Overnight care
Someone there through the night
A vetted carer in the house from evening to morning, asleep nearby or awake and on hand, so your loved one is safe and the family can finally sleep. You can book anything from one night a week to every night.
3,500+ vetted carers across the UK
Not sure if they need a sleeping or a waking night? Two questions will tell you
What a night looks like
Nine at night to eight in the morning
There are two kinds of overnight carer. One sleeps in the house unless they are needed, and the other stays awake all night. Here is each kind of night, hour by hour.
£130–£145 a night
The carer sleeps in a spare room or on a bed nearby, and gets up if they are needed, usually once or twice. This suits nights that are mostly quiet, when nobody should be on their own.
- 9pm
Carer arrives
A handover: how the day went, any medication due, what usually happens in the night.
- 10pm
Settling
Help to the bathroom, into nightclothes and into bed. A drink within reach. Lights the way they like them.
- 11pm
Carer goes to bed
Door ajar, monitor on if there is one. They are a call away.
- 2am
Up once
A trip to the toilet, or reassurance after a confused waking. Back to bed in ten minutes.
- 2.30am
Back to sleep
Your relative and the carer are both back in bed.
- 7am
Morning
Curtains, a cup of tea, medication, help washing and dressing if that is part of the arrangement.
- 8am
Handover and home
A note of the night for the family or the day carer.
Sleeping or waking?
Two questions, and what a week of it costs
Families often book a waking night out of worry when a sleeping night would do, and pay more than they need to. Sometimes it is the other way round, and the carer is awake most of the night anyway.
Our suggestion
Answer the first two questions
We will say whether a sleeping or a waking night fits, what it costs, and what a week of it adds up to.
Who it is for
When the days are fine and the nights are not
Overnight care is usually the first kind of care a family books, because nights are when families worry most.
What it costs
A sleeping night from £130. A waking night from £150.
A night is 10 to 12 hours, priced as one block rather than by the hour, with our fee included. Three sleeping nights a week is about £390. Every night comes to £910 or more, which is where live-in care, from £1,050 a week for days and nights, starts to make more sense.
- Carers set their own rates; the exact price is on each profile
- No premium for short notice
- Pay after each night, never in advance
- Insurance, contract and DBS monitoring included
| Family doing shifts | Night-sitter agency | PrimeCarers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You choose the carer | It is you | Rarely | |
| The same person each night | Depends on the rota | ||
| Trained for turning, pads, medication | |||
| Everyone sleeps | |||
| Sleeping night, per night | Your sleep | £150+ | £130–£145 |
| Waking night, per night | Your sleep | up to £240 | £150–£160 |
How it works
From “something has to change” to a carer at the door
No assessment visits, no waiting list. Some families are talking to a carer the same day.
Search your postcode
See the carers who cover it, with photos, rates, experience and reviews. Filter by hourly, live-in or overnight.
Talk to the ones you like
Message them directly, or tell us what you need and we can suggest some carers to look at. The choice is always yours.
Meet before deciding
A call, a video chat or a visit, free and before anything is booked. A lot of families have a good idea within the first ten minutes.
Book, and change it as needs change
Contract, insurance and payment run through us. You can add visits, add nights, or move to live-in care as things change, and you only pay for care that happens.
Safety first
Someone coming into their home? We take that seriously.
Letting a carer into the home of someone you love takes trust. We've built every layer of protection so that trust is earned, not assumed.
Vetting before a carer appears
Enhanced DBS, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview before a carer appears, with renewal or rechecks depending on the accepted route. We check that a carer is caring; their skills and training are for you to check with them.
Insured and above board
Every visit is insured, contracted and paid securely online after care happens. There is no cash and no informal arrangement to manage.
A real person who knows you
Your own account manager and a UK support team who know you, your carer and your situation, not a call centre script.
Help when plans change
If your carer is unwell or away, our team will always do their best to find you vetted cover at short notice.
What clients say
Our Latest Carer Reviews
Margaret N
"Excellent - Lovely lady. My mother is so pleased with the work she does in helping her."
Read the full review
Julia S
"Julia is a highly skilled and companionate carer who is able to give so much of herself and adapt to any situation."
Read the full review
Andres Felipe C
"My son who he is caring for automatically welcomed Andres and can be heard laughing & having fun with Andres."
Read the full reviewQuestions families ask
Overnight care, answered
An overnight carer settles your loved one for the night, is there if they wake, and helps with whatever the night brings: the toilet, turning, a pad change, medication, or reassurance after a confused waking. In the morning they help with the routine: medication, washing, dressing, breakfast, and a handover. See a night hour by hour.
A sleeping-night carer does, in a spare room or nearby, and gets up if needed, usually once or twice. A waking-night carer stays awake all night. Which you need depends on how often the person is up. Do night carers sleep?
On PrimeCarers a sleeping night is £130 to £145 and a waking night £150 to £160, for 10 to 12 hours, with our fee included. Agencies charge up to £240 for a waking night. The full cost guide.
A sleeping night may suit occasional help when the carer can otherwise sleep. Frequent or unpredictable waking, wandering or a need for continuous supervision may need waking cover. Agree the tasks, risks and safe staffing before booking; ask the clinical team about clinical needs. Do not use a sleeping night as a trial if the person may need someone awake throughout. Compare the two arrangements.
Agree anything from one night a week to every night, subject to carer availability. Changes and cancellations follow your agreement. Seven sleeping nights start at £910 a week; compare live-in care if you also need daytime help, including the cost of breaks and any waking-night cover.
A live-in carer needs sleep and daily rest. Agree any occasional night assistance in advance; repeated waking or continuous supervision needs a separate staffing and cover plan. Confirm which duties and hours are included in the rate before booking. Do live-in carers stay overnight?
It is one of the main reasons families book it. Confusion, agitation and wandering peak in the evening and night. A carer who knows the person, keeps the lights and routine steady and can walk them calmly back to bed makes the nights safe for everyone. What is sundowning?
Timing depends on a suitable carer being available and agreeing the needs, rate and dates. Search for night carers near you, or call 0203 369 3624 for help looking. Confirm any optional urgent-finder fee before using that service. Emergency care.
For a sleeping night, somewhere to sleep: a spare bed or a comfortable sofa bed. For a waking night, a chair, a light and a kettle. Tell them the night routine, where things are, and what usually happens.
Every carer on PrimeCarers has an accepted criminal-record check, ID and right-to-work verification and an online interview before they appear in a search, with Update Service rechecks where that route applies. You choose the carer and meet them first. How we vet carers.
Guides
Read next
These are the two night-care guides, and the pages families read alongside them.
- Do night carers sleep?
- Night-time carer costs
- What is sundowning?
- Do live-in carers stay overnight?
- Where do live-in carers sleep?
- Is live-in care 7 days a week?
- Leaving hospital: what to arrange
- Private palliative carers
- When to consider respite care
- Home technology that helps at night
- The full cost of care guide
- Help paying for care
- Waking night or sleeping night?
- How long a night shift is
- Night care terms explained
- Seven nights a week: the rota and the cost
- Night care for dementia
- Falls and toilet trips at night
- So the family carer can sleep
- Short-term nights after hospital
- Night care at end of life
- Overnight care or a care home?
- Live-in care
- Hourly care
- Dementia care
Sleep tonight, knowing someone else is listening.
See the night carers near you, with their rates and reviews, and talk to the ones you like for free.