Overnight care
Someone there through the night
A checked carer in the house from evening to morning, asleep nearby or awake and on hand, so your loved one is not alone at night and the family can get some sleep. You can book anything from one night a week to every night. In a medical emergency the carer calls 999.
3,500+ DBS-checked 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 £165.
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
- Contract, DBS checks and insurance for platform visits included (policy terms apply)
| Family doing shifts | Night-sitter agency | PrimeCarers | |
|---|---|---|---|
| You choose the carer | It is you | Rarely | |
| The same person each night | Depends on the rota | ||
| Experience with turning, pads and medication | On each profile, in the carer's own words; ask them. We do not check training. | ||
| Everyone sleeps | |||
| Sleeping night, per night | Your sleep | £150+ | £130–£145 |
| Waking night, per night | Your sleep | up to £240 | £165 |
Nights as part of 24-hour care
When your relative needs help through the day as well as the night, a night carer can be one part of 24-hour care at home. A live-in carer can cover the day and a settled night on their own. If somebody needs to be awake all night, that has to be a second carer, because the live-in carer still needs their sleep to look after your relative the next day.
These are weekly figures for what carers on PrimeCarers charge, with our fee included. Carers set their own rates, so the exact price for each carer is on their profile.
One live-in carer, sleeping nights
£1,050 to £1,400 a week
The carer lives in, has their own room and gets up once or twice in the night if needed. This suits someone whose nights are mostly settled.
A live-in carer by day and a waking night carer
About £2,156 a week together
The live-in carer covers the day and sleeps at night, and a second carer stays awake through the night, seven nights a week. A waking night alongside a live-in carer is about £148 a night.
Day carers on a shift rota and a waking night carer
£2,793 a week
Nobody lives in. Day carers work 13-hour shifts at £18 an hour, and a waking night carer covers the other 11 hours, seven nights a week.
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
The contract and payment run through us, and visits booked here are covered by the carer insurance policy we arrange, within its terms. You can add visits, add nights, or move to live-in care as things change, and you only pay for care that happens.
Before a carer appears
What we check, and what we don't
Letting a carer into the home of someone you love takes trust. These are the checks every carer passes before their profile appears; their skills, training and references are for you to ask about.
Checks before a carer appears
An enhanced DBS check issued within the last 2 years (or Scottish PVG or Access NI), ID and right-to-work checks, and a recorded online interview, all before a carer appears. We do not check qualifications, training or references: their skills, training and references are for you to check with them.
Contracted and paid online
Visits booked through PrimeCarers are on our standard contract and paid securely online after the care happens, with no cash to hand over. Insurance for platform visits, within the policy’s terms (no clinical procedures).
A real person to talk to
A UK support team you can call about finding carers, bookings and payments, not a call centre script. The care itself is agreed between you and the carer.
Help when plans change
If your carer is unwell or away, call us and we will help you look for another carer. We cannot guarantee cover at short notice, so it is worth having a second carer you have already met.
Reviews
What families say about their carers
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 £165, 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 with the carer before booking; ask your relative’s GP or nurse about any clinical needs. In an emergency the carer calls 999. 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 calmer and safer 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. What we check, and what we don’t.
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.