Live-in care in Cornwall

Call Cornwall Council's adult social care line on 0300 1234 131 (9am to 5pm on Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, and 10am to 5pm on Wednesday), or use the online 'Request help for an adult' form. You can ask for yourself or for someone else, and there is no charge for the needs assessment. Out of hours, emergencies go to the same number. If your relative lives on the Isles of Scilly, call the Council of the Isles of Scilly's adult social care team on 01720 424 470 instead.

Cornwall's emergency department is at the Royal Cornwall Hospital at Treliske, Truro, open 24 hours. Cornwall Partnership NHS Foundation Trust also lists the emergency departments in Plymouth (Derriford Hospital) and Barnstaple as open 24 hours for the area. West Cornwall Hospital in Penzance has an Urgent Treatment Centre, not an emergency department. For minor injuries, most community hospitals have a walk-in unit, but Newquay's is temporarily closed. If you are not sure where to go, call NHS 111.

Cornwall Council says a new service for unpaid carers, coordinated by Disability Cornwall and Isles of Scilly with Barnardo's, Alzheimer's Society, Rethink Mental Illness and Whitehead-Ross Social Work, is expected to be in place in November 2026. It will offer information and advice, carers' assessments, emergency and planned short breaks, and telephone and online support. The model run by Cornwall Rural Community Charity ran until the end of October 2026. The phone number stays the same: 01736 756655.

Not at present. Cornwall Hospice has inpatient beds at Mount Edgcumbe Hospice in St Austell and St Julia's Hospice in Hayle, and a Community Services team offering bereavement support and wellbeing sessions, but its FAQs say it does not currently offer a Hospice at Home service. At home, end-of-life care comes from the district nurses and the GP. In east Cornwall, St Luke's Hospice Plymouth is piloting an Urgent Care Service for people at home, on referral by a GP, district nurse or other professional.

Try a volunteer driver scheme. Volunteer Cornwall (01872 265300) takes people to medical appointments, including at Derriford, for 50p a mile plus £3 a booking, with at least 10 days' notice where possible. Age UK Cornwall's voluntary car service, TAP, is on 01872 223388 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm) and charges a £3.60 booking fee plus mileage. If there is a medical need for transport, NHS patient transport is assessed and booked on 01872 252211. The Community Gateway (01872 266383) can also suggest local options.

Live-in care with Day and Nightcare costs from £1,550 a week anywhere in Cornwall, the same as everywhere in England, for one person with a carer who rests at night. That includes our care team's management (the assessment, care plan, reviews, supervision and the on-call manager) and the carer's food; break cover and the carer's travel are extra. For a couple it is from £1,800 a week, where one carer can safely meet both partners' needs. You receive a written quote after a free assessment.

Yes, if the person's care needs meet the national eligibility criteria and their savings are below £23,250 (2026/27). Adult social care in Cornwall is arranged by Cornwall Council. Ask for a care needs assessment; if you are eligible, council funding can usually be taken as a direct payment and used for live-in care from us.

NHS Continuing Healthcare in Cornwall is arranged by NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly Integrated Care Board (NHS Cornwall and Isles of Scilly ICB). When someone's main need is a health need, the NHS pays for all of their care, including live-in care at home. Ask the GP, social worker or hospital discharge team for a CHC checklist assessment.

It can. Tell us the expected discharge date as early as you can, and we will work with you and the ward's discharge team on when live-in care can start. We can often start within 24 to 48 hours of the assessment, depending on carer availability, and we confirm the start date once a carer is arranged. We have provided Discharge to Assess (D2A) care since 2014.

Our care team supports every live-in placement, wherever it is in England: a free assessment, a written care plan, regular contact and reviews, one main live-in carer, with a relief carer covering holidays and time off, and a manager on call outside office hours. Your carer works alongside the person's own GP, community nurses and any hospice team already involved in their care.