Health and care costs

You, and/or the person you care for, may be able to get help with health costs (such as prescriptions) and with arranging and paying for care and support.

Getting help with health costs

You, and/or the person you care for, may be able to get help with health costs, such as prescriptions and eye tests, if you claim certain benefits or have a low income.

Personal budgets, direct payments and self directed support

You may also be able to have more say in how the support you get is organised and paid for. If your carer’s assessment says you need support from your local council then you may be able to decide how the money for this is spent. 

The person you care for may also be able to decide how money is spent on their care and support.  They will also need to have an assessment by the local council.

  • If you live in England you may be able to get a personal budget where direct payment are made to you so that you can arrange your own support. Find out more on the Age UK website.
  • If you live in Wales you may be able to get a direct payment so you can arrange your own support. Find out more about direct payments from the Welsh Government website.
  • If you live in Scotland you may be able to get self-directed support (SDS) so you can arrange your own support. Find out more on the Self Directed Support website.
  • If you live in Northern Ireland you may be able to get direct payments so you can arrange your own support. Find out more on NIDirect.

Intermediate care

If the person you care for has been discharged from hospital they may be able to get NHS funded intermediate care for up to six weeks.

NHS funded nursing care

The person you care for may be able to get NHS-funded nursing care if they are in a care home (or nursing home) and need nursing care. 

NHS continuing healthcare/Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care

If the person you care for is an adult and needs long-term support at home, in a care home or in a hospice, they may qualify for NHS continuing healthcare. Find out more on the NHS Choices website and on the Beacon website.

In Scotland, NHS continuing healthcare is known as Hospital Based Complex Clinical Care. Find out more on the Care Information Scotland website.

Personal health budgets

A personal health budget is an amount of money to support the health and wellbeing needs of the person you care for, which is planned and agreed between them (or someone who represents them), and their local NHS team. Personal health budgets are only available in England.

Personal health budgets allow the person you care for more choice, flexibility and control.  You may benefit if the person you care for gets a personal health budget.  You may find you get a chance to take a break from caring or that is easier to do the activities they enjoy with them.

Find out more on the NHS Choices website.