Plain-English definitions of the terms and acronyms you may encounter in UK health and social care
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How to use this glossary
Use this guide when you come across an unfamiliar word or acronym in a hospital, care home, assessment, funding discussion or conversation with a professional.
Important UK note: Health and social care arrangements differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Some terms below are UK-wide, while others — particularly funding, capacity and assessment terms — relate specifically to England or England and Wales. Always check the current rules for your nation and local area.
A
Activities of Daily Living (ADLs)
Everyday activities a person normally needs to manage, such as washing, dressing, eating, using the toilet and moving around.
Adult Social Care
Support for adults who need help because of age, illness, disability or other care needs. This can include help at home, day services, equipment and residential or nursing care.
Advance Care Planning (ACP)
A process that enables someone to discuss and record their wishes, preferences and priorities for future care.
Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment (ADRT)
A legally recognised decision in England and Wales in which a person can specify particular medical treatments they wish to refuse in the future if they later lack capacity. Specific legal requirements apply, particularly to life-sustaining treatment.
Advocate
Someone who helps a person understand their choices, express their views and have their wishes heard. Some people may be entitled to an independent advocate in particular circumstances.
Age UK
A charity providing information, advice and services for older people. Local Age UK organisations may also provide practical services.
Attendance Allowance (AA)
A non-means-tested benefit for people over State Pension age who need help or supervision because of a disability or health condition. Eligibility rules apply.
B
Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia (BPSD)
A clinical term sometimes used for symptoms such as agitation, distress, changes in behaviour, hallucinations or sleep disturbance experienced by some people living with dementia. Person-centred descriptions of what someone is experiencing are often more helpful than labels.
Best Interests (BI) / Best Interests Decision
Where a person lacks capacity to make a particular decision, any decision made on their behalf must follow the relevant legal requirements and consider their wishes, feelings, beliefs, values and other relevant circumstances.
Brokerage
Help with finding and arranging suitable care or support. This may be provided by a local authority, independent organisation or care adviser.
C
Care Act 2014
The main legislation governing adult social care in England. It sets out duties relating to assessments, eligibility, safeguarding, carers and care and support planning.
Care and Support Assessment / Care Needs Assessment
An assessment, usually carried out by the local authority, to understand a person's care and support needs and how those needs affect wellbeing and daily life.
Care and Support Plan
A written plan explaining a person's eligible needs and how those needs are going to be met.
Care Home
A residential setting providing accommodation, meals, personal care and support. Some care homes also provide nursing care.
Care Package
The combination of care and support arranged to meet someone's assessed needs, such as several home-care visits each day.
Care Quality Commission (CQC)
The independent regulator of health and adult social care services in England. It regulates services including care homes, home-care agencies and many healthcare providers.
Care Worker / Care Assistant
A person who provides practical and personal support, such as helping with washing, dressing, meals, mobility or daily routines.
Carer's Assessment
An assessment of the needs of an unpaid carer. It looks at the impact caring has on the carer and what support they may need.
Carer's Allowance
A benefit that may be available to someone who provides substantial unpaid care and meets the eligibility rules. It can interact with other benefits, so individual circumstances should be checked.
Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG)
A term still found on older paperwork. CCGs were NHS organisations in England that were replaced by Integrated Care Boards in 2022.
Community Nurse
A nurse who provides care outside hospital, often in someone's home, a clinic or a care setting. District nurses are one example.
Continuing Healthcare Checklist (CHC Checklist)
An initial screening tool used in England to help determine whether someone should have a full assessment for NHS Continuing Healthcare.
Court of Protection (COP)
A specialist court in England and Wales dealing with decisions concerning people who may lack mental capacity to make particular decisions for themselves.
D
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS)
Legal safeguards currently used in England and Wales for certain people who lack capacity to consent to their care arrangements and are deprived of their liberty in a hospital or care home. They are intended to ensure restrictions are necessary, proportionate and properly authorised. This area of law is subject to reform, so check current guidance.
Deputyship
A legal arrangement where the Court of Protection appoints someone to make certain decisions for a person who lacks capacity, usually where an appropriate Lasting Power of Attorney is not already in place.
Direct Payment (DP)
Money paid by a local authority to an eligible person, or someone acting on their behalf, so they can arrange some or all of their own care and support.
Discharge to Assess (D2A)
An approach designed to enable people who no longer need an acute hospital bed to leave hospital and, where appropriate, have longer-term needs assessed in a more suitable setting.
Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (DNACPR)
A clinical recommendation about whether CPR should be attempted if a person's heart or breathing stops. It relates specifically to CPR and does not mean that other appropriate treatment or care should stop.
