Live-in care means one trained carer lives in the home and supports your relative through the day and overnight. Reedsfield Care provides live-in care across Middlesex, including Ashford, Feltham, Sunbury, Shepperton and Staines, from our office in Egham. We are registered with the Care Quality Commission and rated Good.
A live-in carer follows the routine your relative already has rather than imposing a new one. Mornings usually start with help to get up, wash, dress and take medication. Through the day the carer prepares meals and drinks, keeps the house tidy, does the shopping and laundry, supports mobility around the home, and goes along to appointments, the shops or a walk.
Evenings are quieter: a meal, medication, help to get ready for bed. Overnight the carer sleeps in the house and is there if your relative needs help to the bathroom or becomes unsettled. Everything is written into a care plan agreed with you before the placement starts and reviewed as needs change.
Personal care: washing, dressing, continence support, skin care
Medication prompting and recording, prescription collection
Cooking, shopping, laundry, light housework
Mobility support and falls awareness around the home
Company, conversation and getting out of the house
Liaison with the GP surgery, district nurses and pharmacy
Where the carer sleeps and what they need
The carer needs their own bedroom in the house with somewhere to store their things, and access to a bathroom, the kitchen and wifi. The room does not need to be large or newly decorated. Food is shared from the household shop.
A live-in carer is entitled to around two hours of break each day, normally taken while your relative is resting or has family visiting. At night the carer sleeps, and is available if needed. If your relative needs regular help through the night, that is a waking night arrangement and we will quote for it separately rather than expect one carer to cover it.
What happens on the carer's days off
Live-in carers work in rotations, typically two to four weeks on followed by a break. A named relief carer covers that break, so your relative gets to know two people rather than a rotating cast. Relief cover is included in the weekly fee, not charged as an extra.
We introduce the relief carer before their first shift wherever possible, and both carers work to the same written care plan and daily notes.
How live-in care compares with a care home on cost
For one person, live-in care and a mid range care home in this part of the country are usually broadly comparable. Reedsfield live-in fees start at £1,150 a week for one person with standard support. Complex needs are quoted after an assessment.
For a couple the sums change completely. One live-in carer can support both partners, so you are comparing one weekly fee against two residential placements. That is where live-in care is often far cheaper, and it keeps two people who have lived together for decades in the same house.
Live-in care from £1,150 a week for one person
Couples supported by one carer, quoted after assessment
No setup fee, no agency fee, no minimum contract
Hourly visiting care in Middlesex from £22 an hour
How the match is made
We visit at home first, free of charge, and spend time on the practical detail and on the person: what they did for a living, whether the house is quiet or busy, whether they would rather have someone chatty or someone calm, dietary needs, pets, faith, smoking.
We then propose a carer whose experience and temperament fit, and you meet them before anything is agreed. If the fit is not right you say so and we propose someone else. Nobody moves in on the strength of a profile on paper.
What happens if it is not working out
Sometimes a placement is not right, and that is usually about personality rather than competence. Tell your care manager and we will change the carer. There is no charge for a change of carer and no argument about it.
If you want to stop live-in care altogether, notice is one week. You are not locked into a contract, and you can step down to visiting care or step up as needs change without moving to a different provider.
Where we cover in Middlesex
Our carers work across the Middlesex side of our patch from the Egham office: Ashford, Feltham, Sunbury on Thames, Shepperton and Staines upon Thames, along with the surrounding villages. Because the office is close by, a care manager can be at the house quickly when something needs sorting in person.
Ashford
Feltham
Sunbury on Thames
Shepperton
Staines upon Thames
Frequently asked questions
Is a live-in carer awake all night?
No. The carer sleeps in the house and is there if your relative needs help in the night. If regular help is needed through the night, that is a waking night arrangement and is quoted separately.
Do we have to feed the carer?
The carer eats from the household shop, so food costs go up a little. Many families find that is offset by the carer doing the cooking and the shopping.
How quickly can live-in care start in Middlesex?
It depends on carer availability and how complex the needs are. After a hospital discharge we can often move quickly. Call 01784 740078 and we will tell you honestly what is possible.
Is Reedsfield Care regulated?
Yes. We are registered with the Care Quality Commission and rated Good. The inspection report is on our CQC report page.
Can live-in care be funded by the NHS or the council?
Sometimes. NHS Continuing Healthcare covers care in full where needs are primarily health related, and local authority support is means tested. Attendance Allowance is not means tested and is worth applying for.
