Most people would rather stay at home.
Around 97% of people say they'd prefer to grow older in their own home rather than move into a care facility. Live-in care makes that possible, even with round-the-clock needs.
One-to-one, 24/7A dedicated carer
Live-in care
Live-in care in Surrey.
In the home you already know.
A carefully matched carer lives in your home, providing one-to-one support day and night, the personal alternative to a care home, across Surrey.
CQC rated Good
One-to-one 24/7
From £225/24 hours
From £225/24 hours · Comparable to a care home
“Aims Homecare are absolutely fantastic, we do not know what we would do without them.” — Mr F. Eerin, verified review, homecare.co.uk
Understanding live-in care
Live-in care in your own home.
With live-in care, a trained, DBS-checked carer moves into a spare room in your relative's home and provides one-to-one support around the clock. Meals at the usual times, the same armchair, the garden, the neighbours and the pets all remain as they are. The only change is that help is there day and night, from someone carefully matched to your family. We provide live-in care across Surrey and the surrounding towns.
What's included
What your live-in carer helps with.
Everything follows a personalised care plan built around your relative's routines. Typical support includes the following.
Personal care & dressing
Carers assist with washing, bathing and dressing, unhurried and with dignity.
Medication support
Carers prompt and record medication, and collect prescriptions.
Home-cooked meals
Favourite dishes, cooked fresh and eaten together.
Housekeeping & laundry
A clean, comfortable home, maintained without effort on your part.
Companionship & hobbies
Conversation, card games and gardening, for genuine company.
Appointments & outings
GP visits, the hairdresser and coffee with friends.
Night-time reassurance
Someone on hand if help is needed in the night.
Pet care
Feeding, walks and attention, so that pets remain part of the family.
Family updates
Regular updates, so that you always know how things are.
Why live-in
Why families choose live-in care.
One-to-one attention, not shared staff.
In a care home, staff are shared across many residents. A live-in carer supports one person, with undivided attention, throughout the day and night.
The same carer over the long term.
Continuity matters, especially with dementia. Your matched carer stays long-term, learning routines and preferences until support feels like second nature.
Live-in care
from £225/full 24 hours
That is ≈ from £1,575 per week. Couples' live-in care is quoted at your free assessment, with one carer and one bill. The free assessment, carer matching and regular reviews are always included, and there are no hidden charges. Every price is a starting "from" rate, and your exact quote is confirmed after a free physical assessment at your home. Same rates 7 days a week, with no weekend or bank-holiday premiums.
Care in familiar surroundings.24/7 support without leaving home.
Life, uninterrupted
Your home and routine kept unchanged.
The kitchen you know, the garden you have tended and the neighbours who wave over the fence: live-in care keeps all of it, with a professional quietly making it possible in the background.
- Matched on personality as well as needs
- Cooking from your recipes, not a set menu
- Pets stay part of the family
- Familiar surroundings protect memory & confidence
A typical day
A day with your live-in carer.
Every day follows your relative's routine rather than a rota. A typical day takes the following shape.
1
Morning routine and breakfast.
Unhurried personal care, washing and dressing, a proper breakfast and a morning medication prompt, at whatever time the day usually starts.
2
Daytime activity and appointments.
Housekeeping, cooking, outings, appointments and good company around the house.
3
Evening meal and a calm wind-down.
Dinner together, favourite programmes and a calm wind-down routine, ready for a settled night.
4
Night-time reassurance close at hand.
Your carer sleeps nearby in their own room, on hand if help is needed during the night.
Compare
Live-in care compared with a care home.
Live-in care at home.
from £225 per 24 hours (≈ £1,575 per week)
- Stay in a familiar home, with your own routines
- One-to-one attention, 24 hours a day
- Keep your pets, garden and neighbours
- The same matched carer, long-term
- Couples stay together, quoted at your free assessment; one carer, one bill
A residential care home.
often £1,400 to £1,800+ per week, per person
- Leaving home, possessions and community behind
- Staff shared across many residents
- Set mealtimes, set routines, shared spaces
- Pets often cannot come too
For a fuller comparison, read our guides to alternatives to a care home and care homes vs home care.
Who it's for
Who live-in care is designed for.
Older adults who want to stay home.
When needs have grown beyond visiting care but moving is not something your relative wants, live-in care keeps everything familiar, with help always on hand.
Dementia and other long-term conditions.
Familiar surroundings and one consistent carer reduce confusion and distress. We support dementia, Parkinson's, stroke recovery and other long-term conditions.
Reduced mobility and falls risk.
From help moving safely around the home to full support with transfers, a live-in carer is there for every stair, chair and bath, reducing the risk of falls.
Recovery after surgery at home.
Recover in your own bed with round-the-clock support: medication prompts, meals, mobility and reassurance while strength returns.
The practical details
How live-in care actually works.
What the live-in carer needs.
Three things: a spare room of their own, meals (or a food allowance), and agreed daily breaks, usually a couple of hours, with cover arranged by us if support is needed during that time. We will discuss all of it at your free assessment.
How carer matching works.
We match on needs and personality, considering experience with specific conditions alongside interests, humour and temperament. You meet your carer before care begins, and if the match ever does not feel right, we will arrange a change.
The right match
Matched on more than needs.
Someone will be sharing your relative's home, so skills are only the beginning. We match on the things that make living together feel natural.
Personality, interests and temperament.
A quiet reader is not matched with someone talkative. Shared interests such as gardening, crosswords, cricket and music turn a working relationship into a genuinely warm one.
Language and clear communication.
Being properly understood matters more as we get older. We match for language and for clear, patient communication, so that nothing is lost between carer and customer.