Department for Work and Pensions (DWP)
The UK government department responsible for State Pension and many benefits.
E
Eligibility Criteria
The rules used to decide whether a person's assessed needs qualify for support from the local authority. Criteria and arrangements vary across the UK.
End of Life / End-of-Life Care (EOL / EOLC)
Care and support for someone approaching the end of life. It can include medical treatment, symptom management, emotional support, practical help and support for family members.
F
Financial Assessment / Means Test
An assessment of a person's finances to determine how much they may need to contribute towards local-authority-arranged social care.
NHS-Funded Nursing Care (FNC)
In England, an NHS contribution towards the cost of nursing care for eligible people living in a nursing home who are not receiving NHS Continuing Healthcare. Different arrangements apply elsewhere in the UK.
H
Home Care / Domiciliary Care
Care and support provided in a person's own home, which might include help with washing, dressing, medication routines, meals or other everyday activities.
Hospice Care
Specialist care for people with life-limiting illnesses. It can include symptom management, emotional and practical support and support for families, delivered in a hospice, at home or in the community.
I
Independent Mental Capacity Advocate (IMCA)
A specially trained advocate who may be appointed in certain situations to support and represent a person who lacks capacity and does not have an appropriate person to consult.
Integrated Care Board (ICB)
An NHS organisation in England responsible for planning many NHS services and managing much of the NHS budget within its local area. ICBs also have responsibilities relating to NHS Continuing Healthcare.
Integrated Care System (ICS)
A partnership bringing together NHS organisations, local authorities and others to plan and improve health and care services across an area.
L
Lasting Power of Attorney (LPA)
A legal document used in England and Wales that allows someone to appoint one or more trusted people to make certain decisions on their behalf. There are Health and Welfare and Property and Financial Affairs LPAs. Different legal arrangements apply in Scotland and Northern Ireland.
Local Authority (LA)
Your local council. Among its responsibilities are assessing adult social care needs, arranging eligible support and carrying out financial assessments.
M
Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST)
A screening tool commonly used by health and care professionals to identify adults who may be at risk of malnutrition.
Medication Administration Record (MAR)
A record used by care services to document medicines and when they have been administered. Families may hear staff refer to a MAR chart.
Mental Capacity
A person's ability to make a particular decision at the time it needs to be made. Capacity is decision-specific and can change over time.
Mental Capacity Act 2005 (MCA)
The law covering decision-making on behalf of people aged 16 and over who may lack capacity to make particular decisions in England and Wales. A key principle is that a person should be assumed to have capacity unless established otherwise.
Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI)
Problems with memory or thinking that are greater than might normally be expected with ageing but do not necessarily amount to dementia. MCI does not always progress to dementia.
Multidisciplinary Team (MDT)
A group of professionals from different disciplines working together. Depending on the person's needs, this could include doctors, nurses, social workers, occupational therapists and physiotherapists.
N
NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC)
A package of ongoing care arranged and funded solely by the NHS in England for adults assessed as having a primary health need. Eligibility is based on the nature and complexity of needs rather than simply diagnosis, age or care setting.
NHS Continuing Healthcare Decision Support Tool (DST)
A structured document used as part of the full NHS Continuing Healthcare assessment process in England. It helps the multidisciplinary team consider needs across different areas.
Nursing Home
A care home that provides personal care and also has qualified nursing staff available to provide nursing care.
O
Occupational Therapist (OT)
A healthcare professional who helps people maintain or regain independence with everyday activities. They may assess mobility, equipment, adaptations and how safely someone can manage at home.
Office of the Public Guardian (OPG)
The organisation responsible for registering LPAs in England and Wales and supervising deputies appointed by the Court of Protection.
Older People's Mental Health (OPMH)
A term sometimes used for specialist mental health services supporting older adults, including some people living with dementia.
P
Palliative Care
Care focused on improving quality of life for people living with serious or life-limiting illness. It can include symptom management alongside psychological, social and practical support.
Personal Assistant (PA)
Someone employed or engaged to provide care and support tailored to an individual's needs. Personal assistants are sometimes employed using a direct payment.
Personal Budget
The amount identified by a local authority to meet a person's eligible care and support needs following assessment and care planning.
Personal Care
Help with everyday personal activities such as washing, dressing, toileting and eating.
Personal Independence Payment (PIP)
A benefit designed to help eligible people with the additional costs associated with a long-term health condition or disability. Age and other eligibility rules apply.
Physiotherapist / Physio (PT)
A healthcare professional who helps with movement, strength, balance, mobility and physical rehabilitation.
Primary Health Need (PHN)
The key concept used when deciding eligibility for NHS Continuing Healthcare in England. The assessment considers the overall nature, intensity, complexity and unpredictability of a person's needs.
