Questions about live-in care and home care

Live-in care is when a trained carer lives in your home and supports you through the day, with someone close by at night. It means the person can stay at home, with their own routines, belongings and neighbours around them, rather than moving into a care home.

Your carer helps with whatever you need: personal care, medication support, meals, the home, getting out and about, and good company. Day and Nightcare plans the care with you and supports you and your carer throughout.

Live-in care with Day and Nightcare starts from £1,550 a week 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. After a free assessment, we give you a written quote, so you know where you stand before care begins. See costs and funding.

We arrange live-in care anywhere in England, fully managed by our care team. Anywhere in England we can also arrange 24-hour care with a day carer and a waking night carer working in shifts, for people who need a carer awake through the night. Home care visits, waking nights and sleep-ins are provided across Oxfordshire.

Yes. Your carer will need a private bedroom with a comfortable bed and somewhere to keep their things, along with use of a bathroom and the kitchen. Wi-Fi or a good phone signal helps them keep in touch with our office and their own family.

Yes. Like all of us, carers need time to rest. Your carer has a break each day and regular time off, and we plan the care around this with you. You have one main live-in carer, with a relief carer covering holidays and time off; the relief carer takes over after a full handover, so your routine carries on.

No. The initial assessment is free of charge. We take time to understand your needs, your routines and what matters to you, then give you a written care plan and quote, with no obligation.

We can often start within 24 to 48 hours of the assessment, depending on carer availability. We assess the care needed, arrange a carer and confirm the start date once the carer is arranged, so it is not a guarantee until then. If someone is in hospital, tell us the expected discharge date as early as you can. Please call us on 01865 715780 and we will tell you honestly what we can arrange, and when.

Yes. Day and Nightcare Live In Limited is registered with the Care Quality Commission (CQC), the independent regulator of health and social care in England, and is rated Good. We provide a fully managed service: we carry out the assessment, write the care plan with you, match and supervise your carer, and review the care as your needs change.

It depends on both partners' needs. When one carer can safely meet them, a couple can stay at home together with a single live-in carer, from £1,800 a week (£250 a week more than for one person), which can cost less than two care home places. We assess you both first, and if one carer would not be enough, we will say so. See live-in care for couples.

Please let us know. Feeling comfortable with your carer matters a great deal, and we will talk it through with you and find a carer who suits you better.

It can be. Live-in care starts from £1,550 a week for one person, which is in the same range as many care homes. For a couple it is from £1,800 a week, where one carer can safely meet both partners' needs, which can cost much less than two care home places. It also means one-to-one support in your own home. See live-in care or a care home.

Live-in care with Day and Nightcare starts from £1,550 a week for one person, with a carer who rests at night. For a couple it is from £1,800 a week (£250 a week more), where one carer can safely meet both partners' needs, assessed for each couple. If help is needed most nights, we would suggest 24-hour care with carers in shifts, which is quoted after the assessment. You receive a written quote after a free assessment.

The £1,550 a week, for one person with a carer who rests at night, includes our care team's management (the assessment, care plan, reviews, supervision and the on-call manager) and the carer's food. The initial assessment is free. Break cover and the carer's travel are extra, and are shown in your written quote.

Yes: break cover and the carer's travel are extra, and your written quote shows them before care begins. Break cover is a carer with you during the live-in carer's daily break, if you should not be left on your own. The carer's food is included in the price. Our starting price is for a carer who rests at night; if help is needed most nights, 24-hour care with carers in shifts is quoted after the assessment.

The council may help if your care needs meet the national eligibility criteria and your savings are below the limit. In England in 2026/27, people with savings and capital over £23,250 usually pay for their own care; between £14,250 and £23,250 you contribute towards it; below £14,250 only your income is taken into account. The value of your home is not counted when you receive care at home.

You can ask your council's adult social care team for a care needs assessment. If you are eligible, you can usually take the funding as a direct payment and use it towards care from us.

The NHS pays for all of your care through NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) when your main need is a health need. It is not means-tested. A nurse, doctor or social worker starts with a checklist, followed by a full assessment if needed. People nearing the end of life can be assessed through the CHC Fast Track, so care can start quickly. Day and Nightcare already provides live-in care funded by NHS Continuing Healthcare.

It can, if the person qualifies. Attendance Allowance is for people over State Pension age who need help because of an illness or disability. In 2026/27 it is £76.70 a week at the lower rate, or £114.60 a week at the higher rate for people who need help day and night or are nearing the end of life. It is not means-tested, and you can spend it on your care.

Yes. If the council funds your care, you can usually ask for a direct payment from your personal budget and use it to pay Day and Nightcare. We are happy to talk this through with you and your social worker.

Age UK, Independent Age and MoneyHelper offer free, impartial information, and your council's adult social care team can explain local funding. For decisions about savings, property or investments, please speak to a regulated independent financial adviser who specialises in later-life care. We are always glad to explain our prices and how funding works, but we do not give financial advice.

Home care, also called domiciliary care, is when a carer visits you at home at times that suit you, to help with personal care, medication support, meals, and getting up or going to bed. You stay in your own home, with your own routines and the people and things you love around you.

Visits last from one hour to several hours, depending on what you need. Longer visits suit people who would like more time, company, or a sitting service so that a family carer can have a break.

We visit people across Oxfordshire, including Oxford, Abingdon, Banbury, Bicester, Didcot, Kidlington, Thame, Wallingford, Wantage, Witney and the villages around them.

The cost depends on how long your visits are and when they take place, with different rates for evenings, weekends and bank holidays. Please call us on 01865 715780 and we will give you our current prices and a written quote after a free assessment.

Yes. We provide care funded by Oxfordshire County Council and the NHS, as well as care that people arrange and pay for themselves.

