Hospice at Home Care in the UK: What It Is and How to Get It (2026)

When someone has a terminal illness, many families want them to be cared for at home rather than in hospital or a hospice building. Hospice at home care makes that possible. It brings nursing, symptom control and family support to the person's own home. Here is how it works in the UK, who provides it, and how to get it started.

Key points

Hospice at home care is end of life and palliative care given in the person's own home, focused on comfort rather than cure.
It is provided by community and district nurses, community palliative care teams, local hospices, and charities such as Marie Curie.
A GP, district nurse or hospital team usually arranges it.
Hospice care is free. It is paid for through NHS funding and public donation.
Ordinary home care from a care agency is different. It is usually means-tested or paid for privately.

What is hospice at home care?

The NHS says end of life and hospice care can often be provided at home, so you may not need to move. Sometimes this is available at any time of the day or night. The aim is not to cure the illness. It is to manage pain and symptoms, support dignity, and help the person stay in familiar surroundings with family close by.

It does not have to wait until the last days of life. Hospice care can start at any time after diagnosis with a terminal illness or life-limiting condition. It does not have to be ongoing. Some people use it for a while, stop, and come back when they need it again.

Who provides hospice care at home in the UK?

Several teams may be involved, often at the same time:

Your GP, who has overall responsibility for your care at home.
Community or district nurses, whom your GP can arrange to visit you at home to provide nursing care.
Community palliative care nurses, who visit to give or arrange hands-on nursing and personal care, advise on pain and symptoms, and support you and your carers.
Local hospices, many of which have staff who can care for you at home. Ask your local hospice what it offers.
Marie Curie, whose nurses and healthcare assistants provide hospice care at home in partnership with the NHS in most parts of the UK. In some areas they give overnight care for eight or nine hours at a time. In others, they visit for shorter periods or at short notice.
Macmillan nurses, who support people with cancer. They usually spend up to an hour at a time with someone, giving advice on pain, symptoms and emotional support.
Council social care, which may provide services and equipment to help you stay at home, such as hand rails.

In England, the Care Quality Commission (CQC) inspects hospices and home care services. You can check a provider's latest report and rating on the CQC website.

This guide describes the system in England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have different rules on paying for care, so check locally.

Who can get hospice care at home?

Hospice care is for people with a terminal illness or a long-term condition that cannot be cured. That includes cancer, but also dementia, heart, liver and kidney failure, lung conditions such as COPD, neurological conditions such as motor neurone disease, and frailty. Marie Curie's hospice care at home service helps people with any illness they are likely to die from, and the people close to them.

There is no fixed rule about how long someone must be expected to live. For more detail, see how to qualify for hospice care in the UK.

What does hospice care at home involve?

Nursing and symptom control

Nurses manage pain relief and other symptoms. Marie Curie Nurses are registered nurses. They can give prescribed medicines, including injections and drugs given through a syringe driver. Their care follows a care plan set by the district or community nurse.

Personal and practical care

Healthcare assistants can help with washing, dressing and moving around, and with taking routine medicines where this is appropriate. Occupational therapists can assess what equipment or home adaptations would help and arrange for them to be delivered.

Night care and breaks for carers

Overnight visits mean family carers can sleep. Some hospices also offer respite care, where the person stays at the hospice for a short time so carers can have a break. Not all hospices offer this, so ask.

Emotional, spiritual and family support

Hospice teams can include counsellors, chaplains and social workers. They can offer:

emotional support for the person and their family
spiritual support, whatever your faith or none
help with practical matters, such as checking which benefits you can get
bereavement support after the person has died

If dementia is part of the picture, Admiral Nurses are nurses trained to support people with dementia.

How much does hospice care at home cost?

Hospice care is free. Marie Curie says its hospice care at home is always free of charge to the people it looks after and their families. Hospice care is paid for through a mix of NHS funding and public donation.