PRN — 'when required'
A term used for medication that is given when needed rather than at a fixed time, for example some forms of pain relief.
R
Reablement
Short-term support intended to help someone regain or maintain skills and independence, often following illness, injury or a hospital stay.
Registered Manager (RM)
The person responsible for the day-to-day management of a regulated care service and, where required, registered with the appropriate regulator.
ReSPECT — Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment
A process used to record personalised recommendations about a person's care and treatment in a future emergency when they may be unable to express their wishes.
Residential Care
Accommodation with personal care and support. Unlike a nursing home, a residential care home does not normally provide continuous care from registered nurses as part of its standard service.
Respite Care
Temporary care designed to give an unpaid carer a break or provide short-term additional support. It may be provided at home, in a care home or through another service.
S
Safeguarding
The processes used to protect an adult's right to live safely and free from abuse and neglect.
Safeguarding Adults Review (SAR)
A review that a local safeguarding adults board may undertake in specified circumstances where there are concerns about how agencies worked together following serious abuse or neglect.
Self-Funder
A person who pays the full cost of their social care because of their financial circumstances or because they have chosen to arrange care privately. NHS-funded care has separate eligibility rules.
Social Care
Practical care and support that helps people manage everyday life. Unlike NHS healthcare, social care is not universally free and financial contributions may apply.
Social Worker
A qualified professional who can assess needs, support care planning, help people access services and carry out safeguarding and other statutory responsibilities.
Speech and Language Therapy / Therapist (SALT / SLT)
A service or professional supporting people with communication difficulties and, importantly in later-life care, swallowing problems.
T
Telecare
Technology designed to help someone remain safe and independent, such as personal alarms, falls sensors or other monitoring and alert systems.
Temporary / Short-Term Care
Care arranged for a limited period, for example following hospital discharge, during recovery or to give a family carer a break.
TTO — Take-home medication
A term sometimes used for medication supplied by a hospital for someone to take with them when they are discharged.
U
Unpaid Carer
A family member, friend or other person who provides care or support without being employed as a professional care worker. Some unpaid carers may be eligible for an assessment and additional support.
Acronyms at a glance
Acronym
Meaning
AA
Attendance Allowance
ACP
Advance Care Planning
ADL
Activities of Daily Living
ADRT
Advance Decision to Refuse Treatment
BI
Best Interests
BPSD
Behavioural and Psychological Symptoms of Dementia
CCG
Clinical Commissioning Group (historic term)
CHC
NHS Continuing Healthcare
COP
Court of Protection
CQC
Care Quality Commission
D2A
Discharge to Assess
DNACPR
Do Not Attempt Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation
DoLS
Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards
DP
Direct Payment
DST
Decision Support Tool
DWP
Department for Work and Pensions
EOL / EOLC
End of Life / End-of-Life Care
FNC
NHS-Funded Nursing Care
ICB
Integrated Care Board
ICS
Integrated Care System
IMCA
Independent Mental Capacity Advocate
LA
Local Authority
LPA
Lasting Power of Attorney
MAR
Medication Administration Record
MCA
Mental Capacity Act 2005
MCI
Mild Cognitive Impairment
MDT
Multidisciplinary Team
MUST
Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool
OPG
Office of the Public Guardian
OPMH
Older People's Mental Health
OT
Occupational Therapist
PA
Personal Assistant
PHN
Primary Health Need
PIP
Personal Independence Payment
PRN
Medication given 'when required'
PT
Physiotherapist / Physio
ReSPECT
Recommended Summary Plan for Emergency Care and Treatment
RM
Registered Manager
SALT / SLT
Speech and Language Therapy / Therapist
SAR
Safeguarding Adults Review
TTO
Take-home medication
Questions worth asking
When you hear an unfamiliar term, it is completely reasonable to ask:
?What does that mean in plain English?
?Who is responsible for this?
?Is this an NHS service or a social care service?
?Is there a charge for this service?
?Has an assessment been completed?
?Can I have the decision or assessment in writing?
?What happens next?
?Who should I contact if circumstances change?
A Golden Transitions tip
Don't be afraid to stop the conversation and ask what an acronym means. Health and social care professionals use abbreviations every day, but families are not expected to know them.
"Could you explain what that means in plain English and what it means for us?"
About Golden Transitions
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Important information
This glossary provides general information rather than medical, legal, financial or benefits advice. Terminology, processes, eligibility rules and funding arrangements can change and differ across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. Where a decision affects an individual's care, rights, finances or treatment, check the current position with the relevant organisation or suitably qualified professional.