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The Care We Need

The unpaid job most of us end up doing for someone we love, set out in plain steps.

The everyday work of caring for someone at home.

Where to Go Next

Last updated: July 12, 2026

Lists of organisations are usually arranged by what the organisation is, which is no use at all when you are standing in a corridor. This one is arranged by the moment. Find the moment you are in, then look for your own country in it.

Everything below is a health service, a statutory body, a regulator or an established non-profit carer or condition organisation. Nothing here sells care, and nothing here has paid to be listed. Free national helplines exist for most of the carer organisations named; look up the current number on their own site rather than trusting a number copied onto a page like this one.

When they are coming home from hospital

The first fortnight is where the most is decided and the least is explained.

  • United Kingdom: NHS (nhs.uk) for discharge and community services; Carers UK and Carers Trust for what you can ask for at discharge; Age UK for practical help at home; NICE for the guidance the ward itself is meant to be following.
  • United States: Eldercare Locator, run by the Administration for Community Living, is the single best starting point and connects you to your Area Agency on Aging; Family Caregiver Alliance for discharge planning; Medicare.gov for what home health does and does not cover; the National Institute on Aging for plain-language explanations.
  • Australia: Carer Gateway for carer support and My Aged Care for services and assessment.
  • Canada: the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence, plus your provincial or territorial health authority, which is where home care is actually arranged.
  • Ireland: Family Carers Ireland, and the HSE for community services.
  • Europe: Eurocarers for what exists country by country.

When it is money, forms and rights

Everything in this section changes annually. Take the current figure from the official body, never from an article, including one on this site.

  • United Kingdom: GOV.UK for carer’s allowance, carer’s credit and attendance allowance; your local council or health and social care trust for assessments and direct payments; the NHS for continuing healthcare; Citizens Advice for a benefit check and a challenge; Carers UK for a carer-specific rights guide; the Office of the Public Guardian for power of attorney.
  • United States: ACL and your Area Agency on Aging for the National Family Caregiver Support Program; Medicaid.gov for home and community based services waivers and self-directed care; Medicare.gov for what Medicare covers, which is less long-term care than most families expect; the US Department of Labor for family and medical leave; AARP for the carer guides.
  • Australia: Services Australia for carer payment and carer allowance; My Aged Care for assessment and subsidised services; Carer Gateway for counselling, respite and planning.
  • Canada: Canada.ca for the Canada caregiver credit and for employment insurance caregiving benefits; your provincial ministry of health for home care, which varies enormously between provinces.
  • Ireland: Citizens Information and gov.ie for carer’s allowance, carer’s benefit and the carer’s support grant; Family Carers Ireland for help with the forms.

When it is dementia

  • International: Alzheimer’s Disease International, which lists a member association in most countries, and the World Health Organization dementia pages.
  • United Kingdom: Alzheimer’s Society, Dementia UK (whose Admiral Nurses take calls from carers specifically), and Age UK.
  • United States: the Alzheimer’s Association, with a 24 hour helpline, and the National Institute on Aging.
  • Australia: Dementia Australia and the National Dementia Helpline.
  • Canada: the Alzheimer Society of Canada and its provincial societies.
  • Ireland: The Alzheimer Society of Ireland.
  • Europe: Alzheimer Europe.

When you are choosing or checking anyone who comes into the house

The whole point of this section is that you can look a provider up yourself, in a public register, before anybody sets foot in the house. This site lists no agencies and recommends none.

  • England: the Care Quality Commission register. Scotland: the Care Inspectorate. Wales: Care Inspectorate Wales. Northern Ireland: the RQIA.
  • United States: Medicare Care Compare for home health agencies and nursing homes, your state licensing or health department for home care agencies, and your state Long-Term Care Ombudsman if something goes wrong.
  • Australia: the Aged Care Quality and Safety Commission.
  • Canada: the provincial regulator or health authority, which differs by province.
  • Ireland: HIQA.

When it is the last months

  • United Kingdom: Marie Curie and Hospice UK, plus your own GP practice, which coordinates most of what happens at home.
  • United States: CaringInfo, run by the National Hospice and Palliative Care Organization, and Medicare.gov for the hospice benefit.
  • Australia: Palliative Care Australia and CareSearch.
  • Canada: the Canadian Hospice Palliative Care Association.
  • Ireland: the Irish Hospice Foundation.

When it is you

The section carers use least and need most.

  • Your own doctor, and tell them you are a carer. In several systems that single sentence changes what you are offered.
  • United Kingdom: Carers UK and Carers Trust for carer support, breaks and local groups; Samaritans if the night has got very bad.
  • United States: Family Caregiver Alliance and the National Alliance for Caregiving; 988 for the Suicide and Crisis Lifeline.
  • Australia: Carer Gateway counselling and coaching; Lifeline on 13 11 14.
  • Canada: the Canadian Centre for Caregiving Excellence; 9-8-8 for the Suicide Crisis Helpline.
  • Ireland: Family Carers Ireland; Samaritans on 116 123.
  • Elsewhere: the International Alliance of Carer Organizations lists national carer bodies by country.

These organisations are listed for reference. Their content is theirs and their details change, so check anything time-sensitive on their own site. If a listing here is out of date, or a good national body for your country is missing, please tell me through Contact. Nothing on this page is a recommendation of a service you would pay for, and nothing here replaces the Disclaimer, which sets out when to stop reading and ring somebody.