Live in Care

Live in care offers many of the benefits of living in a care home without any of the rules and restrictions. It offers greater freedom and flexibility and is often more cost-effective too.

Live in care

What is live in care?

Live in care is where we assign a you a dedicated carer who will come and stay with you in your own home. Your carer will reside with you 24 hours per day 7 days per week. The ‘working’ or ‘caring’ hours they spend with you vary according your personal needs and will also be subject to employment law regulations.

Why choose live in care?

Opting for live-in care can offer you the same peace of mind as living in a care home whilst retaining the familiarity of your own home and surroundings. If you need someone to assist you urgently you can rest assured that help is on hand straight away.

Benefits of live in care

Live in care offers many benefits compared to living in a care home. We’ve listed just a few of these below:

What care is provided?

All care is tailored

Carers at Home Live-in Care

No two clients are the same, so we will tailor a live in care package according to your needs. A full care needs assessment will be conducted prior to care commencing.

Common services include:

  • Companionship
  • Assistance moving safely around the home
  • Assistance with getting up and going to bed
  • Assistance with appointments and shopping
  • Cooking meals
  • Light domestic duties
  • Medication support
  • Food and hydration monitoring
  • Bathing and showering, including bed-baths
  • Applying lotions and creams as required
  • Dressing and getting ready for bed
  • Oral hygiene
  • Shaving
  • Help with toileting
  • Assisting with bed position to help avoid bed sores
  • Assistance with pets
  • Helping to host visitors to your home

Types of live in care

There are a number of different services we can provide from 1 live-in carer to 2 or more live-in carers with visiting carers at times if need be. We aim to provide all of our clients with the exact service they require.

Base live in care

For the base fee you will receive the service of a live-in care worker providing 11 hours of care per day. This care will be spread over 2 shifts with the care worker receiving a 2 hour break in the middle of the shift. The timings of the 2 hour break will be agreed prior to commencement of the care. If more than 11 hours of care is required in a 13 hour period this will be provided by a second carer and charged at the hourly rate. (Please see below)

Double live in carer

Carers at Home

It is possible to provide 2 live-in carers on the basis there are 2 separate bedrooms available. For this package the client will receive 22 hours of care per day from the live in care team on two 11 hour shifts plus 2 hours per day from a third carer. Please note that given the shift patterns the live in carers will not be able to work at the same time and therefore should double up care be required at any time a third party care worker will have to attend at an additional hourly rate.

Top-up care

Carers at Home live in care
Should the client require a carer to be present during the 2 hour daily break then a separate carer will attend daily for these hours and the daily care will be increased to 13 hours per day.

Double up carer

Should the care assessment deem a double up is required at any time for the safety of either the client or the carer this will be provided at the current charge rate with a 10% discount.
Carers at Home Live-in Care

Couples care

Carers at Home

We are able to provide care for couples wishing to remain in their own home. The charge for this service will be dependent on the level of care required but will be based on the charge for a live-in carer plus the hourly charge for any additional carer required.

Frequently asked questions

Yes, although we do ask that this is agreed at the outset of the agreement so we can ensure we place the right care worker with you and ensure all of the correct paperwork is in place. Any mileage undertaken by the client will be charged at 40pence per mile (correct as of November 2021 and subject to change).

It might be possible for the care worker to driver the clients car should they wish but again this must be agreed at the outset to ensure all paperwork is in place. The client will be responsible for all costs associated with this.

Our goal is for you to be happy with your care and (on a personal level) your carer. When we first meet you, we will ask you an extensive list of questions about your routine, your likes and dislikes and try and match you with someone we believe will be a great carer (and where possible a good friend too). We will always give you the opportunity to meet your carer before asking you to commit.

All our staff are directly employed by us. Our carers are regularly vetted and undergo our thorough training programme. We will never bring in self-employed carers (unlike some agencies). As such it might take a little longer to find the right person for you, but it will be worth it in the end. As a family run business we will ensure that your carer has the appropriate skills, training and personality to meet your needs.

