Many families assume that if they or an older relative cannot manage daily tasks alone or need help with chores and personal care, they have little option but to apply for a place in a local residential care centre – or settle for a nursing home further away due to lack of availability.
We speak with hundreds of families who would strongly prefer to stay in the comfort and familiarity of their homes and who perceive private live in care as a premium, costly service well outside their budgets. The reality is that live-in care costs a similar amount to a residential care home while ensuring you have control over your care costs and the support you receive at all times.
Types of Ongoing Home Care Support
Live-in care services differ from other types of care because the qualified carer, or team of carers, work in a defined shift pattern, provide ongoing support within your own home and on a long-term basis.
There are several considerations, such as ensuring a carer has a private space for rest and sleep and discussing expectations around waking or sleeping night shifts. Still, the concept is the same, adapted to your needs and requirements.
Part of the appeal of a private live-in care service is that a care recipient is never expected to sell their home to finance the costs of their care—this is also often excluded from means testing if a family is entitled to some form of financial support.
However, another benefit is that the cost of care is agreed upon with your local Guardian Angel Carers coordinator at the outset; without added costs, extra fees for activities or events, variable charges for catering or GP visits, or fixed weekly charges that you are required to pay, whether or not the care recipient had requested the service.
Because private care support is tailored to you, we listen carefully to the wishes and preferences of the individual and their loved ones, ensuring we know precisely which tasks or chores they would like help with and where they’d prefer privacy or independence – with a carer on hand if they need to request additional assistance.
Structuring Private Live-in Care to Your Family’s Needs
Another often overlooked factor in organising private home care is that, unlike a residential facility where you pay for permanent accommodation, care support, catering and other services, there isn’t a one-size-fits-all way to structure live-in care.
For example, you might look to:
- Organise live-in care for specific periods, pre-arranged with your local care manager or coordinator, perhaps to cover the rehabilitation and recovery process following a hospital discharge.
- Implement wrap-around private home care with a confirmed schedule where carers offer visiting care, overnight care or live-in care to provide the peace of mind that a loved one is in great hands when family caregivers are unavailable.
- Arrange live-in care according to the needs of the recipient, requesting greater support from trained specialist carers if your loved one has a degenerative condition that will likely require more help as it progresses.
This customisation commonly means that live-in care is no more expensive than a high-quality care home and can be more affordable for families requiring specialist or nursing care support at home, or when a couple needs care and wishes to stay together in the comfort of their own property.
Most local councils continue to use means testing assessments to determine whether they can contribute to some or all of home care costs, but families who qualify for support can often use that funding as they wish, appointing their choice of live-in carer.
They can also refer to a private home care team to put additional and supplementary care in place if visiting care they have been offered isn’t sufficient.
Cost Savings Linked to Live-in Care Services in Your Own Home
It isn’t easy to give a ball-park figure for the costs of either live-in care or a residential care home since this depends on numerous variables, including:
- Where you live
- The health and needs of the care recipient
- Whether you require specialist or nursing support
- The types of care you require
As an idea, a couple requiring live-in care will often find it more viable than paying for two rooms in a care facility or trying to find a care home that offers dual occupancy rooms.
Likewise, a family looking for live-in support for an older adult suffering from a cognitive condition such as dementia who would find the upheaval and distress of a move detrimental to their health might choose a home care service with a similar cost to that of a specialist dementia care centre.
The Costs of Live-in Home Care vs Residential Care
We’ve noted that averages are simply that: the costs of care differ considerably throughout the UK, as do the amounts of financial support you may receive to contribute towards or cover the cost of home care or residential care services.
However, these averages show that the gaps between the costs of residential and at-home care are often minimal:
- Homecare.co.uk indicates that average live-in care costs range from £46,800 to £104,000 a year, with higher rates typically recorded in London and southeast England.
- Carehome.co.uk reports that residential care homes, without nursing care, charge from £60,320 annually and upwards as a UK-wide average.
- The average nursing home fee is higher again, starting at £73,320 a year, or £75,244 for residential dementia care, again as an average across the UK.
Many families also place higher value on the one-to-one nature of private live-in care, where they have the peace of mind that their loved one is getting the best possible care and will never feel lonely or isolated with a dedicated personal carer on hand at all times.
If you’d like a clearer idea about the costs of private live-in home care for yourself or a loved one, would like to have a chat with one of our incredible local care managers, or need further information about how live-in care might work for your family, please get in touch with your nearest Guardian Angel Carers office at any time.