What is the cost of live in care?

Home care vs care home

Although the two expressions: “care home” and “home care” look almost identical, they mean two different things.

“Home care”, “care at home” or “home support” — all those expressions mean the elderly person receives support from professional carers in their own home. It generally enables them to live independently.

There are many possibilities to be cared for at home, including live-in care (24-hour care) and domiciliary (hourly) care.

“Care home” on the other hand is facilitated care, and it encompasses both residential homes and nursing homes. The person in care typically moves out of their home to live in an organised facility.

What influences the cost of home care?

The fees for home care differ significantly. There is no one simple answer to “how much does a homecare cost?”

There are many factors influencing the cost of home care, but there are at least four main factors that affect the live in care costs:

The type of care required
The state of health of the elderly person
The amount of time needed for care
Where you live — prices are different, depending on location

The type of care required

The type of care required is one of the most important factors for pricing. For example, the price for companionship only will be lower than the price for personal care and help with home tasks.

The state of health of an elderly person

The obvious factor influencing the cost of care is the health state of the person in care. For instance, live in dementia care costs will be higher than companionship care. Taking care of a person that suffers from a serious condition will be more costly than just keeping company and being a conversation partner. The more serious the condition, the higher the expected cost would be.

Where do you live?

Care costs are correlated with the cost of living. Here it is a very simple dependency: if you live in an area where the cost of living is relatively pricey, the cost of care will also be above the national average. The same applies to areas with a relatively lower cost of living.

The amount of time needed for care

The cost of care would obviously depend on whether only a couple of hours of care is needed, or full-time facility care is required.

When live-in care is considered, the care time is always 24-hour care. For domiciliary care, the number of hours depends on needs. The price is then calculated according to the numbers spent on care.

Still, if a couple of numbers of care is required every day (for example, more than six), live-in care may be more cost-effective.

The cost of home care

Hourly home care (domiciliary care) costs usually between £15 and £30 per hour. This hourly rate should be multiplied by the number of hours required to get the full rate.

Example:

Let’s assume that the hourly home care cost equals £18 per hour, and the person requires 6 hours of care per day.

Assumptions used in calculations:

Care cost (hourly) = £18
Amount of care required (daily) = 6 hours

In such case the total weekly care cost would be:

£18x 6 hours per day x 7 days per week = £756 per week

The weekly cost of live in help for elderly in Veritas Care starts from just as little as £623 per week, depending on the care option chosen.

With 6+ hours of required daily care, live-in care can prove more cost-effective than hourly care.

How the cost of live-in care can be minimised?

In general, live-in care is perceived as a costly care option. But it’s worth mentioning that some care agencies minimise the live in care costs. They can do so in at least two smart ways:

Hiring qualified and trustworthy carers from the EU, outside of the UK
Focusing on training carers and serving clients, rather than on arranging exquisite offices, feasts or events

The live in care costs — UK can be reduced to a minimum and the quality of service can be still on the top-notch level.

And, as previously stated, the live-in care prices can be sometimes lower than domiciliary hourly care. It is especially true when the senior needs a significant number of hours of care.

Since the live-in care model allows senior couples to live together, the total cost per couple can be lowered.

Is live-in care good value for money?

24 hour live in home care cost is a price that worth paying for peace of mind and comfort of the elderly loved ones.

Live in care costs for elderly are comparable to residential care costs. But bearing in mind the current social system, that in many cases is not free anyway (e.g. in case of dementia care), live-in care seems to be a very reasonable option. It is especially cost-effective for couples.

Independence — the senior stays independent in their own home while having companionship and help at the same time. They can continue to do the activities they want and are able to do.
Maintaining social activity — seniors maintain their circle of friends and have their neighbours nearby. They can visit or be visited by family and peers.
24-hour care — the carer lives in a senior’s house meaning the care is practically round the clock. In case any night incidents or emergencies, there is always somebody to help.

How much does live in help cost?

The market prices for live in care start from £745 per week.

Our live in care prices start from as little as £623 per week. Please visit our pricing tab for details on the pricing options.

Why live-in care is better than care home?

There are many reasons why people prefer live-in care than a care home. The main ones include:

The person in care can stay in their own home, in the environment, they are familiar with. They live as they used to, being surrounded by family and friends, with the belongings they love. They are free to keep pets and plants.
Seniors live as they used to. They can avoid the change of moving out to the care home. For many seniors, such a change is very difficult to cope with.
Seniors are not alone, they have a companion at all times. The carer not only helps the person in care with personal hygiene or home tasks. The carer is a companion, they spend a lot of time together and become more like friends to the seniors they care for.
Social life is not being changed or disturbed. All the social contacts and meetings remain, senior may meet their peers and family as much as they wish.
It is possible to keep the same routines. For example, the meal times in care homes are firmly defined and cannot be changed. By continuing to live in their own home, the senior can decide whenever they want to have their meals or see their friends or family.

Condition-led care

Whatever your health needs or specific requirements, our we can provide qualified carers to meet all your care needs. Find out more about our condition-led care.