The short answer
- A personality fit matters more than a résuméNothing on a profile marks out a carer who will get on well with your relative specifically. That is a conversation to have, not a filter to search for.
- Personal care works best when it stays their choiceSomebody used to running their own life notices quickly if a carer starts deciding things for them rather than with them.
- Privacy is a separate, and separately answered, questionWho is told your relative needs care, and what a carer may or may not disclose, is covered in full on our guide to private care for someone in the public eye.
- There is no premium for any of thisCarers on PrimeCarers charge £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included, whoever their client is.
PrimeCarers is an introductory service, not a care agency and not registered with the CQC. Carers are self-employed; PrimeCarers does not provide, deliver or manage the care itself.
What's different
What changes when your relative is well known, and what does not
Finding a carer, checking who they are and agreeing a price works the same whether or not anyone outside your family will ever hear about it. Two things tend to matter more here than they do for most families, and a third question, privacy, has its own answer elsewhere.
A carer who fits them as a person
Being asked, not managed
The same face, most of the time
Deciding who is told that your relative needs help, and what a carer may say if a stranger or a journalist asks a question, is a real concern too, and it is covered in full on private care for someone in the public eye, including what the standard PrimeCarers contract's confidentiality clause already covers. This page covers the part that one does not: choosing a carer well, and keeping your relative feeling like themselves as more help is needed.
Choosing a carer
Why the right personality matters more than a résumé
Nothing on a carer's profile marks out whether they will get on well with somebody who has led an unusual or a very public life. That is a conversation to have directly, not a box to look for online.
Worth doing
- Ask what a carer enjoys talking about outside work, and see if it overlaps with your relative's own interests
- Ask how they would spend a quiet hour with someone, not only how they would manage a task
- Notice whether they ask your relative's opinion during the conversation, or only yours
- Ask about a time a client disagreed with them, and how they handled it
- Talk to two or three carers before deciding; a personality comes across on a call in a way it never does on a page
Worth avoiding
- Choosing a carer only because their profile mentions well-known clients; that experience does not guarantee they will suit your relative
- Booking from a profile alone, without a call or a video conversation first
- Deciding without your relative, where they are able to take part in the conversation
- Treating the interview as one-sided; a good carer will have questions of their own about your relative
Where your relative is able to take part, involve them directly in choosing between two or three carers rather than deciding on their behalf. Somebody who has spent a career being consulted on decisions, large and small, tends to feel the loss of that most keenly when the decision is who looks after them.
Personal care
Keeping personal care dignified when someone is used to independence
Somebody who has run their own household, their own career or their own public life for decades often finds it hardest to accept help with the most personal tasks: washing, dressing and going to the toilet. The tasks themselves are the same whoever they are for; what changes here is how much it can still feel like their own choice.
Settle these before the first visit
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What stays theirs to decide
Worth agreeing directly with the carer
What personal care involves is worth reading in full if this is the first time your family has arranged it; it covers washing, dressing, toileting and medication prompts in more detail than fits here. An adult with capacity can refuse any of it, a wash, a meal or a visit, and a carer's role is to explain, then respect the answer and tell the family. Refusal like this is often about the loss of control rather than the task itself, and it is worth reading common challenges when caring for elderly parents if it is becoming a regular pattern.
Staying themselves
Holding on to what matters to them as more help is needed
As care builds up, it gets easier to let the practical tasks take over the whole relationship. A good arrangement protects something at every stage, not only at the start.
A visit or two a week
Occasional helpA carer helps with one or two things, shopping or a lift to an appointment perhaps, and your relative runs the rest of their day exactly as before. There is little to protect yet beyond punctuality and manners.
Daily personal care
Washing, dressing, medicationSomebody is now in the house every day for the most private parts of it. Being asked rather than told matters most here: which clothes, in what order, and at what time, stay your relative’s decisions even while a carer does the physical work.
