LIVE-IN CARE
Live-in Care in Buckinghamshire & South Oxfordshire
One-to-one care and support in the comfort and familiarity of your own home, with a carefully matched carer living there with you.
When you need more support, moving into a care home isn't your only option. Live-in care allows you to remain at home, surrounded by familiar people, possessions, pets and routines, while having professional support on hand throughout the day and someone there at night.
At Care & Carers, we take time to understand how you live, what support you need and what matters to you. We then build your care around you.
From £1,680
per week, for one person
What Is Live-in Care?
Live-in care means one of our carers lives in your home with you, providing support throughout the day and being there at night. It can be an alternative to moving into residential care when you need substantial support but want to continue living in your own home.
Instead of fitting your life around the routines of a care setting, your care is planned around the way you already live. From when you get up and what you like to eat, to the activities, relationships and routines that matter to you. For couples, live-in care can also make it possible to continue living together at home when one or both of you need support.
Could Live-in Care Be Right For You?
People consider live-in care for many different reasons. It may be appropriate if you or someone close to you:
Needs support at different or unpredictable times during the day
Has experienced falls or has reduced mobility
Is returning home following a hospital stay
Wants companionship as well as practical care
Is part of a couple who want to continue living together
Is becoming less safe or confident when alone
Is living with dementia and benefits from familiar surroundings
Needs more support than occasional home care visits can provide
Wants to remain at home rather than move into residential care
Sometimes families contact us already knowing they need live-in care. Others simply know the current situation isn't working. You don't need to have it worked out before you call
What Can a Live-in Carer Help With?
Every person's care is different. Before care begins, we assess your needs and agree a care plan with you setting out the support you want, how you want it provided and what matters to you.
Personal Care
Washing, bathing, showering, dressing, grooming, toileting and continence care. Provided respectfully and to your preferences.
Getting up, bed & mobility
Morning and evening routines and moving around safely, including agreed mobility equipment where assessed as safe.
Medication
From reminders to administering agreed medicines, where included in your care plan and the carer is appropriately trained.
Meals & drinks
Planning, shopping for and preparing meals you enjoy, with appropriate support for professionally advised dietary needs.
Keeping your home comfortable
Light household tasks tied to your care: laundry, changing bedding, washing up, vacuuming, keeping kitchen and bathroom clean.
Shopping & appointments
Support with everyday shopping, collecting prescriptions and attending appointments.
Companionship & everyday life
Conversation, walks, hobbies, clubs, faith activities, seeing family and friends, TV, music, reading, or simply having someone there.
Pets
Feeding or walking a pet can usually be included where this is discussed and agreed when your care is arranged.
Your Home. Your Routine. Your Choices.
Home isn't simply somewhere you live. It's your own bed, your favourite chair, the garden you've looked after, the neighbour you've known for years, the dog waiting by the door. The photographs, possessions and routines that make everyday life familiar.
Needing more care doesn't necessarily mean giving those things up. With live-in care, you can continue living at home while receiving one-to-one support built around your needs.
You decide when you want to get up and go to bed. Meals can be prepared around what you enjoy eating. Your interests, appointments, friendships and family relationships remain part of everyday life.
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Live-in Care and Dementia
For someone living with dementia, familiar surroundings, people and routines can be particularly important. Live-in care can provide consistent support without requiring the person to move away from the home they know.
Our approach starts with the individual. Their history, preferences, abilities, routines and the things that help them feel comfortable and secure.
Depending on the person's assessed needs, support can include personal care, medication, meals and drinks, maintaining routines, getting out and about, companionship and reassurance.
Carefully Matching Your Live-in Carer
A live-in carer isn't simply visiting for an hour. They're sharing your home and becoming part of your everyday routine, so finding someone you feel comfortable with matters.
We don't simply allocate the next available person. We consider practical requirements, care experience and training alongside the things that make everyday life together work. Whether a carer is comfortable with your dog, can prepare the food you enjoy, and whether you're likely to enjoy one another's company.
