Free personal and nursing care

What is free personal care?

Free personal care is available to everyone over 18 in Scotland who has been assessed as needing it.

Personal care means anything you need help with that is of a personal nature.

It may include help with:

bathing, showering, hair washing, shaving, brushing your teeth, and nail care
going to the toilet, catheter and stoma care, skin care, incontinence laundry and bed changing
eating, special diets, and food preparation
mobility support
counselling, psychological support and reminding devices
taking medication (like eye drops), application of creams and lotions, simple dressings and oxygen therapy
getting dressed, using surgical appliances, prostheses, mechanical and manual aids
getting in and out of bed and using hoists.

What is free nursing care?

Free nursing care is available to everyone over 18 in Scotland who has been assessed as needing it.

Nursing care needs the knowledge and skills of a qualified nurse. It might include things like giving injections or managing pressure sores.

How do I get free personal or nursing care?

If you already get support through your council, speak to your social worker about personal and nursing care.

If your needs have changed since you were last assessed and you feel you now need personal or nursing care, you can ask for a reassessment.

If you do not have any support already, contact your local council and ask them for an assessment.

There may be a waiting time for an assessment – your council should tell you how long this is.

Not everyone will be able to get free personal or nursing care. It depends on how urgently you need it and whether you can get help from anywhere else. The council will use the assessment to find out how great your need is.

If they think you have a high level of need, the council has to provide you with personal or nursing care within six weeks of your assessment. This is called being at critical or substantial risk.

Can I choose how my personal care is provided?

Yes, as with other types of social care support, you can choose how your personal care is provided.

You can:

get cash paid directly to you so you can employ people to provide the personal care
get cash paid directly to you so you can pay an organisation or agency to provide the personal care
tell the council your preferred provider and ask them to make the arrangements on your behalf
ask the council to choose who will provide the personal care.

If you are living in a care home, your local council will put a contract in place with your care home for any personal care you receive.