8 years exp
127+hrs worked
4 years exp
7799+hrs worked
3 years exp
573+hrs worked
20+ years exp
31hrs worked
12 years exp
2430hrs worked
7 years exp
433+hrs worked
15 years exp
645hrs worked
A popular alternative to care homes, live-in care is the most comprehensive kind of care for anyone with needs that can be met at home. It’s practical, comfortable and allows you to remain as independent as possible. Curam’s experienced live-in Care Professionals provide specialist 24-hour support throughout the UK.
Our live-in Care Professionals support each individual to live independently, maintain routines, and most importantly, remain in the comfort of their own home.
Your choice of Care Professional will live in your home with you. They’ll be on hand to cater to your needs and keep you comfortable and independent.
For long-term care, live-in Care Professionals typically require breaks after two or three weeks to prevent burnout and ensure great continuity of care. As a result, these live-in Care Professionals typically work for shifts on a rotation with another Care Professional.
Live-in Care Professionals are there to provide around-the-clock care. Most live-in Care Professionals will work between six and a half and seven days a week, with a break of two hours during the day. Their exact hours, and other stipulations such as mobile phone use, travel and food expenses, can be noted in the service agreement. Most Care Professionals would expect to have 14 hours a week of free time for themselves.
Get started24-hour Care Professionals provide overnight care and are available to assist with toilet breaks, changing position in bed following an injury and administering medication. Their presence can also provide peace of mind through the night if you live alone.
If you are only interested in having a Care Professional present at night, rather than 24-hour live-in care, you can read more about overnight care.
Get startedLive-in care is a convenient and often more economical alternative to a care home, giving you independence alongside the security of having a Care Professional on hand.
Curam Care Professionals provide great continuity of care – and our website allows you to choose exactly who will be caring for you.
Anyone who requires care can have live-in care. Live-in care is a popular choice for those who wish to remain in their own home and stay independent while receiving the support and care that they need.
It’s particularly useful for those who have complex care needs that require one-on-one attention, including those with progressive conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
Live-in care is different from domiciliary care in that it provides around-the-clock support. Domiciliary care refers to regular home visits by Care Professionals rather than live-in support.
Domiciliary care is a good option for those who prefer support at set times each week but don’t require the constant presence of a Care Professional. Domiciliary care could constitute anything from weekly housekeeping visits through to multiple daily visits to help with personal care, getting around the home or preparing meals.
If you’ve been receiving domiciliary care but visits throughout the day can no longer meet your needs, live-in care might be right for you.
Get startedWhile a care home might be right for you, live-in Care Professionals can support you in numerous ways that care homes cannot:
Enable you to remain living independently in your own home
Maintain your privacy and existing schedule
Provide focused one-on-one care
Help you to keep in contact with your family, friends and community
Keep you close to, and help care for, your pets
There are also tangible physical and mental health benefits to live-in care. Being able to maintain your social network and keep up with your favourite hobbies while being cared for is great for your mental well-being. Physical health benefits include reducing the risk of falling and the likelihood of being housebound.
While it depends on the complexity of the care and the rate charged by the Care Professional, yes, live-in care is generally more affordable than a care home. The average live-in rate charged by Care Professionals on the Curam platform is £1,127 per week. For those paying privately for care, there is an additional Curam client fee of 12%.
A live-in Care Professional will fulfil the tasks agreed to in their service agreement. These tasks can range from personal care to domestic tasks and chores including shopping, laundry, meal preparation and transport. The focus is on making sure you feel safe, independent and cared for through your regular routines.
The personal care provided by in-home Care Professionals can be tailored to include whatever level of assistance you need. A live-in Care Professional is there to meet your needs, however personal or complex.
Responsibilities of a Care Professional will vary according to your needs but typically will include:
Live-in care is tailored to you. Care Professionals on the Curam platform provide many different kinds of live-in care:
If you have pets, there are Care Professionals that can help to look after them. Many Care Professionals also drive their own vehicles and can help you with transport or accompany you as you need.
Personalise your search to find experienced Care Professionals near you
Or
Post your express CuramPlan to find Care Professionals that fit your immediate care needs
Video/audio call your chosen Care Professional on CuramMeet or message them via the app.
Hire your insured and vetted Care Professional via Curam.
Our self-employed Care Professionals set their own rates on the Curam platform. The cost of live-in care is often determined by the level of care required and the number of people needing care. These rates can vary according to the Care Professional’s experience and qualifications.
Live-in care is the most cost-effective kind of care for those who need 24/7 support but would like to maintain their independence. Contrary to what many people assume about live-in care, it can actually be more cost effective than moving to a care home.
The average live-in care rate charged on Curam is £1,127 per week, with rates starting at £850 per week. Rates vary depending on where you live in the UK
Invoices are also subject to the Curam client fee of 12%. However, this client fee may be lower or waived for our business partners or those receiving local authority or NHS funding for their care. Please email client@curamcare.com to learn more about your costs with Curam.
Clients on the Curam platform pay on average 22% less than the current suggested UK Home Care Association hourly rate of £25.95
You can pay for live-in care privately, with assistance from the NHS or local authority, or from some combination of different sources.
Most people who pursue live-in care will pay for it privately. However, you may be able to get funding to help pay for your care. There are three steps that you can follow to ensure that you receive all the money to which you are entitled:
Check your eligibility for benefits with a benefits calculator
1Check your eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare funding
2Apply for local authority funding
3If you still have difficulty funding your own care after checking the above services, you may consider other options such as equity release.