Wherever possible, we'll introduce you to your carer before the placement begins.
And if the match doesn't feel right, tell us. You don't have to wait until it becomes a problem or make a formal complaint. We'll discuss what's not working and, where changing the carer is the right solution, we'll arrange it.
Who Will Be Coming Into My Home?
We understand the level of trust involved in welcoming someone into your home. Every Care & Carers live-in carer goes through our safer recruitment process before beginning a placement:
Enhance DBS checking, including the adult barred list
Full employment history, with gaps accounted for
Face-to-face interview
Induction and training
Annual appraisal
Identity and right-to-work checks
Verified references, including the most recent care employer
Values-based assessmemt
Ongoing supervision and spot checks
Additional training where a placement requires it
Familiar Faces and Continuity of Care
Consistency is one of the things families value most about live-in care, and it's something we work hard to protect. Rather than continually introducing new carers, we usually build a small regular team of two carers who alternate.
There isn't one fixed rotation that suits everybody, we agree the pattern with you based on your care needs, circumstances and the carers involved, and include it in your care plan.
We'll tell you about planned changeover dates in advance. Wherever possible, the outgoing and incoming carers overlap so they can hand over face to face.
If a carer becomes ill or has to leave unexpectedly, our on-call service arranges cover. We'll contact you as soon as we know, tell you who is coming, and make sure the replacement carer has read your care plan.
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What Does a Typical Day With a Live-in Carer Look Like?
There isn't really a standard live-in care day, and that's the point. Your day is planned around your needs and preferences rather than a fixed institutional routine.
Morning
Help getting washed and dressed, followed by breakfast and morning medication.
Daytime
Light housework, shopping, an appointment, or simply time at home. Plus lunch prepared and eaten together before your carer's agreed daily break.
Afternoon
A walk, seeing family, a hobby, or spending time together at home.
Evening & night
Dinner, support with medication, help getting ready for bed. At night your carer sleeps in their own room and is there if brief assistance is needed.
PLEASE READ - SETS EXPECTATIONS CLEARLY
An Important Point About Nights and Breaks
Live-in care isn't the same as someone working 24 hours a day. Being clear about this from the beginning helps create a care arrangement that is safe and sustainable for everyone.
Your live-in carer has a continuous break of at least two hours each day. The timing is agreed with you in advance. During that break, one of three arrangements can be agreed:
A family member or friend provides cover
We arrange a visiting carer to provide cover
You remain safely at home without the carer, where an assessment shows this is appropriate and an agreed way of calling for help is in place
At night, your live-in carer sleeps in their own bedroom. They can be woken for brief assistance (perhaps to help you get to the toilet, get a drink, or provide reassurance) but standard live-in care isn't designed for repeated or prolonged support throughout the night.
If your needs mean that one live-in carer isn't enough, we'll tell you rather than trying to stretch an arrangement that isn't safe. Depending on your needs, we can discuss a waking-night carer, two live-in carers working different patterns, or additional visiting care at the busiest times.
Live-in Care for Couples
Live-in care can be particularly valuable when a couple wants to remain together at home. Where two people in the household both need care, we can assess both individuals and plan a couples placement.
This can allow you to continue sharing your home and everyday life, rather than facing a move away from familiar surroundings or being separated.
Couples placements are priced according to the care required, with an additional rate above our starting price for one person.
What Does Your Live-in Carer Need in Your Home?
Because your carer lives with you while they're working, they need somewhere suitable to sleep and rest. You'll need to provide:
Their own bedroom
A separate room for the carer's sole use, with a proper bed, clean bedding, storage for clothes, heating and a door that closes. Wherever possible, the door should lock from the inside.
Bathroom & kitchen access
Your carer needs access to a bathroom, toilet and kitchen. They don't need a separate bathroom.
Internet access
Our carers use an electronic system to record your care and need to be able to contact the office and on-call service.
