Getwello
Useful resources

UK organisations that genuinely help.

Getwello handles the daily check-in and the family rota. The list below covers everything else: the UK organisations worth knowing about when you are looking after an older parent, with plain-English notes on what each one is actually for.

We are not affiliated with any of the organisations listed. We just think they are good.

  • Age UK

    The biggest UK charity for older people

    Age UK has practical, plain-English guides on almost everything that comes up when you are looking after an older parent: pension credit, attendance allowance, dementia, falls, hospital discharge, careline schemes. They also run local Age UK branches across the country with more in-person services.

    Go here for
    General questions about ageing, benefits, personal alarms, befriending, and choosing a care home. Their advice line is free and staffed by people who do this every day.
    Not for
    Medical questions (your GP), or anything that needs an immediate response (use 111 or 999).
    Visit Age UK

  • Carers UK

    For the family member doing the most caring

    Carers UK is specifically for the unpaid family carer (you) rather than the person being looked after. Their helpline is brilliant if you do not yet think of yourself as a carer; they will help you check whether the role you are in qualifies for things like Carer's Allowance and a free carer's assessment from your council.

    Go here for
    If the caring is becoming a real load: when you want to know what financial support you might be entitled to, what your rights at work are, or how to recognise carer burnout before it gets too far.
    Visit Carers UK

  • Independent Age

    Free advice line for older people and their families

    Independent Age is a smaller charity that focuses heavily on the bits other resources skim past: care funding, deferred payment agreements, the NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment, and the differences between different kinds of housing for older people.

    Go here for
    Specific, complicated questions about care arrangements, paying for care, attendance allowance, or end-of-life planning. Their guides are unusually clear on the financial side.
    Visit Independent Age

  • NHS

    Health, hospital admissions, and getting a needs assessment

    The NHS website has reliable plain-English explanations for most conditions. The pages worth bookmarking now: hospital discharge planning, getting a needs assessment, and the social-care guide.

    Go here for
    Anything medical: your parent's GP surgery is the front door. After a hospital stay, the discharge planning team. For social care needs (help with washing, dressing, meals), search 'adult social care' on your council's website.
    Not for
    Befriending or non-medical loneliness (try Age UK or the Royal Voluntary Service).
    Visit NHS

  • Royal Voluntary Service

    Volunteer befriending, transport, and community spaces

    Volunteer-led services across the UK, often free or low cost. Particularly useful when you live far from your parent and want them to have someone local in their week, or when you want to ease loneliness without it feeling clinical.

    Go here for
    When the missing piece is regular human contact for your parent: a weekly chat from a befriender, a lift to a hospital appointment, or a local lunch club.
    Visit Royal Voluntary Service

  • Men's Sheds Association

    Community spaces for older men, mostly free

    Workshops where members make and mend things together. Strongly social, surprisingly therapeutic, and one of the few interventions that men in particular tend to take to.

    Go here for
    If your dad is becoming more isolated and a befriending phone call wouldn't suit him. Sheds are practical, hands-on, no-nonsense and run by their members.
    Visit Men's Sheds Association

  • Your local council's adult social care team

    The NHS handles health; the council handles social care

    Each local council in the UK has an adult social care team. They are required to assess your parent's needs (it's free) and recommend support. Some equipment is free; some help is means-tested. Worth contacting BEFORE a crisis, not during one. Use the GOV.UK link to find your council.

    Go here for
    Help with daily living: getting in and out of bed, washing, cooking, falls equipment, telecare. Request a free needs assessment after any health change.
    Visit Your local council's adult social care team

  • Dementia UK

    Admiral Nurses, specialist dementia helpline

    Dementia UK runs the only national service of specialist dementia nurses, called Admiral Nurses. The helpline is free and brilliant when you are navigating a fresh diagnosis, sundowning, repeated questions, or any of the harder daily moments. They focus on the family carer as much as the person with dementia, which is rare and valuable.

    Go here for
    When a diagnosis has just been given, or behaviours at home are getting hard to manage. Their helpline puts you through to a specialist dementia nurse (an Admiral Nurse) who can talk you through what is happening and what tends to help.
    Visit Dementia UK

  • Alzheimer's Society

    The largest UK dementia charity, online and local support

    The Alzheimer's Society sits alongside Dementia UK and complements it. Their website is the best starting point for anyone newly hearing the words 'memory clinic' or 'cognitive assessment'. The Talking Point online forum is full of family carers a few months ahead of you, sharing what worked. The Society also funds local Dementia Cafés and group activities you can sign your parent up to.

