How do you find a carer for an elderly parent in Lagos? What to check before they start

Should you use an agency or hire a carer directly?

An agency recruits the carer, replaces them if they leave or fall ill, and should supervise their work. In Lagos State, HEFAMAA (the Health Facilities Monitoring and Accreditation Agency) registers home care services. Its minimum staff are a registered nurse, nurse aides and a supervising medical practitioner, and it lists an ambulance as mandatory. Ask any agency for its HEFAMAA registration and check it with HEFAMAA directly.

Hiring directly means you become the employer: you find the person, check them, agree the pay and duties, and arrange cover when they are away. Families abroad often ask a trusted relative or neighbour in Lagos to meet candidates in person.

What agencies charge in Lagos, and how a carer compares with a home nurse or a care home, is on our care options page.

What checks should you make before a carer starts?

In March 2024 the Assistant Inspector General of Police for Zone 2 urged the public to vet domestic staff fully, and a security adviser quoted in the same report listed checks including a copy of the NIN, a recent photograph, guarantors, referees, next of kin and police verification. A checklist built on that:

• Identity: a copy of the National Identification Number (NIN) slip and a recent photograph.
• A police character certificate. Applications now go through the Nigeria Police Force's online POSSAP portal, using a NIN, BVN or passport, followed by biometric capture in person at a police command; the fee is paid only through the portal (Legit, July 2026). The candidate applies; you ask to see the certificate.
• References you speak to yourself, ideally families they have cared for before.
• A guarantor: someone established who knows the candidate, whose details you check too.
• Next of kin, written down.
• For a nurse: their Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) licence. Practising licences must be renewed every three years, so check the date on it; NMCN also runs a formal verification service for organisations, paid through Remita.

Are carers in Nigeria trained or certified?

National standards for carers are still being built. In May 2023 stakeholders met to validate a draft national minimum-standards curriculum, developed by the National Senior Citizens Centre (NSCC), for training carers of older people. In August 2024 the NSCC and the National Board for Technical Education certified the first 28 quality assurance assessors in geriatric social care. The NSCC said at the time that it planned to accredit and license home-care agencies.

So ask what training a carer has had, where, and for how long, and ask to see the certificate. Experience caring for an older person with similar needs often tells you more than the certificate does.

What should you pay, and what should you agree in writing?

The national minimum wage has been N70,000 a month since President Tinubu signed it into law in July 2024, and the Senate President, Godswill Akpabio, said that month that it "applies to all and sundry", naming drivers and gatemen as examples. In October 2026 the federal government said the next review is due on 1 June 2027. Lagos State pays its own workers a minimum of N85,000 (Nairametrics, May 2026).

Agree the following in writing before the start date, and give your parent and the carer a copy:

• Pay, when it is paid and how, and what happens with transport for a carer who lives out.
• Hours, days off and holidays, and who covers them.
• Duties: washing and dressing, meals, medicines reminders, mobility, company. Be clear about anything clinical; a carer is not a nurse.
• Food and a room, for a live-in carer.
• Notice on both sides, and a trial period.
• Who the carer calls in an emergency, in what order, and the hospital your parent would go to.

How can you keep an eye on things from abroad?

Kinship does not supply live-in carers. Kinship Visits, available in Lagos, add someone visiting on a regular rhythm alongside the carer, and with visits a named Kinkeeper, a registered nurse at the Kinship desk, reviews each visit report and keeps the family informed. Doctor calls and check-ins are available anywhere in Nigeria.

This page is information, not legal or employment advice.

• Ask your parent, privately and often, how it is going. They are the person whose opinion matters most.
• Arrange for someone you trust to visit unannounced from time to time.
• Keep a simple log: medicines given, meals, falls, visitors. A shared note on WhatsApp is enough.
• Agree what the carer must tell the family straight away, such as a fall, a fever or a refusal to eat.

Questions people ask

Related

• Care options in Lagos compared
• Questions to ask any care provider in Nigeria
• How to make an emergency plan for a parent in Nigeria