There are over 13,000 domiciliary care providers registered in the UK. Most family members choose one by searching online, reading a few reviews, and making a phone call. Within days, a stranger is in their parent's home, handling the most intimate aspects of daily life. And most families have no idea whether they asked the right questions before handing over that level of trust.
This is not a criticism of families. It is a reflection of a system that does not make it easy to compare providers in any meaningful way. CQC ratings help, but they tell you what was found on a particular day by an inspector — not what will happen next Tuesday when the morning carer arrives.
The following five questions will tell you more about a homecare provider than any brochure, any rating, and most sales conversations. Ask them before you sign anything.
What is your CQC registration, and what does it cover?
Every legitimate homecare provider in England is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC). But registration is not a single thing. There are different regulated activities, and not all providers hold the same ones.
The most common registration for homecare providers is personal care — covering washing, dressing, medication prompting, and daily living support. However, if your relative has clinical needs (wound care following surgery, post-operative monitoring, rehabilitation support, or chronic condition management) you need a provider that also holds a Treatment of Disease, Disorder or Injury (TDDI) registration.
Most providers do not hold this second registration. If your relative's needs are complex, or are likely to become complex, ask this question first.
✅ What a good answer sounds like
"We hold CQC registrations for personal care and for Treatment of Disease, Disorder or Injury. Our CQC Provider ID is [number] and you can check our profile at cqc.org.uk." A good provider will tell you their CQC rating without being asked, explain what the rating means, and be transparent if it is anything other than Good or Outstanding.
Will my relative have a consistent carer, or will it change week to week?
This is the question that most families think to ask only after it has become a problem. Inconsistency of carer is the most common complaint in domiciliary care — and for good reason. A different face at the door every visit is disorienting for anyone, and potentially distressing for a person living with dementia, anxiety, or cognitive change.
A good provider will give you an honest answer: either a named carer or a small, consistent team. An evasive answer — "we do our best" or "it depends on scheduling" — tells you exactly what your experience is likely to be.
What training do your carers hold, and how do you verify it?
In the UK, carers working in a regulated domiciliary care setting must have completed mandatory training. The national standard is the Core Skills Training Framework (CSTF), developed by Skills for Health and aligned with NHS requirements. Ask whether the agency uses CSTF-aligned training.
Then ask how they verify it. A provider with strong governance will have a training matrix that shows, for every carer, which training has been completed, when it expires, and what refreshers are due. If a provider cannot answer this question clearly, their governance is not as robust as their brochure suggests.
Ask also about specialist training for your relative's specific needs — dementia awareness, acquired brain injury, or rehabilitation support as appropriate.
How do you write and review care plans?
A care plan is the document that governs how your relative is cared for on every single visit. It should be specific, personalised, and reviewed regularly. Ask the provider: how long does the care plan take to complete? Who is involved in writing it? How often is it reviewed? What happens when your relative's needs change? Is the plan available for you to read?
🚩 Red flags in care plan answers
A template-based plan not personalised to your relative. A plan completed without visiting the person at home first. No clear process for updating the plan when needs change. Reluctance to share the plan with family members. Plans with key fields left blank — including medical history, risk assessments, and personal preferences.
What happens if something goes wrong?
This is the question that most families feel awkward asking, and the one that matters most. Every homecare provider should have a clear, accessible complaints process. Ask: who do I contact if there is a problem? What is the escalation process? What are the timescales for response and resolution?
Ask also: have you had any complaints in the past 12 months? A provider that says no and has been operating for any meaningful period is either very fortunate or not being fully honest. Complaints happen in every service. The question is not whether they happen — but how they are handled.
A provider that handles complaints well is a provider that takes quality seriously. A provider that avoids the question is one that has something to protect.
One more thing: the question you should ask yourself
After any assessment visit or initial conversation with a provider, ask yourself this: did the person I spoke to seem genuinely interested in my relative as an individual, or did they seem primarily interested in filling a care package?
The best care relationships are built on genuine personal interest. The carers who ask about a person's life before their condition — who remember what music they like and whether they take their tea with one sugar or two — these are the carers who transform a care visit from a task into something that genuinely supports a person's quality of life.
You cannot always identify this from a first phone call. But you can often tell from a first face-to-face meeting. Trust that instinct.
We welcome these questions. Contact Acrux Support Services for a free, no-obligation assessment.
Book a Free AssessmentAcrux Support Services is CQC-registered (Provider ID: 1-18041750500) for personal care and Treatment of Disease, Disorder or Injury. We serve adults across East London and beyond. All carers are trained to CSTF standards.