every care worker must have at the enhanced level, with a check of the adults’ barred list. Read more.
Domiciliary care
The formal term for home care: care provided in a person’s own home by visiting care workers. Read more.
Double-handed care
A visit carried out by two carers together, usually because a moving and handling assessment requires it. Read more.
Duty of candour
The legal duty on providers to be open and honest with people when something goes wrong with their care. Read more.
E
End of life care
Care for someone in the last months, weeks or days of life, focused on comfort, dignity and the family, often alongside a hospice. Read more.
F
Field supervisor
The provider role that assesses people, writes and reviews care plans and supervises carers in the home. Read more.
Fundamental standards
The standards in the 2014 Regulations that every registered provider must meet, covering person-centred care, dignity, consent, safe care, safeguarding, nutrition, premises, complaints, governance, staffing, fit and proper staff, the duty of candour and display of ratings (Regulations 9 to 20A). Read more.
I
Introductory agency
A business that introduces self-employed carers to families for a fee; it does not provide the care and is usually not regulated. Read more.
K
Key safe
A small coded box fixed outside the home holding a door key so carers can enter at agreed times. Read more.
L
Lasting power of attorney (LPA)
A legal document in which a person appoints someone to make decisions for them if they lose capacity; one covers health and welfare, the other property and finance. Read more.
Live-in care
A carer living in the person’s home and available through the day, the usual alternative to a care home. Read more.
M
Means test
The financial assessment that decides how much a person pays towards council-arranged care, based on capital and income. Read more.
Medication administration record (MAR)
The record kept each time carers prompt, assist with or administer medication. Read more.
Mental Capacity Act 2005
The law setting out how decisions are made for people who may lack capacity, starting from the presumption that they have it. Read more.
Moving and handling
The assessed, safe methods and equipment used to help someone move, transfer or reposition. Read more.
N
Nominated individual
The director or senior person a provider names to supervise the management of its regulated activity. Read more.
O
Overnight care
A carer in the home through the night, either sleeping nearby or awake. Read more.
P
Palliative care
Care that relieves symptoms and improves quality of life for someone with a life-limiting illness, at any stage. Read more.
Personal care
Help with washing, dressing, toileting, eating and similar tasks; the regulated activity at the core of home care. Read more.
Person-centred care
Care planned around the individual’s needs, preferences and wishes rather than a standard routine. Read more.
R
Reablement
Short-term, goal-led support, usually up to six weeks, to help someone regain independence after illness or a hospital stay. Read more.
Registered manager
The person named on the CQC registration and assessed as fit to run the service day to day, legally accountable with the provider. Read more.
Regulated activity
An activity that may only be carried out by a CQC-registered provider; for home care, this is personal care. Read more.
Respite care
Care for a fixed period so a family carer can take a break. Read more.
S
Safeguarding
Protecting adults at risk from abuse or neglect; concerns go to the council’s safeguarding team under section 42 of the Care Act 2014. Read more.
Sighted guiding
The technique of guiding someone with sight loss by letting them hold the guide’s arm and walk half a step behind. Read more.
V
Visiting care
Home care delivered in scheduled visits at set times of day; also called hourly care. Read more.
W
Waking night
Overnight care in which the carer stays awake throughout, for someone who needs support during the night. Read more.
Wellbeing principle
The duty on councils under section 1 of the Care Act 2014 to promote the wellbeing of the individual in everything they do. Read more.
Common questions about the glossary
Where do these definitions come from?
Regulatory terms follow the wording of the Health and Social Care Act 2008, the 2014 Regulations and the Care Quality Commission’s own guidance. Funding and legal terms follow the Care Act 2014, the Mental Capacity Act 2005 and GOV.UK. Sector terms describe common practice and say so.
Is “carer” the same as “care worker”?
In everyday use, yes. Strictly, a care worker or care assistant is employed to provide care, while “carer” in law usually means an unpaid family carer, which is why the Care Act gives carers their own rights. This site uses carer in the everyday sense and says family carer where it means a relative.
Can I suggest a term?
Yes. If you meet a word in a care conversation that is not here, let us know and we will add it with a plain definition.
Where to go next
- Start at Home Care Explained for the full section.
- If a term you expected is missing, tell us and we will add it.
- To talk about care in Hertfordshire, call Starling Homecare on 01727 324 127 or request a callback.
Sources
- Health and Social Care Act 2008 (Regulated Activities) Regulations 2014, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Care Act 2014, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Care and support statutory guidance, GOV.UK, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Mental Capacity Act 2005, legislation.gov.uk, accessed 24 October 2026.
- The fundamental standards, Care Quality Commission, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Care Certificate standards, Skills for Care, accessed 24 October 2026.
- Attendance Allowance, GOV.UK, accessed 24 October 2026.
- NHS Continuing Healthcare, NHS, accessed 24 October 2026.
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