Live-in care providers in Hertfordshire

39 agencies registered with the CQC to look after older people in Hertfordshire say on their website that they offer live-in care, where a carer moves into the home. 4 are rated Outstanding by the CQC and 15 Good. The Outstanding ones are Right at Home Borehamwood & Watford, Home Instead Senior Care, Caremark East Hertfordshire and Broxbourne and Right at Home Welwyn, Hatfield & St Albans. PrimeCarers, an introductory service rather than an agency, has 82 self-employed live-in carers based within about an hour of Hertfordshire, at a typical £1,120 a week with our fee included. Every agency is listed on this page with its rating, its own words about live-in care and its website.

Of the 39 agencies, 6 publish a weekly live-in price, counting each provider once. Their starting prices run from £800 to £1,785 a week, and the middle one is £1,450. Most quote a starting price for one person with lower needs, so expect a higher quote for a couple, for dementia or for care at night. Through PrimeCarers a typical week in Hertfordshire is £1,120, with our 12.5% standard fee included and the carer setting their own rate.

Right at Home Borehamwood & Watford in Borehamwood (rated 9 Jul 2021); Home Instead Senior Care in Baldock (rated 26 Sept 2019); Caremark East Hertfordshire and Broxbourne in Ware (rated 31 Jul 2019); Right at Home Welwyn, Hatfield & St Albans in Welwyn Garden City (rated 13 Apr 2019). Check the date: a rating stands until the CQC inspects again, which can be years later.

19 of the 26 rated agencies here were last rated more than three years ago, the oldest in 2019, and 13 have no rating yet, usually because they registered recently. A rating stands until the CQC inspects again. The report linked from each row says what inspectors found and when; read the most recent one before you choose.

A managed agency employs or contracts the carer, is registered with the CQC, plans and supervises the care, and finds a replacement when a carer is ill or on a break. An introductory service introduces you to a self-employed carer: you choose them, agree the care with them and direct it day to day, and the carer is responsible for the care they give. PrimeCarers is an introductory service and is not CQC registered. 14 of the agencies on this page say on their website that they employ their carers. Live-in care providers compared goes through what each model means for the price.

Not always. The town shown is where the agency's office is registered with the CQC, not the edge of the area it covers. Most are based in Watford (9), St Albans (5), Borehamwood (4) and Hemel Hempstead (4). Live-in carers move in, so many agencies will place a carer some distance from their office; ask each one whether they cover your relative's address.