How to find a live in carer?

Why live-in care is better for the senior to any other form of care?

Live in care is when a professional carer lives in the client’s home, helping them with their basic daily tasks and needs. During this time they are available round-the-clock also at night.

Benefits of live in care

Live in care is a great alternative to moving into a care home facility for several reasons:

• Dedicated one-to-one care
• The possibility to remain independent
• Staying in the familiar surroundings of the beloved home
• Minimal disruption of the preferable lifestyle
• No need to resign from social outings and the relationship with the nearest community
• Freedom to organise own day the own way — possibility to eat meals or go to bed at preferred times
• Family pets and favourite plants can be kept
• Continuous care and help is always at hand
• No need to follow structured rigid formal rules of care home settings

Live in care is a great alternative to a care home support and domiciliary care. Independence, flexibility and dedicated personal care make this type of care better than any other. When combined with an affordable price, this is by far the best form of care that we can arrange for our loved ones.

How to find a live in carer?

The proper live-in care means round-the-clock care, with carer living in the client’s house. From that point of view, there are three most common ways to find a carer in general:

• By the NHS – it is possible to have help arranged by the HNS, that is similar to live-in care. It is called “NHS continuing healthcare”. Since it is funded by the NHS, it is very difficult to be eligible for it. It is available only for patients with long term complex health needs. An assessment is needed for the eligibility check.
• By the care agency – an agency is a company that professionally helps to find the most suitable carer. Such an agency handles all the necessary paperwork etc.
• Privately – employing a carer directly, with all the legal, financial and practical issues it entails.

If you are interested in how to find live in carers, please read more below.

Agency will bear all the burden

Selecting a live-in carer requires many tasks. The agency takes on all the paperwork and organisation required to fulfill your care needs. The only thing the client would have to worry about is to make the final decision to hire the chosen candidate.

To hire qualified carer it is necessary to:

• Assess carer’s qualifications and skills
• Review carer’s previous employment history
• Check the candidate’s criminal record (DBS check)
• Estimate if the candidate is the right person to do the job
• Decide if the candidate has the right personality and matches the senior

For many people, using a care agency is just making life easier. All the above-mentioned tasks are done by the agency and the only job the client does is to finally accept the candidate.

What should be taken into consideration when choosing an agency?

There are many agencies on the market, and they are offering similar, but yet not the identical range of services. It is wise to check beforehand what exactly is included in their services. It is also good to know how they recruit their carers. Lastly, it is important to know whether the customer is free to make the final decision when it comes to choosing the carer. Some agencies don’t allow the customer to select their own carer.

What should we consider when using the agency:

• Whether the agency allows the customer to make the final decision in employing the carer
• If the agency allows its customers to change the carer if for some reasons the current one is not the best match for the senior.
• The cost – it is an obvious factor, but it’s important to compare the cost with the services offered.

Could I find a carer on my own?

It is still possible to find a carer – live in on your own, especially if you are looking for self-funded care. It can be a good alternative, as you would then have full control over the person providing the care. And you would be able to negotiate the terms and payment directly with the carer.

The downside of finding private live in carers is the effort you have to put into the recruitment process. All the work that the agency normally do would have to be done by yourself. This includes all the paperwork and checks. And off course a very important face to face interview.

An interview is crucial for several reasons:

• It’s a good way to see if the candidate is passionate about the caring job – if they are, the more likely they will do the job well
• During the meeting, it is possible to check the candidate’s ability to deal with tasks. We can ask them if they are comfortable with any aspect of the carer live in job. The carer is expected to deal with a range of tasks, including not only cleaning and cooking but also personal care. Setting all the expectations is crucial at this stage.
• It’s a great opportunity to see if the senior and the candidate get along well. Live-in care is a round-the-clock job and “good chemistry” would be very much desired.

How much does a live in carer cost?

Proper live-in care is a privately funded service. The price depends on the agency and the actual range of service offered.

The total average cost of live in care on the market starts from £745 per week.

Veritas Care agency offers live in care prices from as little as £658 per week. For more information about how much does a live in carer cost, please visit our price comparison table.

What are the qualities of a good carer?

The desired skills and qualities that we should look for much depend on what carer need to do. For example, if the person in care has a specific condition, it would be good if the candidate has experience in dealing with such a condition.

There are, however, some general qualities that good carers should have undoubtedly.

Desired personal qualities of an ideal carer – the carer should be:

• Empathetic
• Respectful
• Patient
• Honest
• Supportive
• Caring
• Sensitive
• Adaptable
• Resilient
• Reliable
• Practical
• Experienced
• Qualified
• Sociable

The ideal carer is in general:

• passionate about being the carer and loves helping others
• respectful for the client’s decisions, wants, and needs
• have the right qualifications and experience
• is a person that can be trusted
• gets along with the senior (complementary character)

It is not easy to find a good live in carer.

Finding it on our own will allow us to have full control over who is selected. On the other hand, letting the agency do all the recruiting work saves us all the trouble.

If you are unsure what is the best way to find the carer, talk to our friendly customer support team.