The short answer
- Help is needed through the day, not at set timesVisits suit help that can be planned: getting up, lunch, bed. When help is needed at unpredictable times, somebody in the house fits better.
- The person caring now is running outA husband, wife or grown-up child who has stopped sleeping properly, or has stopped going out, is a sign in itself.
- Past about 35 hours a week, compare the twoOn PrimeCarers, live-in care starts at £1,050 a week with our fee included. At typical rates, about 56 hours of visits cost the same as a typical live-in week, and the live-in carer covers the hours in between too.
- One live-in carer is not enough for every situationSomebody who is up three or more times a night, or who needs two people to move them, needs more cover than one carer who also has to sleep.
PrimeCarers is an introductory platform, not a care agency, and holds no CQC registration. You choose the carer, agree with them what care is given, and direct it day to day. Nothing on this page is a medical assessment: if your parent's health has changed suddenly, call 999 in an emergency, or speak to their GP or 111.
This page is for families who already have some help at home, or are close to needing it, and are wondering whether a carer who lives in would suit better. If you are noticing for the first time that your parent is struggling, signs your parent needs help at home is the place to start, and how live-in care works explains what a live-in arrangement involves.
Signs in the day
The signs that the help is needed between visits
Hourly visits work well when the help your parent needs can be planned for set times of the day. They work less well when the help is needed whenever something happens. These are the signs that the day has moved from the first kind to the second.
Signs that visits are leaving gaps
0 of 8 ticked
When the help is needed
Safety and confidence
Everyday life
One sign on its own does not mean your parent needs a live-in carer. Several of them together, and getting more frequent, suggest that the time between visits is now the problem. Hourly care for someone who lives alone covers what visits can do before you reach that point.
Signs in the family
The signs that the person caring now needs more help
Where a husband, wife or grown-up child is already providing most of the care, with visits around them, their signs matter too. Their health matters as much as your parent's.
They are not sleeping
Night after night
They have stopped going out
Their own life has shrunk
Their own health is suffering
Back, heart, mood
They say it is too much, or say nothing at all
Listen to both
In England, if you look after your parent, you can ask the council for a carer's assessment. It is free, anyone over 18 who cares for somebody can ask for one, and it can be done at the same time as your parent's own needs assessment. Live-in care with family in the house covers how a live-in carer can work alongside a partner or family who live there too.
When the hours add up
Past about 35 hours of visits a week, compare visits with live-in care
There is also a money sign. As visits are added, the weekly cost rises hour by hour. A live-in week costs about the same however much of the day the carer is needed for, within the usual hours, and the carer is in the house overnight as well. So as visits come closer to the cost of a live-in week, the cover between visits becomes the deciding difference.
56 hours
At the typical rate of £20 an hour, 56 hours of visits a week cost the same as a typical live-in week of £1,120. Three visits a day plus the weekly jobs is already 30 to 40 hours, or £630 to £875 a week at 35 hours.
PrimeCarers rates, our fee included.
| Hourly visits | One live-in carer | |
|---|---|---|
| What you pay for | Each hour a carer is with your parent | A week, priced by the day |
| On PrimeCarers | £18 to £25 an hour, fee included | From £1,050 a week, typically £1,120, fee included |
| The hours in between | Your parent is on their own | The carer is in the house, apart from their daily break |
| Nights | Nobody there unless you add night care | The carer sleeps in the house, and getting up once or twice is usually included |
| What the household provides | Nothing extra | A private bedroom, and food or a food allowance |
What you pay for
- Hourly visits
- Each hour a carer is with your parent
- One live-in carer
- A week, priced by the day
On PrimeCarers
- Hourly visits
- £18 to £25 an hour, fee included
- One live-in carer
- From £1,050 a week, typically £1,120, fee included
The hours in between
- Hourly visits
- Your parent is on their own
- One live-in carer
- The carer is in the house, apart from their daily break
Nights
- Hourly visits
- Nobody there unless you add night care
- One live-in carer
- The carer sleeps in the house, and getting up once or twice is usually included
What the household provides
- Hourly visits
- Nothing extra
- One live-in carer
- A private bedroom, and food or a food allowance
Live-in arrangements are usually built around 8 to 10 hours of hands-on help a day and a 2-hour daily break. Food is extra, and waking nights are extra.