Help from outside the hospice team, such as a homecare agency, may cost money. These funding routes can help:

NHS Continuing Healthcare fast track. If someone's condition is getting worse quickly and they may be entering a terminal phase, a doctor or nurse can fast-track them for NHS Continuing Healthcare. The NHS then pays for their care in full, including personal care. Care should usually be in place within 48 hours. See our guide to fast-track Continuing Healthcare.
Council social care. For care the NHS does not fund, the council can do a needs assessment and a means test. See GOV.UK: apply for a needs assessment.
Attendance Allowance. People over State Pension age who may have 12 months or less to live can claim under the special rules for end of life. They get the higher rate, currently £114.60 a week, with no face-to-face assessment. See GOV.UK: claiming Attendance Allowance near the end of life.
Pension Credit. This gives extra money to people over State Pension age on a low income. See GOV.UK: Pension Credit.
Carer's Allowance. A family carer may be able to claim if they care for someone for at least 35 hours a week and that person gets certain benefits. See GOV.UK: Carer's Allowance.

It is also a good time to check whether a lasting power of attorney is in place. This lets someone the person trusts make decisions about their care or money if they can no longer do so.

Hospice at home compared with other settings

Setting	Best suited to	Who pays
Hospice care at home	People who want to stay at home, with family, for as long as possible	Free: NHS funding and public donation
Inpatient hospice	Symptoms that need specialist care for a few days or weeks, care in the last days of life, or a short stay so carers can have a break	Free: NHS funding and public donation
Care home	People who need staff on hand day and night	Means-tested, unless NHS Continuing Healthcare applies. In a nursing home, the NHS pays a contribution towards nursing care
Home care from an agency	Everyday help with washing, meals and getting about	Means-tested through the council, or paid for privately

For a fuller comparison, see hospice vs care home vs home. If you are unsure how NHS nursing at home differs from paid carers, read NHS community health care vs home care.

How to arrange hospice care at home

Speak to the person's GP or district nurse. To find out whether nursing or hospice care at home is available locally, the NHS says to check with your GP.
Ask whether they should be fast-tracked for NHS Continuing Healthcare.
Contact your local hospice. Some accept self-referrals. Others need your doctor or nurse to refer you. You can find local hospices with the Hospice UK hospice care finder.
For Marie Curie care at home, ask your district nurse, community nurse, specialist nurse or GP. Marie Curie does not take bookings directly, because care is coordinated through the district nurse.
If you are the main carer, ask the council for a carer's assessment. It is free and is separate from the needs assessment for the person you care for.
Check Attendance Allowance and, if relevant, Pension Credit.

For what happens after a referral, see how hospice referral and assessment work in the UK, and our full guide to end of life care at home.

Frequently asked questions

How does hospice at home care work?

The GP or district nurse assesses the person's needs and arranges care. Nurses and healthcare assistants from the NHS, a local hospice or a charity such as Marie Curie then visit the person at home. They manage symptoms, give medicines, help with personal care and support the family. Visits follow a care plan set by the district or community nurse.

Who is eligible for hospice care at home?

People with a terminal or life-limiting illness, usually referred by their GP, district nurse or hospital team. There is no fixed rule about life expectancy.

Is hospice care at home free?

Yes. Hospice care is free, paid for through NHS funding and public donation. Care from a homecare agency outside the hospice team may be means-tested, unless the person qualifies for NHS Continuing Healthcare.

What is the difference between hospice care and palliative care?

Palliative care aims to make someone with an illness that cannot be cured as comfortable as possible, and can start when they are first diagnosed. Hospices provide palliative care. They also provide end of life care, which is palliative care for people close to the end of life.

Is a Marie Curie Nurse the same as a Macmillan nurse?

No. Marie Curie Nurses care for people with any illness they are likely to die from, and usually spend several hours at a time in the home, often overnight. Macmillan nurses care for people with cancer from diagnosis, and usually spend up to an hour at a time giving advice and support.

What if the family cannot cope with care at home?

That is common, and it is not a failure. Ask the hospice about a short inpatient stay or respite care. Some care homes also have palliative care beds. Your GP or district nurse can tell you what is available locally.

Sources

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