Help at home, by the hour

A professional carer visits the house for an hour or more to help with things like washing, dressing, meals, medication, housework and company. It goes by several names (visiting care, domiciliary care, home care), but the idea is the same: help that comes to you, as often as you need it. What is domiciliary care?

Carers on PrimeCarers set their own rates, usually £18 to £25 an hour, and the rate on their profile is what you pay. Traditional agencies typically charge £28 to £35 an hour. Some carers charge more for evenings and weekends, and bank holidays are charged at one and a half times the carer’s rate, with Christmas Day at double. Read the full cost breakdown.

Visits start at one hour, and there is no minimum number of visits per week and no minimum contract term. One hour a week is fine; so is four visits a day. The pattern is yours to change as needs change.

Yes. You choose your carer and book them directly, so the person who comes on Tuesday is the person who came on Monday. Many families add a second regular carer for holidays and busy weeks, but you will always know who is coming. It’s the biggest difference from agency care, where a rota can send a different face each day.

Often within days. You can browse carers near you now, message this afternoon and interview tomorrow; many families have their first visit booked within the week. For urgent situations like a hospital discharge, call us and we’ll help you move faster. Emergency care explained.

Personal care (washing, dressing, continence), medication prompts, cooking, housework, shopping, trips out in their car, and company. Clinical tasks like injections need a nurse-trained carer. Exactly what happens each visit is agreed in a simple care plan. Can home carers give medication?

Yes, and there is no lock-in contract: PrimeCarers charges nothing to change or stop care. The visit itself is between you and your carer. The standard contract you both sign says a visit you cancel is payable unless the reason is unplanned hospitalisation, illness, or something the two of you agree, and your carer can waive it. To end an hourly arrangement, either side gives 48 hours’ notice. Cancelled and late visits, explained.

Evenings and weekends, yes; each carer lists their availability on their profile, and weekend or evening visits may cost a little more. For help through the night, overnight care is its own service, with sleeping and waking night options.

From around 7 to 8 hours of help a day, a week of hourly visits costs more than live-in care, where a carer lives in the home and covers the whole day, with nights included. If visits are creeping upwards, it’s worth comparing before adding more hours.

Carers on PrimeCarers are self-employed professionals. You choose them, and PrimeCarers handles vetting, contracts, insurance and secure payments, so you get the control of choosing without the admin of employing. How our vetting works.