Gender preference always respected.
A preference for a male or female carer is always honoured and never questioned. Personal care is intimate, and being comfortable with who provides it is a matter of dignity.
Routines, mealtimes and cooking.
Your recipes, your mealtimes and your programmes. A good live-in carer fits into the life already there rather than the reverse.
You meet your carer before care begins, and if the match is not right we will arrange another, at no charge.
Safe hands
How every live-in carer is vetted.
Before anyone is introduced to your family, they have completed all of the following.
Enhanced DBS background checks.
Every carer holds an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service check before entering a customer's home.
References taken up and verified.
Work history and references are checked directly with previous employers, never taken on trust.
Values-based recruitment and interviews.
We recruit for compassion, patience and integrity first. Skills can be taught, kindness cannot.
Full training before care begins.
The NVQ pathway plus first aid, manual handling, medication and dementia awareness, refreshed regularly.
Supervision by our Registered Manager.
Every live-in carer is supervised by our Registered Manager, with spot checks and regular reviews.
Guaranteed cover for breaks and leave.
Carer breaks and time off are always covered by us, so that care never has a gap.
Specialist support
Conditions our live-in carers support.
Dementia & Alzheimer's
Parkinson's
Stroke recovery
Arthritis & mobility
Diabetes
Heart conditions
Palliative support
Post-surgery recovery
Multiple sclerosis (MS)
How it works
How to arrange live-in care.
1
A free assessment at home.
We visit you at home, or in hospital, to establish exactly what support is needed.
2
A written, personalised care plan.
A clear plan built around your routines and preferences, with a written quote.
3
Matching you with a carer.
You meet your DBS-checked, trained live-in carer before care begins, because the match matters.
4
Ongoing reviews as needs change.
We adjust your plan as needs change, and keep the family informed.
Care can begin within 24 to 48 hours of your assessment.
"Aims Homecare are absolutely fantastic, we do not know what we would do without them."
"Dad has two fantastic carers, very understanding to his needs and moods."
Live-in care questions
Common questions about live-in care.
Yes. A live-in carer needs a spare bedroom of their own. It does not need to be large or elaborate; a comfortable private space to rest is all that is required. They will also need meals or a food allowance, which we agree with you in advance.
We arrange cover. Live-in carers take agreed daily breaks and periodic time off, and if support is needed during those times we organise a familiar cover carer, so care never has a gap, and the responsibility never falls back on family unless you want it to.
Yes. We match on needs and personality, and you meet the carer before anything begins. Living with someone is personal, so if the match ever does not feel right, tell us and we will arrange a change.
For one person the cost is comparable to a care home. Care homes in Surrey typically charge £1,400 to £1,800+ per week, per person, while live-in care starts from £225 per 24 hours (≈ £1,575/week), with one-to-one attention rather than shared staff. For couples the difference is real: one carer and one bill, quoted at your free assessment, against two care home fees.
Yes, and it is often the kindest option. Familiar surroundings and one consistent, trained carer reduce the confusion and distress that a move can cause. We match carers with dementia experience and build routines around what your relative recognises. If you are considering the timing, our guide to the signs it may be time for live-in care can help.
From £225 per full 24 hours (≈ £1,575 per week) for one person; couples' live-in care is quoted at your free assessment, with one carer and one bill. That always includes your free assessment, a written care plan, a DBS-checked and trained carer, careful matching, regular reviews and backup cover, with no call-out fees or hidden charges. See our pricing page for full details and funding options.
Live-in carers take agreed daily breaks, usually a couple of hours, with cover arranged by us if your loved one needs support during that time. Longer rotations and time away are planned well in advance, with a briefed cover carer stepping in, so that care continues seamlessly and nothing falls back on the family.
Backup cover is guaranteed and included in every live-in care package. If your carer is unwell, we arrange a trained, DBS-checked cover carer, briefed on your relative's care plan and routines, so that support continues without a gap while your regular carer recovers.
Personal care and medication support, yes: our carers are trained to prompt, support and record medication, and to collect prescriptions, as set out in the care plan. Clinical nursing tasks, such as injections or wound care, remain with the district nurses or the GP, and your live-in carer coordinates with them so that visits happen and nothing is missed.
No. There is no long-term contract to sign. Many families begin with a few weeks to see how it works, and our short-term live-in care runs from a few days to several months, ideal for trying live-in care before committing, or bridging recovery after a hospital stay.
Related services
Other home care services we provide.
Local to you
Live-in care across Surrey.
Aims Homecare has provided live-in care in Surrey for more than 15 years, run by a local team from our office at 59 Kingston Road, Leatherhead, where the people who answer the telephone know your name. Families come to us for a live-in carer in Surrey, 24-hour care at home and a full-time carer, as well as live-in support. Wherever home is, the arrangement is the same: a carefully matched, DBS-checked carer, a written care plan, regular reviews and guaranteed backup cover, with care able to begin within 24 to 48 hours of your free assessment.
Live-in dementia care in Surrey is one of the most common reasons families call us, because familiar surroundings and one consistent carer make an enormous difference, and you can read more on our dementia care page. For husbands and wives who want to stay under the same roof, live-in care for couples supports both partners, quoted at your free assessment, with one carer, two care plans, one bill and one home.
If you are weighing residential care, our guide to the alternatives to a care home sets out the options side by side, with care homes in Surrey typically charging £1,400 to £1,800+ per week per person, live-in care from £225 per 24 hours (≈ £1,575/week) is comparable in cost and keeps everything your relative knows. For a full breakdown of costs and funding, including Attendance Allowance and NHS Continuing Healthcare, see our pricing page.