Everyday household facilities
Normal access to heating, hot water and the washing machine for their own clothes.
How Much Does Live-in Care Cost?
From £1,680
per week, for one person
That's a starting price rather than a fixed rate, because care needs differ from one person to another. A senior member of our team will assess your needs before we confirm the cost. We'll then provide a written quotation showing your weekly rate and any additional charges before you commit to anything.
There is no charge for your care assessment and no obligation to proceed afterwards.
Additional costs can apply where you require:
Cover from one of our visiting carers during the live-in carer's daily break
Waking-night care or a second live-in carer
Mileage, when the live-in carer uses their own vehicle
Care for a second person
Higher levels of support
We'll explain any applicable costs clearly as part of your quotation.
How We Arrange Your Live-in Care
1
Start with a conversation
Tell us what's happening, what support you're considering and what's most important to you or your family member. You don't need to know exactly what care you need before calling, we'll help you work it out.
2
We assess your needs
A senior member of our team visits to understand your care needs, wishes, routines and home environment. The assessment is free.
3
We create your care plan
Together, we agree what support you need, how you want it provided and the practical arrangements for your live-in carer. Nothing is finalised without you.
4
We find the right carer
We consider the carer's skills, experience and training, as well as personality and compatibility. Wherever possible, you'll be introduced before the placement begins.
5
Your live-in care begins
Once everything is agreed, your carer moves into your home and the care arrangement begins. But our involvement doesn't stop there.
Professionally Managed, Ongoing Care
Live-in care isn't simply about placing a carer in your home and leaving you to get on with it. Your Care & Carers team remains involved. A Care Coordinator contacts your carer at least weekly. We also carry out supervision visits and spot checks in your home, and ask you how things are going. Your care plan is reviewed after the first six weeks, at least annually after that, and whenever your needs change, you return from hospital, or you ask us to review it.
Your carer records your care using our electronic care system, including care provided, medication, meals and fluids where applicable, mood, incidents and relevant contact with healthcare professionals.
Live-in Care or a Care Home?
When someone needs increasing support, families often assume that moving into residential care is the inevitable next step. It isn't the only option. Live-in care may allow you to:
Remain in your own home
Rather than moving into a residential setting.
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Receive one-to-one support
Built around your assessed needs.
Keep familiar routines
Rather than adapting everyday life to the routine of a larger care setting.
Stay connected to your community
Neighbours, family and friends.
Keep living with your pets
Where their care can be safely incorporated into the arrangement.
Remain together as a couple
Where a couples placement is appropriate.
Residential care will be the right choice for some people, and live-in care will be right for others. What matters is finding an arrangement that can safely meet the person's needs. If you're trying to decide what to do next, talk to us.
Live-in Care Across Buckinghamshire and South Oxfordshire
Care & Carers provides live-in care, visiting home care and dementia support across Buckinghamshire and South Oxfordshire. Our office is in Aylesbury, and your care is managed by the local Care & Carers team.
If you're unsure whether we provide live-in care where you or your family member lives, contact us and we'll check availability.
Frequently Asked Questions About Live-in Care
Is live-in care the same as 24-hour care?
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Does a live-in carer need their own bedroom?
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Will I always have the same live-in carer?
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What if I don’t get on with my carer?
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Can live-in care support someone with dementia?
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Can couples have live-in care?
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Can my live-in carer help with my dog?
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What happens when my live-in carer takes their daily break?
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What happens if my live-in carer is ill?
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Is live-in care regulated?
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How much does live-in care cost?
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Is there a charge for the assessment?
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get in touch
Thinking About Live-in Care? Start With a Conversation.
Most people we speak to haven't arranged live-in care before. You might be planning ahead, trying to make it possible for someone to come home from hospital, noticing that a relative needs more support, or deciding whether remaining at home is still practical.
Tell us what's happening. We'll listen, explain how live-in care works, and discuss whether it could be right for you or your family member.
There is no charge for the assessment and no obligation to proceed.
