Live-In Care

What is Live-In Care and what can you expect

At 1st Homecare, we will provide an experienced carer who will live in your home with you. You will get the chance to see a profile of the carer and talk to the carer prior to them coming into your home.

The carer will be able to assist you in all aspects of your daily life. If needed, the carer can help you with all your personal care, including assisting with your washing and dressing and toileting needs. The carer can help with menu planning, shopping and meal preparation. If you have medication, the carer can ensure you take the medication as per the prescription. A live-in carer will not only help you to remain as independent as possible in your own home, but they can also look after a beloved pet. A carer can help you maintain your independence and encourage and assist you to visit friends and family. Or even to just get a coffee at a local café. The care involved can vary from a more companionship level to a higher complex level, dependent on your needs and requirements. Visit our Case Studies page to find out more.

What does your carer expect from you?

The live-in carer will expect to have a room to themselves to allow them privacy to sleep and spend time off in. Ideally, the room should have some form of storage space, fresh clean linen and a TV. Also, as carers use mobile phones or tablets to record the events of the day, then the internet is really important. The carer ideally will shop, cook and eat the same meals with you and therefore you will need to allow a household budget for groceries to include food for the carer.

Our Technology

At 1st Homecare, we have embraced digital technology. Our live-in care clients no longer have written care plan folders in their homes but will have iPads (or their equivalent). This will allow the carers to record all the basics of the day to be covered, such as ensuring that all personal care has been provided, meals have been eaten, medication taken, but also be able to give an account of the day’s events. The carers can record, in real time, who has visited, medical appointments attended, places you went to while socialising – all this information can be recorded onto the tablet and be seen by your next-of-kin via a specialised App. This will give peace of mind to your family members, who may live even in a different country, that all your care needs are being looked after.

What areas do we cover?

Although we work from our three offices in Oxford, Kings Langley and Leighton Buzzard we cover the whole of the South East of England. If you are unsure of distances, please contact us and see if we can cover your area.

What conditions we are able to care for:

Our carers have experience in:

  • Dementia Care
  • End of Life Care
  • Parkinson’s Disease
  • Multiple Sclerosis
  • Stroke
  • As well as many other health conditions. Please contact us to discuss further.

Planning and Costs

Following your enquiry to 1st Homecare, we will be able to plan a suitable date and time to come and visit you. The Branch Manager will make arrangements with you to complete an assessment of care visit which will help us decide which level of care you will need, how much the care is likely to cost and when we can provide the right carer for you.

We have 3 levels of care: Standard, Enhanced and Complex. Once assessed we will be able to advise you of which level of care you will require. Our carers will be allocated and matched in accordance with the level of experience they have in respect of the level of care you require.

In planning your care, we will also explain how the carers work, when they work and their time off. While our carers will live in your home with you, there are times that they will be ‘off duty’.

Each day the carer will have a 3 hour break – this is decided by you as to what time the break can take place. We know that the same time will not suit everyone and therefore an ideal time can be arranged. As we prefer our clients to have continuity of care, we do not work on a rotational basis like many other providers. We believe that both clients and carers enjoy spending longer periods of time together getting to know each other and building up a relationship and rapport. Due to this many carers choose to work for several weeks without taking a break, so with this in mind, we also give our carers an extra 5 hours once a week in addition to their 3 hours. This 8 hour longer day break, gives the carer the chance to get out and about, visit friends and generally just recharge their batteries.

What happens when your carer needs to take a break?

We will arrange a cover carer to come in and take over for the time your usual carer is away. To allow a smooth handover from one carer to another, we allow them a period of 4 hours to ensure that all aspects of your care will be discussed – even how you prefer your cup of tea. Although you have two carers in your home for this 4 hour period, you will only be charged for one.

We will ensure again that you have a copy of the carers profile and their contact details for you to get in touch with them prior to them arriving at your home.

Next steps

If you would like more information or to book an assessment, please contact us. A dedicated Manager will be able to advise you and answer any queries you may have. We can then send you a letter/email which will contain all the important information, including the weekly cost of care.

We have found the ‘Better at Home’ report produced by The Live In Care Hub to be an excellent document. It contains lots of information about why Live-In Care can be a real alternative to residental or nursing home care. You can visit their website at www.liveincarehub.co.uk or click here to view and download a copy of the report.

Call the 1st Homecare Live-In Team
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What Our Clients Say

Live-In Care Enquiry Form