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What is live-in care and how is it used?

Live-in care is a popular alternative to residential care, providing professional support in the comfort of your own home, as and when you need it, 24-hours-a-day.


From assisting with mobility around the house, to helping with personal care, shopping, cooking and simply providing companionship and a sympathetic ear, support from Caremark’s live-in care assistants can enable you or your family member to discover a new way to handle life’s adventures.

Our carers will work with you or your loved one to put together a care plan that will help you live the way you want to every day, providing flexibility, choice, dignity and control - all key to maintaining good health and happiness.
Here we look at what Caremark’s live-in care services can offer you and your family.

In this guide we’ll focus on:


The different types of live-in care

The pros and cons of live-in care versus residential care

Who tends to need live-in care?

About Caremark’s live-in care

Help and financial support for live-in care


A member of our friendly team will be happy to give you further details about Caremark’s live-in care services and how we can help you or your loved one. Please clickhere to find the contact details for your local office.

To read more about our live-in care, visit our Live-in Care section.

Live-in care tailored to you or your loved one’s needs

We offer many types of live-in care, from managed to short-term and long-term. With each type our care assistants will tailor their care to you or your loved one’s needs, whether that be companionship, help with personal care and mobility, or a mixture of both.

Managed live-in care

This is the type of care we provide at Caremark - our agency is regularly assessed by the Care Quality Commission to ensure that our practices, policies and procedures are compliant with standards outlined by the government. Once we’ve placed a carer in your or your loved one’s home we ‘manage’ the service they provide to you, taking an active role in the care they are giving.

This gives you the peace of mind and reassurance that everything is being done to strict guidelines. Before placing a carer with you or your family member we discuss your preferences, wishes and circumstances as well as conduct a risk assessment. A tailored plan will then be created and a management team provided. The management team assesses and ensures everything is going according to plan and the right support is being given. Caremark is responsible for training, matching and paying your carer, including organising tax and national insurance.

Self-managed care

We do not provide this type of live-in care but many agencies do. With self-managed live-in care the agency has less involvement than with a managed service. The agency discusses your needs and preferences with you and then vets and interviews self-employed live-in carers for you. They carry out full reference checks and ensure the carer has an enhanced DBS/CRB certificate and the right to work in the UK. They will also help devise a care plan with you. Once the carer has been assigned to you or your loved one, you are responsible for paying them, and making any changes to the care plan. The agency may be in touch to check that everything is going well but they will not usually visit the home.

Long and short-term live-in care

Perhaps you or your loved one has just returned from hospital and needs a period of recuperation under medical supervision, or maybe you’re the main carer but you’ve got to go away for a while unexpectedly and need temporary live-in care to take over the duties you would normally do? In such situations short or long-term live-in care is an ideal solution. Longer-term placements can last anything from a few months to a few years, while short-term live-in care could last for a week or two up to a month.

Our compassionate live-in care assistants can provide support with anything from personal care and medication prompting and administering, to mobility and safety, shopping, cooking and housework, pet care and day trips out, as well as accompaniment to doctor, dental and hospital appointments, companionship and emotional support.

Here we’ve listed a few of the ways in which our live-in carers can support you or your family member’s needs:

  • Personal care (click Live-in-care for more details)
  • Shopping, housekeeping and cooking
  • Meeting dietary and nutritional needs
  • Companionship and emotional support - many carers become more like friends
  • Daily activities and accessing local support
  • Using mobility aids
  • Administering medication
  • Attending doctor, dental and hospital appointments
  • Help with household bills and general admin

Live-in care versus residential care

There are so many reasons why people choose live-in care over residential care. To help you decide which might be best for you or your loved one and your situation we’ve considered a few of the pros of live-in and residential care services.

Pros of live-in care services

  • Home comforts: allowing you or your loved one to stay in familiar surroundings.
  • Familiarity: offering the reassurance that you or your family member can stay close to friends and family and the community.
  • Stability: the peace of mind that things don’t need to change. You or your family member won’t have to make decisions like which belongings to hold on to (like they might if they were going into residential care).
  • Peace of mind: one-on-one tailored, experienced support around the clock, maintaining your lifestyle and routines.
  • Flexibility: the live-in care assistant will fit in with you or your loved one’s routine and preferences, and will be responsive to supporting changing needs.
  • Cost: depending on the care needed, home care may be cheaper than residential care (and provide significant savings for couples).
  • Pets: if you or your loved one has any pets, they can stay in the home too.
  • Companionship: you or your loved one’s carer will be there to listen to any problems or worries and provide experienced support throughout difficult times as well as accompany you on outings, trips to the doctor and medical appointments and more.
  • Dietary and nutritional benefits: you or your family member will be able to choose and help prepare their meals, deciding both what to eat and when to eat.

Cons of residential care

  • Low staff-to-resident ratio meaning that the care staff are usually under pressure and unable to spend as much time with each resident as they might like.
  • New and unfamiliar environment to get used to.
  • Set meal times and menus that may not be exactly to you or your family member’s liking
  • Carers will not be able to support you or your loved one outside of the home, for example by taking you to the doctor’s or on outings as and when you like.
  • Routines will be regimented and often involve a drastic lifestyle change.