Yes. We have long experience of supporting people home from hospital, including more help in the first weeks while they settle and regain confidence. See care after a hospital stay.

A waking night is when a carer stays awake through the night in your home. They check on you quietly, help you to the toilet, reposition you to protect your skin, support you with any night-time medication, and are awake and on hand whenever you need them during the night.

A sleep-in is when a carer stays overnight and sleeps in a spare room, ready to help if you need them. It suits people who feel safer with someone in the house at night but only need help now and then.

24-hour care means someone is with you around the clock, but who is awake at night differs. A live-in carer lives with you and is there day and night, but rests at night and can help only now and then. When help is needed regularly through the night, we arrange a day carer and a waking night carer working in shifts, so a carer is awake at all times. We can arrange either anywhere in England.

Waking nights and sleep-ins, booked as night services on their own, are available across Oxfordshire. Anywhere in England, we can provide a live-in carer, who rests at night and helps now and then, or 24-hour care with a day carer and a waking night carer working in shifts, so a carer is always awake. If you are not sure which you need, the free assessment will help you decide. See night care.

Yes. Many families arrange night care so the person who cares during the day can sleep properly. It can be a few nights a week, for a set period, or ongoing, whatever helps most.

For many people living with dementia, staying in familiar surroundings with carers they know feels calmer and safer than a move. A live-in carer keeps routines steady, supports eating, drinking and medication, and is close by at night, when confusion or restlessness can be harder. If the person needs help most nights, we would suggest adding a waking night carer, working in shifts with the day carer.

Yes. We review the care plan as needs change and can add night support or a second carer when it is needed. If a time comes when care at home is no longer the right choice, we will talk with you openly and help you plan the next step.

The person who holds Lasting Power of Attorney, or the family member who helps with their affairs, is welcome to call us on 01865 715780. We involve the person themselves as fully as they are able, because it is their care.

We can often start within 24 to 48 hours of the assessment, depending on carer availability. Tell us the expected discharge date as early as you can. We assess the care needed, working with the hospital team, arrange a carer, and confirm the start date once the carer is arranged, and we will tell you honestly what we can arrange. Live-in care is available anywhere in England; home care visits and night care are provided across Oxfordshire.

It depends on your situation. Some people receive a short period of free reablement or Discharge to Assess (D2A) support arranged by the hospital or the council. Others arrange and pay for care themselves while they recover. NHS Continuing Healthcare pays in full when the main need is a health need.

Yes. Many people need more help for a few weeks after hospital and then less as they regain strength and confidence. We review the care with you along the way.

Yes. With the right support, many people can spend their final weeks at home, with family close by. Our carers work alongside the GP, district nurses and hospice teams. A live-in carer means someone is in the home day and night, resting at night; if a carer needs to be awake through the night, we can arrange carers working in shifts.

When someone is nearing the end of life, the NHS can arrange funding through the NHS Continuing Healthcare Fast Track, so care can begin quickly. The GP, hospital or community nursing team makes the referral.

Respite care is short-term care that gives a family carer a break. A live-in carer can move in while you rest, travel, or recover from illness yourself, so the person you care for stays at home with their routine.

From about a week to as long as you need. Respite live-in care starts from £1,550 a week, just like ongoing live-in care.

Sometimes. It depends on whether both partners' needs fit comfortably within one carer's day and night. If both need a lot of help, if moving and handling needs two people, or if nights are often disturbed, one carer may not be enough, and we will talk with you about options such as a second carer or extra night support. We assess you both first, so the care is right for each of you.

From £1,800 a week: £250 a week more than care for one person, where one carer can safely meet both partners' needs. Whether one carer is enough is decided for each couple at a free assessment of you both, and we give you a written quote. It can cost less than two care home places.

It depends on the person. Live-in care offers one-to-one support in your own home, can keep pets at home and, where one carer can safely meet both partners' needs, a couple together, and avoids the upheaval of a move. A care home can suit people who would enjoy having company around them all day, or who need equipment and staffing that a home cannot accommodate.

Not always. Live-in care with Day and Nightcare starts from £1,550 a week, similar to the fees many care homes charge people who pay for themselves, and the support is one-to-one. For a couple, live-in care is from £1,800 a week where one carer can safely support both partners, which can cost less than two care home places. Care home fees vary widely, so it is worth comparing written quotes.

Yes. We recruit live-in carers to support clients across England. You will need care experience, the right to work in the UK and an enhanced DBS check, which we arrange.

Yes. We recruit care workers for home care visits and night care across Oxfordshire. A driving licence and car are helpful in rural areas.

Live-in roles need care experience. For home care visits, we warmly welcome people who are new to care, with full training, the Care Certificate and shadowing before you work on your own.

You start with a thorough induction: the Care Certificate, where you are assessed on what you know and on how you work in practice, practical training with a trainer in small groups and one to one, and shadowing an experienced carer before you work on your own. After that, you keep learning through one-to-one training, supervision, spot checks, a yearly appraisal and our online training portal, which has a library of nearly 100 online care courses, almost all CPD-certified. The courses you complete depend on your role and the needs of the people you support, such as dementia or end-of-life care.

Not without support. You live with the person you support, but you are part of a team: our care team is there for you in office hours (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), and a manager is on call outside office hours. The care you record in our care app is visible to the team as you enter it. Our care team reviews records and alerts during office hours and follows up, and the on-call manager deals with urgent alerts outside office hours, whether the concern is about the person you support or about you.

The Care Certificate is the national set of 16 standards that new care workers in England learn during their induction, from duty of care, privacy and dignity to safeguarding, basic life support and infection control. It was updated in 2025, when awareness of learning disability and autism became the 16th standard. You are assessed on what you know and on how you work in practice.