On 24 September 2026, the Homecare Association, the UK’s membership body for homecare providers, drew attention to a significant piece of work from the World Health Organization: the first-ever draft Global Standards for Long-Term Care. It is the first global framework of its kind, designed to guide how countries plan, deliver, monitor and improve long-term care for older people, and it forms part of the UN Decade of Healthy Ageing (2021–2030). The consultation is open until 30 October 2026. This matters closer to home too. According to the Centre for Ageing Better’s State of Ageing 2025 report, around 11 million people in England, 19 per cent of the population, are already aged 65 and over, and the number aged 80 and over is projected to more than double by 2065.
What the standards cover
The draft framework sets out eight areas WHO believes any strong long-term care system needs to get right:
- Clear definitions and guiding principles
- Home and community-based care
- Facility-based care
- Support for unpaid carers
- Workforce standards
- Financing
- Governance
- Quality monitoring
Why this matters for home care
Long-term care looks very different from country to country, and WHO has designed the standards to work across very different income levels and levels of formal care system development. For UK families, the areas that stand out are the explicit focus on home and community-based care as a legitimate, valued setting for support, rather than an afterthought to facility care, and the recognition of unpaid carers as people who need support in their own right, not just an informal extension of the paid workforce.
A global framework, a local reality
The UK’s care sector already grapples with many of the issues this framework is trying to address: consistent quality monitoring, a stable and well-trained workforce, and sustainable financing for care at home. A global standard will not resolve these overnight, but it does give providers, commissioners and families a shared reference point for what good long-term care should look like, wherever it is delivered.
Having your say
WHO is inviting governments, care providers, professional associations, organisations representing older people and unpaid carers, civil society groups and researchers to comment on the standards’ relevance, clarity, completeness and feasibility. Feedback can be submitted through an online questionnaire, available in eight languages, by email, or at regional consultation events, before the window closes on 30 October 2026.
How we can help
At Synergy Complex Care, the principles behind these draft standards, person-centred home care, genuine support for family carers, a skilled and consistent workforce and clear quality monitoring, are ones we already build our service around. We support people with complex and long-term care needs to remain at home wherever possible, working closely with families and healthcare professionals to keep care safe, consistent and tailored to the individual. Developments like this are a reminder of why that approach matters, not just in the UK, but everywhere long-term care is delivered.
As this consultation continues, we will be watching closely. If you would like to talk to us about home-based complex care for yourself or a family member, we would be glad to hear from you.