Complex care is provided for people who require a higher level of specialist care and support which can be provided in a care home, specialist facilities or in their own home.
What is complex care?
Complex care is care for chronic and often co-existing conditions that require a lot of support and management.
Complex care often requires additional training, particularly around managing behaviours that challenge, equipment and medication, risk assessment and specific diagnoses.
What are complex care needs?
Whether a person has complex needs is determined on an individual basis. Generally, they require a high level of support, often from multi-disciplinary teams.
Someone may be described as having complex needs if they have one or more of the following:
- Chronic physical, neurological or mental health conditions that require intensive care and support.
- More than one condition at a time, particularly if those conditions affect one another.
- Risk of self-harm or suicide.
- Drug or alcohol use.
- Behaviours of concern, such as violence toward themselves or other.
- Trauma.
- Personality disorders and complex mental health difficulties.
Often somebody with complex needs will have co-existing needs that make managing them all together more difficult.
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What does complex care involve?
Complex care can be provided in a care home or at home, through either visiting or live-in care. In order to make sure their teams have the right skills and abilities to provide this, care providers ensure:
- A thorough care plan that takes into account the complexity of the person’s needs and provides a clear plan for carers to follow.
- Specialist training in areas relevant to the person in need of complex care, such as training in:
- Using any equipment the person needs for mobility or medical requirements, such as hoists, wheelchairs, oxygen cylinders, PEG feeding tubes or colostomy bags.
- Specific learning disabilities
- End of life care
- Specific physical, neurological or mental health conditions
- Specific medication
- Substance use and addiction
- Signs of self-harm or risk of suicide
- Behaviour management
- Bowel management
- Collaboration with all healthcare professionals involved in the person’s care.
- Round-the-clock support and supervision if required.
How much does complex care cost?
How much care costs varies greatly depending on where you live, how much care you need and how specialist that care is. For example, nursing care, which must be provided by a registered nurse, costs more than care provided by carers.
The average cost of a care home is £5,192 a month or £6,140 a month for a nursing home.
For complex care, this will likely be higher.
Funding for complex care
There is funding available for people with complex care needs, through benefits, the Local Authority and the NHS. While it is possible that you’ll have to fund your care privately, it’s also likely that you’ll qualify for funding.
Funding you may be eligible for includes:
- A Disabled Facilities Grant (DFG)
- NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC)
- NHS-funded nursing care (NHS FNC)
- Local Authority funding
- Universal Credit
- Employment Support Allowance (ESA)
- Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
- Attendance Allowance (AA)
What funding is there for complex care needs?
People with complex care needs may be eligible for a number of different kinds of funding to help them pay for their care, including various benefits, NHS Continuing Healthcare funding, or grants from the Government or charities.
How much does complex care cost?
How much complex care costs varies widely between the level of care required, location, providers and whether that care is provided in a residential care setting or in a person’s own home. In 2026, a care home costs on average £5,192 a month.
What counts as complex needs in care?
Somebody may be described as having complex care needs if they need extensive daily support, often from multidisciplinary teams, or have co-existing physical and/or mental health conditions or addiction issues.
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