Getting help
Asking for your parent's care to be looked at again
The help agreed at the start may stop fitting as things change. Who to ask, how your parent leads it, and where health questions go.
The carers still come at the times agreed when the help began, and they still do the tasks on the original list. Somewhere along the way the arrangement stopped fitting. Your parent would like a later start, or help with something new, or less help than they have now, and nobody in the family is sure who to ask. Nothing here weighs up what any change in your parent means, or how much help is the right amount; this page is about asking for the arrangement to be looked at again, with your parent leading. This is information, not medical advice.
Know that the care is meant to be looked at again
NICE's quality standard for home care in England says how often an older person's home care is reviewed should be agreed with them, will depend on their circumstances, and should respond to any change in those circumstances. An evidence review by HIQA in Ireland says assessments of care needs should be reviewed regularly, so that changing care needs can be picked up and responded to as they emerge. For what home help can cover in the first place, there is What help at home can include.
What we don’t claim here
We don’t tell you whether a change is serious, or where ordinary ends and concerning begins. No authority sets that threshold, so we don’t imply one.
Who can weigh it: your parent’s doctor or other health professionals, who know the person and the situation. Where to take it →
Start from your parent's view of what is working
The same NICE quality standard for England says older people who use home care should have a conversation with someone from their care team about whether they are happy with their care and whether it is helping them in the way they want. HIQA's evidence review in Ireland says assessments of care needs should put the person receiving care at the centre, and should also take in the views of their family or representatives.
The review belongs to your parent: the family can help ask for it, but it is their care being looked at. Ask them what suits them in the current arrangement, what doesn't, and what they would change, and let their answer be where it starts. Talking it over with your parent, in person or by phone, keeps the family in step with the review. Ontario Health atHome in Canada lists, among the rights of people receiving its home and community care in Ontario, taking part in the reassessment of their needs, choosing a person to be present with them during assessments, and raising concerns or recommending changes to the services they receive without fear of reprisal.
Ask the provider for a review
NICE's quality standard for England says the older person, and a family member or other unpaid carer, should know who to contact if they want to arrange a review of the person's care at a different time from the one agreed, so, with your parent or with their agreement, ask the provider who that is. Who carries out reviews and assessments differs by where your parent lives, so ask, too, who the right person is where they are.
Before you ask, note down with your parent what has changed in the practical arrangement: visit times that no longer suit, tasks they want added or dropped, or a change in which of the family is around. Questions to ask when choosing a carer or agency has questions you may want to come back to.
Bring in the people your parent wants there
NICE's quality standard for England says older people can involve a family member or another unpaid carer in the review of their care, if they wish. Ask your parent whether they want anyone with them, and who. It may be you, someone else, or no one; go with what they choose.
Say so when your own part changes
NICE's home care guideline for England recommends that a home care plan makes clear the part that family and other unpaid carers will play, and the need for a review if their circumstances change. If your own availability shifts, because of work, a move or anything else, tell your parent and the provider, since that can be a reason to look at the plan again as well.
The guidance here comes from England, Ireland and Ontario in Canada, and each speaks for its own place; arrangements where your parent lives may differ. How reviews and assessments work for them is something to ask the provider, beside your parent or at their request.
Take health questions to their doctor or care team
Any question about your parent's health is worth bringing to their doctor or care team, with your parent choosing whether anyone else is in the room.
When to ask a professional
This guide stops where a professional’s judgment starts. Bring what you’ve noticed, plainly, to your parent’s doctor or other health professionals.
Sources
The outside sources this guide draws on.
Primary: Taken from the official source itself, and cited directly. Secondary: Established in recognised guidance, summarised here.
- PrimaryNICE (England), Home care for older people, quality standard QS123, statement 5, 2016
- PrimaryNICE (England), Home care: delivering personal care and practical support to older people living in their own homes, guideline NG21, 2015, updated 2018
- PrimaryOntario Health atHome (Canada), Patient Bill of Rights, 04-2026
- SecondaryHIQA (Ireland), executive summary of the evidence review for National Standards for Homecare and Support Services in Ireland, 2022
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How we source
Carefulness, made visible.
Named, not counted
Each guide names its sources and tags each one Primary or Secondary. It never counts sources at you.
Holding back
Where a part isn’t confirmed, a guide runs shorter and says what is missing.
Naming the limit
Every guide names where its authority ends, and who to ask instead.