What is a care plan in a care home? What it contains and your rights

A care plan is a written record of a person’s needs, preferences and the support they will receive, and every care home resident should have one that they, or someone acting for them, helped to shape. In England, CQC requires care homes to assess needs, plan care around preferences, keep a clear written plan with goals and a review date, and share it with the staff involved.

At a glance

• A care home plan is separate from the council’s care and support plan, though both should reflect the same needs.
• CQC requires an assessment of health, personal care, emotional, social, cultural, religious and spiritual needs.
• The plan should include agreed goals and a review date, and be reviewed regularly and when circumstances change.
• Residents can be involved as much or as little as they wish, and family or representatives can help.
• Where someone lacks capacity for a decision, staff must act in their best interests under the Mental Capacity Act 2005.

What is a care plan in a care home?

A care plan tells staff how to meet one person’s needs and preferences. The Alzheimer’s Society explains that the manager, or sometimes a nurse, assesses the person’s physical and wellbeing needs with their carer, family or a close friend, and that a social worker may also be involved. The plan should be reviewed regularly.

It is the home’s working document. Carers, nurses and activity staff use it to know how the person likes to be helped, what risks to watch for and what matters to them. See what carers do in a care home to see how it guides daily practice.

Is it the same as the council’s care and support plan?

No. If the council arranges or pays for care, it must produce its own care and support plan under the Care Act 2014. Section 25 says that plan must specify the needs identified, whether they meet the eligibility criteria, which needs the council will meet and how, and include the personal budget. The council must involve the adult, any carer and anyone the adult asks it to involve.

The home then writes a more detailed day-to-day plan based on that assessment, its own assessment on admission and what it learns about the person. Self-funders can still ask the council for an assessment. Our guides to the Care Act 2014 and preparing for a care needs assessment help.

What should a care plan contain?

What are your rights over the plan?

CQC’s guidance on person-centred care says the assessment should be done collaboratively with the person or someone lawfully acting for them. The home must design care to meet needs and, as far as possible, preferences. Where a need or preference cannot be met, it should explain why and explore alternatives. It must give information the person can understand, support them to make decisions and actively seek feedback.

• Ask to see the plan, and to be involved in writing and updating it.
• Ask for it to be reviewed when needs change, for example after a fall or hospital stay.
• Raise concerns first with the manager, then follow the complaints route in how to complain about a care home.
• If someone has substantial difficulty understanding or making decisions, they may be entitled to an independent advocate.

Care must not be given against a person’s consent. If they lack capacity for a specific decision and have no appointed representative, staff act in their best interests under the Mental Capacity Act 2005, taking advance decisions into account. Our guides to mental capacity assessments, health and welfare power of attorney, DoLS in care homes and DNACPR and advance decisions explain the wider picture.

CQC says assessments should be reviewed regularly and at key points, including transfers between services, respite stays, readmission and discharge. Age UK adds that if your needs change you can ask for a review of your care and support plan, and if the change affects the plan the local authority must carry out a new assessment. Homes set their own review pattern, so ask what the home does and who is invited.

How can families help make the plan better?

You know the person’s history, so your input is valuable. The Alzheimer’s Society suggests sharing key information with staff and describes the This is me form, which records background, preferences and routines. Useful additions include the foods they love, the music that settles them, their daily rhythm, and anything from their past that could upset them.

See how to make a care home room feel like home for a related way to bring a person’s life into the home, and meaningful activities in care homes for how the plan links to activity.

What differs in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland?

The Care Act 2014 applies to England. Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own social care laws and regulators, the Care Inspectorate, CIW and RQIA, and the document may be called something different. Ask the home which standards it works to and how plans are written and reviewed.

Frequently asked questions

Who writes a care home care plan?

The home writes it, usually led by the manager or a nurse, with the resident and their family or representative. A social worker may contribute, and the council’s own care and support plan feeds into it.

Can I see my relative’s care plan?

Ask the manager. Whether you can see it usually depends on the resident’s wishes, or on whether you have legal authority to act for them, such as a lasting power of attorney. If a request is refused, ask the home to explain why in writing, then use the complaints procedure.

How often should a care plan be reviewed?

CQC says assessments must be reviewed regularly and at key points such as hospital discharge or a change of service. Ask the home how often it reviews plans and who is invited, and request a review whenever needs change.

What happens if a resident disagrees with their care plan?

The home must explain what it cannot meet and why, and explore alternatives so the person can make an informed choice. Residents have the right to refuse care, and staff must respect valid consent. Raise disagreements with the manager and, if needed, use the complaints procedure.

Where to get help next

Use the funding checker if you are still working out who pays, and see care home contracts for what to agree in writing. When you visit homes, ask to see a blank care plan template with the visiting questions, and search homes through Find care.

Sources

• CQC: Regulation 9, Person-centred care
• Alzheimer’s Society: Supporting a person with dementia in a care home
• Legislation.gov.uk: Care Act 2014, section 25
• Age UK: Factsheet 29, Finding, choosing and funding a care home

Reviewed by The Care Panel team on 9 November 2026. This guide is general information about care in England, not legal, medical or financial advice. Rules and rates change; check with your council or an adviser before making decisions.