A full day of company and care
Meals, activities, most of the dayA carer is now the person your relative spends most of their day with. Their opinions, their sense of humour and the things they still enjoy need to keep driving the day, rather than the list of tasks on a care plan.
Live-in care
One carer, day and nightOne relationship replaces a rota of different faces coming and going, which is why this stage does most to protect privacy and continuity together. The house still needs to feel like your relative’s own home, not the carer’s.
One relationship living in the house replaces a rota of different faces coming and going, which is one reason live-in care does more than visits to reduce how many people see inside the home. How live-in care works sets out the practicalities, including where a live-in carer sleeps and what housework they do and do not take on. Having somebody living in the house full time is a bigger change than a visit and will not suit every family, so the disadvantages of live-in care is worth reading before you decide either way.
Checks and cost
How vetting works, and what it costs
The checks behind every carer's profile, and what carers charge, are exactly the same whoever the client is. There is no separate tier for discretion or compatibility.
The four checks behind every profile
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Before a carer appears on the site
PrimeCarers does not check qualifications, training or references beyond these four steps; references from past employers and families can appear on a carer's profile alongside reviews from PrimeCarers bookings, and we do not verify them, so follow up the ones that matter to you. How to check a private carer goes through the whole process, checks and interview together, in more detail. If your family would rather fewer people relayed messages back and forth, the managed service tiers add scheduling and admin support for a percentage fee, not a different kind of carer.
Getting started
From here to the first visit
Four steps, and the first is the one families in this position most often skip.
- 1
Write down what matters to them
TodayInterests, routines, how they like to be spoken to, and what independence means to them day to day. This is what you raise with each carer, not just the tasks they need help with. - 2
Search and message carers
FreeSearch by postcode and mention what you are looking for in personality directly in your first message, rather than waiting to see if it comes up. - 3
Talk to two or three
This weekAsk the questions above, and include your relative in at least one conversation if they are able to take part. - 4
Book the first visit, then adjust
Week 1Start with the visits you are sure of and change them as you learn what works. Nothing is fixed into a long-term package.
Questions
Questions families ask about care for someone well known
No. Carers on PrimeCarers set their own rate, typically £18 to £25 an hour with our fee included, whoever their client is. A home care agency charges £28 to £35 for the same visit. The managed service tiers add a percentage fee for extra admin and scheduling support, not for a different kind of carer.
PrimeCarers does not provide or become a party to a non-disclosure agreement. The standard contract between every client and carer already includes a confidentiality clause covering what a carer may not disclose. Private care for someone in the public eye sets out what that clause covers and what to put in writing yourselves.
Read profiles for a starting point, then judge the rest on a phone or video call rather than the page itself. Ask what a carer enjoys talking about, how they would spend a quiet hour together, and whether they ask your relative's opinion during the conversation. Talking to two or three carers before deciding usually tells you more than any amount of reading.
No particular training exists for this, and none is needed. What helps is a carer's own character: their patience, and their willingness to be led by your relative rather than to take over. If your relative has a specific health condition, look for a carer experienced with that condition, in the same way any family would.
That is their choice, and it is worth writing down who is allowed to know, and who is not, before the first visit rather than leaving it unsaid. Private care for someone in the public eye covers how to agree this with a carer in writing.
Yes, and it is worth asking for directly. A carer you book regularly gets to know your relative's routines, preferences and moods in a way a different carer each time cannot. Agree cover for their days off or holiday in advance, so a change of face is planned rather than a surprise.
It can be, because one carer living in the house replaces a rota of different people coming and going. How live-in care works explains the practicalities, and the disadvantages of live-in care is worth reading too, since having somebody living in full time will not suit every family.
Every profile shows the skills and experience a carer lists in their own words, and reviews from families who have booked them through PrimeCarers. References from past employers and families can appear on a profile too. PrimeCarers does not verify them, so follow up the ones that matter to you. How to check a private carer goes through the whole process, checks and interview together.