Live-in care in Edinburgh

Live-in care on PrimeCarers costs from £1,050 a week and typically £1,120, with our fee included, which is about £160 a day for someone there day and night. Live-in carers travel to their placements, so that range applies in Edinburgh too. Complex care starts from about £1,260 a week. The cost of live-in care in Edinburgh goes through the figures in full, with an estimator.

You can see who is available today and message them straight away. Most families are talking to two or three carers within a day or two, and a start within a week or two is common. Some carers can begin within days, particularly when someone is coming home from hospital. If you need someone this week, emergency care explains what to do and what we can help with.

Yes. Before a carer appears on PrimeCarers they have passed an enhanced DBS check, an identity check and a right-to-work check, and had an online interview with our team. Their DBS is then kept on the Update Service and monitored continuously for as long as they work. We check that a carer is caring; their skills, qualifications and training are for you to check with them, and every profile shows their experience and reviews so you can. How we vet carers sets out each step.

For one person the two land close together. A typical live-in week in Edinburgh is £1,120, and the average care home in England charges £1,160 a week for one resident, or £1,410 with nursing. At home you keep paying the household bills and the carer's food, so add those before you compare. For a couple the difference is large: one live-in carer costs about £1,350 a week for both of you, while a care home charges two fees, about £2,320. The care home comparison has a calculator for your own numbers.

Sometimes, and it is worth asking before you assume not. In Scotland the council pays a set weekly contribution towards personal care for anyone over 65 who is assessed as needing it, whatever their savings, and can fund more after a financial assessment. Ask the council’s social work department for an assessment. Attendance Allowance is separate: it is not means tested, most people over State Pension age who need help with personal care qualify, and it is paid whatever your savings. Where the need is mainly a health need, NHS Continuing Healthcare can cover the full cost. The live-in care funding guide explains how to apply.

Whatever the day needs. Help with washing and dressing, meals, medication prompts, laundry and keeping the house straight, company, appointments and outings, and a hand at night if it is needed. A live-in carer works around your relative's routine rather than the other way round, and takes a daily break of about two hours, which is usually when family visit or a neighbour pops in. A live-in carer's daily routine walks through a typical day, and how many hours they work covers the breaks and the nights.

Yes. A live-in carer needs a room of their own with a bed and somewhere to keep their things, and meals, which most families budget at £5 to £10 a day on the weekly shop. They do not need an en suite or anything else beyond a comfortable home. If the house is small, say so when you message carers; some are happy with a box room and some are not, and it is better settled before anyone arrives. Where live-in carers sleep and what a live-in carer needs cover the details.

Yes. Live-in carers move in for the placement, so a village is no harder to cover than a town, and a carer from the next county is as available as one from the next street. If your relative lives somewhere without buses, filter for carers with a car, which matters for shopping, appointments and getting out. Mileage is only chargeable if you agree it in advance and in writing, and 55p a mile is the usual figure.

Usually, yes. One live-in carer looks after both partners for typically around £1,350 a week, about a fifth more than care for one person and far less than two care home places. Where the two of them need very different things, such as one with dementia and one who is frail but sharp, it is worth reading live-in care for couples before you talk to anyone.

Most live-in carers work in stints of two to six weeks and then take a week or two off, and they will tell you their pattern when you first talk. The usual answer is a second carer from the same search who covers those weeks and gets to know your relative too, or family stepping in. If a carer is unwell or needs time away unexpectedly, our team will always do their best to help you find vetted cover at short notice. How live-in care works explains the rota in more detail.

No. PrimeCarers is an introductory service. The carers are self-employed and set their own rates; you choose the carer, and the contract is between you and them. We do the checks before a carer appears and keep their DBS monitored, set up the contract, handle the invoicing and payment, and insure the care while the carer works. That is why a live-in week on PrimeCarers typically costs £1,120 in Edinburgh when an agency charges £1,400 or more for the same week, and why the carer sees far more of it. Agency or private carer sets out the differences.

PrimeCarers charges nothing to stop or change care. The notice you give your carer is in the contract between you: 48 hours until 168 hours of care have been worked, and 7 days after that. Days already agreed are payable if you cancel them, unless the reason is an unplanned hospital stay, illness, or something else you and the carer agree, and a carer can always waive that at their discretion. Bank holidays are charged at one and a half times the carer's normal rate and Christmas Day at double, which is also in the contract.