In order for us to provide you with a live-in carer you will need to be able to provide the following:

1. Your carer must have their own dedicated bedroom
2. Broadband internet connection – (alternatively we can provide your carer with mobile broadband for a small surcharge)
3. A gas safety certificate if appropriate
4. A set of keys

All of our carers undergo the skills for care training certificate. A list of the modules can be seen here. Any time one of our carers enters a new home it will always be done in the presence of a senior member of staff that can help smooth the transition and ensure the care worker is trained to attend to the client exactly how they want.

All members of staff undergo annual refresher training in 9 key areas to ensure they are always working in line with current practices. As well as their basic training all our carers receive additional training

• Dementia Awareness
• End of life
• Conflict Management
• Customer Service
• Mental Capacity Act
• Diet, Nutrition and Hydration

If you have a specific need we will always ensure that the care worker assigned to you is properly trained to meet it.

We ensure that all of our live in clients are with 45 minutes reach (We have offices in both Godalming and Camberley).  Our offices are open from 8 am to 5.30pm Monday to Friday. Outside of these hours there is a 24 hour number our team can call should they need any help or advice.

We have a dedicated live-in care manager Helen, with 15 years’ experience in the care sector. Helen visits all clients and carers weekly at first to ensure everything is running smoothly. When Helen is satisfied that both the client and carer are happy with the way things are going the visits will drop to fortnightly but there might always be the odd surprise drop in visit from another member of the senior management team to ensure standards are being maintained.

At the initial assessment our care manager will agree a care plan with you and/or your next of kin for. The plan outlines the care you will receive and is reviewed and updated every six months. The plan can also be revised  at any time you, your next of kin, your care worker or our care manager believe a change is required.

This care plan is inputted into our electronic care monitoring system. Any time a key part of the care plan is followed such as assisting to administer medication, providing a meal, bathing, assisting you to get out of or into bed or cleaning it is the responsibility of the care worker to update the system to show this has been completed or if not completed to provide a reason why.

This system can be monitored in real time by head office staff . If a task has not been completed an instant alert will be sent to the care managers who can contact the care worker immediately.

A report of all tasks completed can be provided to the client or a next of kin should this be requested.

A typical day

Below is a typical day for a client and live-in care worker.
Naturally, this would be tailored to suit your individual needs.

8.00 am

The client wakes and the live-in care worker starts their shift helping the client to the toilet and to get dressed.

8.30 am

The client and live-in carer have breakfast together before the care worker cleans up. The care worker provides the client with their medication.

Morning

The client and the live in carer play a game together such as scrabble or a cards game or they may work on a puzzle together or read a book with the care worker providing as much or as little assistance as is required.
The care worker makes a cup of tea and provides a snack mid-morning as required and assists the client with any personal needs they may have.

12.30 pm

The care worker prepares lunch for both the client and themselves before cleaning up. The care worker provides the client with their medication.

1.00 pm

Once lunch is finished the care worker makes the client comfortable in their favourite chair in front of the television before going on their 2-hour break.
During this time the live-in care worker must be away from the client. They might either decide to spend time in their room watching a film or they may choose to leave the house for a walk or to meet friends.
If the client is unhappy being left alone during this time we can arrange for a separate care worker to come in and sit with then until the live in care worker returns.

3.00 pm

The care worker returns to start the afternoon shift and to take the client to town to do a bit of shopping and to visit the local coffee shop for a cup of tea and a slice of cake.

5.00 pm

The client and care worker return home. At this stage the care worker might undertake some light household duties such as dusting and hoovering whilst the client rests or they may decide to bake a cake together, read a book or continue the puzzle with the care worker providing as much or little assistance as required.

6.30 pm

The care worker prepares the evening meal and sits down to eat it with the client prior to cleaning up. The care worker provides the client with their medication.

7.30 pm

The care worker will assist the client with all personal care they require such as bathing or showering.

8.00 pm

The client might decide to watch a bit of television before bed or to read. Whatever they decide the care worker will support them.

9.00 pm

The care worker helps the client into bed and it is the start of the care worker’s 11-hour break.
Skip to content