These figures are a guide, not a rule. Visits can still be the better choice past these hours if there is no spare room, or if your parent would rather not have somebody living in. When live-in care becomes cheaper than hourly visits works out the break-even for your own hours, and the cost of live-in care breaks down the weekly figures.
When it is not enough
The signs that one live-in carer would not be enough on their own
A live-in carer lives in the house, works through the day with a break, and sleeps at night. Some needs go beyond that. They do not rule out care at home, but they mean planning more cover than one carer, or thinking about other options.
- 1
Your parent is up three or more times a night
Or one waking runs onAt that point the carer is not getting a night, and still has the next day to work. One answer is a waking-night carer alongside the live-in carer, about £148 a night on top of the live-in week on PrimeCarers. - 2
Two people are needed to move them
For a hoist or a transferIf your parent needs two people for every transfer, one carer cannot do it alone. A second carer, or visits at the times two people are needed, have to be planned in. - 3
They need nursing tasks
Through the day or nightClinical tasks (injections, insulin, PEG, catheters) only with training and written instructions from the person's healthcare team. PrimeCarers does not assess this. Emergencies: 999. - 4
There is no room for a carer to sleep
A private bedroomA live-in carer needs a private bedroom with a door that closes. Without one, visits, overnight care or a different home may fit better.
Live-in care versus 24-hour care explains how to cover the nights, and live-in care for someone who is bedbound or hoisted covers two-person moving. When home care stops being enough sets out the situations in which a care home is the better answer.
What to do next
What to do once you recognise the signs
Recognising the signs is the first step. The next ones are talking to your parent, getting the needs written down, and looking at what a live-in arrangement would mean for their home.
- 1
Talk to your parent about it
It is their homeAsk what they find hardest, and what they would want. A carer living in is a big change, and your parent has the final say if they have the capacity to make the decision. - 2
Ask the council for a needs assessment
FreeIn England, the needs assessment is free and anyone can ask for one. It records what your parent needs, and it is the way into any help the council may fund. - 3
Look at the room and the household
Before you searchA private bedroom, food, and somewhere for the carer to rest. - 4
Search for live-in carers and meet them
Messaging is freeOn PrimeCarers you can see carers near your parent with their rates and reviews before you speak to anyone, and meet them by video or at home before you agree anything. - 5
Start with a fixed period if you are unsure
A few weeksTemporary live-in care lets your parent try it, after a hospital stay or while a family carer has a break.
The NHS explains how to ask for a needs assessment. Preparing the room for a live-in carer covers what the household needs, and temporary live-in care explains how a fixed period works.
Before a carer can appear on PrimeCarers we check their identity, their right to work in the UK and an enhanced DBS (adult workforce, kept on the Update Service), and they record an online interview. We do not check qualifications, training certificates or references: what a carer says about their skills and experience is their own statement. Ask them about it, ask for evidence if it matters to you, and decide for yourself. How to hire a live-in carer walks through the rest.
Questions
Questions families ask about when live-in care is needed
Look at when she needs help, not only how much. If she needs help at three or more points every day, if the worrying moments happen between visits, or if the person caring for her is worn out, a carer who lives in may suit her better than visits.
Not for a few hours a week. On PrimeCarers, visits are £18 to £25 an hour and live-in care starts at £1,050 a week, with our fee included. At typical rates, about 56 hours of visits a week cost the same as a typical live-in week, and past about 35 hours it is worth comparing the two, because the live-in carer also covers the hours in between. When live-in care becomes cheaper shows the break-even.
No. A live-in carer sleeps at night, and getting up once or twice is usually included. If your parent needs somebody awake through the night, plan waking-night cover alongside the live-in carer.
It can, and having one familiar person in the house is something some people with dementia find reassuring. The same limits apply: if nights are broken or your parent tries to leave the house at night, more cover is needed. Live-in care for dementia covers it in detail.
If your parent has the mental capacity to decide, the decision is theirs, even if the family disagrees. Talking about what they find hard, meeting a carer by video first, or trying a few weeks of temporary live-in care can help.
No. A live-in carer works through the day with a break and sleeps at night. Care with somebody awake at all hours needs more than one carer. Live-in care versus 24-hour care explains the difference.
Yes. A live-in carer needs a private bedroom with a door that closes. Where live-in carers sleep covers what the room needs and what to do if there is no spare room.