According to the NHS, you might be eligible for local council support towards the cost of your social care if you have less than £23,250 in savings (called the upper capital limit, or UCL). From October 2023 this will ris
Exactly how much your council will pay depends on what care you need and how much you can afford to pay.
The first step is for your council to do an assessment to check how much help you need. This is called a needs assessment. The needs assessment is free and anyone can ask for one. Find out more about getting a needs assessment.
Some people with long-term complex health needs qualify for free social care arranged and funded solely by the NHS. This is known as NHS continuing healthcare.
To be eligible for NHS continuing healthcare, you must be assessed by a team of healthcare professionals (a multidisciplinary team). The team will look at all your care needs and relate them to:
Your eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare depends on your assessed needs, and not on any particular diagnosis or condition. If your needs change then your eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare may change.
With Curam, you pay for live-in care though a secure payment system on our app or website. Your Care Professional of choice will create a service agreement and shift invoice, which will automatically be sent to your Curam account for your approval.
Once you have approved these, you will be taken to the payment portal. Your payment is held securely until the shift is completed and is then released to the Care Professional two working days after the end of the shift, minus the Curam fee. Shift invoices typically cover one to two weeks of care at a time, but specific payment frequency can be agreed with your Care Professional.
Off-platform and cash payments are not accepted. These are liable to a fee of £2,000. Please see our terms and conditions for more information, specifically point 9.3.
We know that hiring a Care Professional is an emotionally charged decision, so we've done everything we can to make it as safe, seamless and stress-free as possible.
Choice is at the heart of Curam. By connecting Care Professionals and those who need care, we enable people to take control of their lives.
We've made it possible to hire a Care Professional within a matter of hours. With Curam you can search, interview, message, hire and pay approved and vetted Care Professionals throughout the UK.
We are building a care community that allows each of us to live an independent life.
Curam is a community of experts. Every Care Professional on Curam's platform has been interviewed and fully vetted by our recruitment team. They have had a DBS check, are legally entitled to work in the UK and any qualifications mentioned on their profile are backed up with certificates.
Curam does things differently. Unlike care agencies, we make sure the choice of care is in your hands. You can interview Care Professionals personally before hiring them and have a final say on what their responsibilities will be in your home.
Our Care Professionals are self-employed. Their Curam fee covers the cost of their insurance, easy-to-use service agreements and a hassle-free payment system. This means that the client pays less than they would with an agency, and the Care Professional in turn receives a higher wage.
In-home care with Curam respects independence. It is tailored to each individual while allowing them to live in the comfort of their own home. Receiving care at home can be a safer and more cost-effective alternative to a care home.
To arrange live-in care on the Curam platform, create an account. If you provide us with your postcode, your care requirements, your gender preference for Care Professionals and more detail as needed, Care Professionals that fit your demonstrated needs will then apply to your Curam account.
We recommend that you call or meet your Care Professional of choice before contracting with them. Read our advice on interviewing a potential Care Professional.
Alternatively, you can use our search tool to find a Care Professional that suits your needs. You can filter by care type, condition, experience, languages spoken and more in your search. If you see a particular Care Professional that fits your criteria, send them a message outlining your care needs and checking their availability.
All Care Professionals can be tried on a trial basis and any specific arrangement can be changed or cancelled with a minimum notice of 48 hours.
Please note that Curam does not provide managed care. It’s critical to our mission that both the client and the Care Professional have choice and control over their care relationship.
A live-in Care Professional generally works between eight and ten hours per day, with a two-hour break every day. The specific hours a live-in Care Professional works can vary and should be noted in your service agreement. Live-in Care Professionals normally provide 'sleeping night' care.
Although the decision is up to you, most people pay for the meals that a live-in Care Professional prepares or eats during their time in their client’s home. As live-in Care Professionals often cook for their clients, you may prefer to share meals together or eat separately. Their responsibilities may also include meal planning and grocery shopping. Expectations around food can be agreed in the service agreement.
Many live-in Care Professionals are comfortable helping with or managing an array of household chores, including laundry, basic cleaning, gardening, mail and email management, taking out the rubbish, grocery shopping, running errands, preparing meals and more. These expectations around housework can be agreed upon in the service agreement.
While live-in Care Professionals are not professional cleaners, they are often happy to do basic household cleaning chores such as vacuuming, wiping down counters and cleaning up after their client. Expectations around cleaning can be agreed in the service agreement.
Your live-in Care Professional will need their own bedroom with a bed and bed linen. They are entitled to privacy in your home during their breaks and rest periods. They should have the resources they need to feel comfortable, including storage for their things, towels and basic furniture.
PPE such as face masks, plastic gloves and aprons are the responsibility of the Care Professional, but you are free to provide your own equipment if you have specific requirements or standards.
Live-in Care Professionals residing or occupying their room in a client’s home are not required to pay any rent to the client.
Although the decision is up to you, most people pay for the meals that a live-in Care Professional prepares or eats during their time in their client’s home. If you or your live-in Care Professional has a special dietary requirement, you may choose to pay them a food allowance for them to purchase their own food separately from your groceries. A food allowance would usually be between £30-£50 per week and would be agreed upon in the service agreement.
Live-in Care Professionals are 'disregarded' (treated as not liable) when it comes to calculating council tax.
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