PrimeCarers

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.

Free · No obligationEnhanced DBSID-verifiedInterviewedInsured

3,500+ vetted carers across the UK

Not sure if they need a sleeping or a waking night? Two questions will tell you

Watercolour of a carer checking on an older person asleep at night

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.

  1. 9pm

    Carer arrives

    A handover: how the day went, any medication due, what usually happens in the night.

  2. 10pm

    Settling

    Help to the bathroom, into nightclothes and into bed. A drink within reach. Lights the way they like them.

  3. 11pm

    Carer goes to bed

    Door ajar, monitor on if there is one. They are a call away.

  4. 2am

    Up once

    A trip to the toilet, or reassurance after a confused waking. Back to bed in ten minutes.

  5. 2.30am

    Back to sleep

    Your relative and the carer are both back in bed.

  6. 7am

    Morning

    Curtains, a cup of tea, medication, help washing and dressing if that is part of the arrangement.

  7. 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.

How often are they up in the night?

1How often are they up in the night?

What is the night mostly about?

2What is the night mostly about?

How many nights a week?

3How many nights a week?

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.

Up and wandering at nightDementia often turns evenings and nights upside down. Someone there means no locked doors and no falls on the stairs.
A fall after darkOne fall doubles the chance of another. Nights are when people go to the bathroom on their own, in the dark and half asleep.
Home from hospitalThe first weeks back at home are the riskiest. Many families arrange a few nights of cover while confidence returns, and then reduce it.
Someone who is seriously illThe carer keeps pain relief on time and stays with them through the night, so the family can sleep knowing somebody else is awake.
A family carer who is not sleepingCaring all day and listening out all night wears people down. Two or three nights a week of cover is often what keeps the whole arrangement going.
Living alone and frightenedSome people do not need much help, and still do not feel safe or settled on their own at night. A sleeping night carer is company as much as care.

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
The full night-time cost guideEvery cost on one pageHelp paying
Family doing shiftsNight-sitter agencyPrimeCarers
You choose the carerIt is youRarely
The same person each nightDepends on the rota
Trained for turning, pads, medication
Everyone sleeps
Sleeping night, per nightYour sleep£150+£130–£145
Waking night, per nightYour sleepup 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.

1

Search your postcode

See the carers who cover it, with photos, rates, experience and reviews. Filter by hourly, live-in or overnight.

2

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.

3

Meet before deciding

A call, a video chat or a visit, free and with no commitment. A lot of families have a good idea within the first ten minutes.

4

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.

Find night carersHow we vet carers

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.

See exactly how we vet carers or call 0203 369 3624

Vetting that never stops

Enhanced DBS, ID and right-to-work checks and an online interview before a carer appears, then continuous DBS monitoring for as long as they work. 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

Photo of carer Margaret N

Margaret N

"Excellent - Lovely lady. My mother is so pleased with the work she does in helping her."

Read the full review
Photo of carer Julia S

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
Photo of carer Andres Felipe C

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 review
See More Reviews

Questions 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.

If they are up once or twice, a sleeping night is enough. If they are up often, wandering, or needing turning or pain relief through the night, you need a waking night. If in doubt, start with a sleeping night and ask the carer how it went; they will tell you if they were up all night. Two questions that decide it.

Any number, from one night a week to every night, and you can change it as things change. Every night costs £910 a week or more, at which point live-in care from £1,050 a week, covering days as well, is often the better arrangement. Live-in care.

A live-in carer sleeps in the house and helps once or twice a night, which is included. If someone needs help many times a night, a separate waking-night carer is added so the live-in carer can sleep. 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?

Overnight care can often start within days. Search to see which night carers near you are free, or call 0203 369 3624 and we will look for you. There is no premium for short notice. 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 Enhanced DBS check, ID and right-to-work verification and an online interview before they appear in a search, and their DBS is monitored continuously. You choose the carer and meet them first. How we vet carers.

Ask us: 0203 369 3624

Guides

Read next

These are the two night-care guides, and the pages families read alongside them.

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.

Find night carersCall 0203 369 3624
From one night a weekSame carer each nightVetted and insuredNo short-notice premium