Who tends to need live-in care?

People who have live-in care tend to be those with high support needs who require 24-hour one-on-one assistance with things like everyday tasks and mobility. But perhaps most crucially they also want to retain an independent lifestyle that revolves around staying in their own home, with the unparalleled level of comfort and security it provides them. There’s no upheaval or disruption involved in live-in care as the person needing the care stays exactly as they are. They only change that might need to happen is a room may need clearing to make space for the live-in carer.

Moving to a residential home can be very stressful and emotional and the option of staying in surroundings they know and love is preferable for all involved. You or your loved one wouldn’t have to pick and choose which belongings to take with them into the residential home. In fact, they wouldn’t need to do or change anything, except provide a spare room for the live-in carer.

Staying at home feels more relaxed and secure

Other reasons for choosing live-in care over residential care include requiring care for ongoing or progressive health needs; needing care support to help with recovery after a stay in hospital, or end-of-life and palliative live-in care services. By staying at home, with everything that makes you happy close by, friends and family there too or nearby, and all the home comforts you are used to, you’ll undoubtedly feel more relaxed and secure, regardless of your circumstances.

Click here for information about our end-of-life care services. Through providing emotional, social and physical support, a live-in carer can become a truly integral part of your or your loved one’s support system.

Which conditions can live-in carers provide support for?

Our live-in care assistants can provide help with everyday tasks, personal care, emotional and mobility support for people with the following conditions:


  • Dementia
  • Huntington’s disease
  • Alzheimer’s disease
  • Parkinson’s disease
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Strokes
  • Cancer
  • Frailty and mobility
  • Mental health conditions
  • Spinal injuries
  • Acquired brain injuries

What kind of people are live-in carers and how much experience do they have?

Our live-in carers are experienced, compassionate and thoughtful but also practical and hard-working. They have chosen caring as their career because they love helping others and genuinely have a passion for people.

Each live-in care assistant is matched to their client based on everything from personality, hobbies and lifestyle to specialist experience and training. So whether you or your family member needs a carer who specialises in dementia care but loves football, or an expert in acquired brain injury who might also be able to share a love of cats, we’ll try to find the perfect match. A well-chosen live-in carer should seamlessly fit into and support you or your family member’s routines and, hopefully, become a friend.

Checks and regulatory bodies

Sharing your home with a stranger may seem daunting at first but please be assured that, as a member of the Care Quality Commission, we have undertaken a number of steps to ensure every one of our carers has completed what’s called an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (basically an enhanced criminal records check). Our care assistants have been fully trained under our award-winning programme, have undergone extensive interviewing, and have been chosen for their experience and qualifications.

Please click here for further information about the Care Quality Commission, an independent body that regulates health and adult social care services in England. Read more about our award-winning training here.

My name is John and I am a live-in carer



“I have always wanted to be a carer, right from when I first heard about the role at school. I'm definitely a people person and I get so much pleasure from knowing I can brighten someone's day or make their life that little bit easier. I've worked in the profession for over 20 years now and I absolutely love it. Whenever I get placed with a new person I try to learn as much as I can about them and any medical conditions they may have so that I can fully immerse myself in their needs and everyday life.”


My live-in care story



"I was a bit nervous about having a live-in carer but my GP suggested it and I haven't looked back since. My care assistant helps me with just about everything I do and it's been brilliant because it's meant I've been able to stay in my own home, with all my possessions and memories around me. Family and friends still visit often and my carer seems to intuitively know when I need her around and when to give me a bit of space.”


Mavis, 81, from East Sussex

How much does live-in care cost and are there ways to fund it?

It’s a good idea to talk to your local council or Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) to see if you might be entitled to financial support with live-in care.

Arranging a carer's assessment

A carer’s assessment is designed to see what might help make your life easier. It’s a chance to discuss your needs with your local council so they can decide how best to support you. If they feel you need support they’ll work with you to put together a care plan, which might include using respite services. Your loved one should also have a needs assessment, which is organised through their local council so extra support can be arranged if appropriate

Financial assessment

If you or your loved one are found to need support your local council will carry out a financial assessment to discover what you can afford to pay. If you are eligible for financial support to pay for live-in care, your local council can arrange these services for you or you can choose to receive direct payments and arrange respite care privately.

You may qualify for funding and it's possible that you or your family member may not need to pay anything at all. Visit our Guide to Financing section for further information or get in touch with the team at your local office by filling out the form below to receive a personalised quote.

Direct payments

Caremark can accept direct payments for live-in care. Please contact your local office here for further information about how this works.

Funding from charities and funds

There are a few grants, funds and charities that may be able to help with funding to pay for live-in care. Click here to find out more.

Age UK have put together a helpful guide to paying for home care.

Would you like to take the next step and arrange live-in care?

If you would like more information about our live-in care, please don’t hesitate to get in touch by filling out the form below. Your local Caremark team will be in touch to discuss your needs and guide you through your options, before advising you on the next steps.

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If you have any questions, simply complete the form below and we will
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