    Go here for
    Plain-English explanations of every dementia subtype, what to expect at each stage, practical day-to-day tips, and local Singing for the Brain, Dementia Cafés, and other group sessions near your parent.
    Visit Alzheimer's Society

  • Citizens Advice

    Free advice on benefits, debt, housing, and consumer rights

    Citizens Advice has trained advisors in every region of the UK, available by phone, online chat, or in person. For older parents specifically, they are excellent at running a full benefits check, the under-claimed entitlements add up to a meaningful amount of money each month for most families.

    Go here for
    Untangling Attendance Allowance, Pension Credit, Council Tax discounts, or any benefit your parent might be entitled to but is not yet claiming. Also for any care home contract or solicitor situation that does not feel right.
    Visit Citizens Advice

  • Marie Curie

    Free end-of-life care and bereavement support

    Marie Curie does not just run hospices. The Marie Curie Support Line is free, covers the whole UK, and is staffed by people trained to talk through end-of-life questions families often do not know who to ask. Their guides on bereavement, especially in the months after a death, are some of the clearest written anywhere.

    Go here for
    When the conversation is shifting towards what the last chapter of life will look like. Their support line covers practical questions (overnight care, hospice referrals, what dying looks like in real terms) and emotional ones, for the family as well as the patient.
    Visit Marie Curie

  • Hourglass

    Safeguarding older adults from harm and abuse

    Hourglass is the UK's only charity dedicated to safeguarding older adults. They handle the conversations nobody else wants to have, including suspicions of family-led abuse. Confidential, free, and used to handling situations sensitively before anyone wants to involve the police or social services.

    Go here for
    If you are worried something is not right in how an older parent is being treated. Financial coercion, neglect, controlling behaviour by a paid carer or relative. Hourglass has a free, confidential helpline for the family and for the person at risk.
    Visit Hourglass

  • Beacon CHC

    Free advice on NHS Continuing Healthcare

    Beacon offers a free 30-minute phone advice service from specialist CHC nurses. CHC is one of the most under-claimed routes to fully-funded NHS care in the UK; about a third of refused applications are overturned on appeal. Talk to Beacon before going it alone.

    Go here for
    If your parent's needs feel predominantly medical and you want to know whether to push for an NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment, or if a CHC application has been refused and you are deciding whether to appeal.
    Visit Beacon CHC

Common questions

Quick answers to the things families ask most often when starting to use these resources.

Who do I call first if I am worried about an older parent in the UK?

If it is a medical concern that is new or getting worse, your parent's GP. If it is a social concern (washing, dressing, falls, getting out of bed), your local council's adult social care team and ask for a free Care Needs Assessment. If you are not sure which, phone Age UK's free advice line on 0800 678 1602; they will help you orient.

What is the difference between Age UK and Carers UK?

Age UK is for the older person being looked after. Carers UK is for the family carer (you). Both are free helplines. If the question is 'what is my mum entitled to', that is Age UK. If the question is 'what am I entitled to as the one doing the looking-after', that is Carers UK.

How do I request a Care Needs Assessment from the council?

Search '[your council name] adult social care' online; every council in the UK has a request form or phone number. The assessment is free, legally guaranteed, and is the gateway to most council-funded support. Request it before any crisis, not during one.

Is NHS Continuing Healthcare the same as a council package?

No. NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) is fully NHS-funded care for people whose needs are predominantly medical, with no means test. Council social care is means-tested. CHC has a higher threshold to qualify, but is significantly under-claimed; if your parent's needs feel mostly medical, ask the NHS team for a CHC screening, and talk to Beacon for free advice before deciding whether to appeal a refusal.

Where do I get free advice on paying for care?

Three places, all free and all good: Age UK's money helpline (0800 678 1602), Independent Age (0800 319 6789), and Citizens Advice. Independent Age in particular has unusually clear guides on care funding, deferred payment agreements, and the £23,250 / £14,250 means-test thresholds.

Where can I get specialist dementia advice?

Two places. Dementia UK runs the Admiral Nurse helpline (0800 888 6678), staffed by specialist dementia nurses. The Alzheimer's Society has the largest support and information network and runs local Dementia Cafés and Singing for the Brain groups. Both are free.

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