24-hour home care provides round-the-clock support for the elderly and those with complex care needs in the comfort of their own homes. When care from a single carer isn’t enough to meet your needs, 24-hour care from a rotation of carers can make sure that you are looked after day and night. If you require a carer to provide urgent 24-hour home care, Curam’s experienced carers are available throughout the UK to provide specialist support.
Our 24-hour carers support everyone to live comfortably at home and give them and their loved one's peace of mind.
Like live-in carers, 24-hour carers can support you in numerous ways:
Enable you to remain living independently
Provide support with domestic tasks and chores
Aid with mobility and exercise
Provide companionship and security
Help with medication and medical equipment
Assist with visiting friends and family
Prevent accidents and emergencies at home
Provide you and your family peace of mind
How does 24-hour care at home work?
How does 24-hour care at home work?
Your choice of carers will work in rotation and provide around-the-clock care. They will be on hand to cater to your needs and keep you comfortable and independent. 24-hour carers will work in shifts with other carers so that you are never without assistance.
24-hour carers provide overnight care and are available to assist with toilet breaks, changing position in bed following an injury and administering medication. Their presence can also provide peace of mind through the night if you live alone.
If you are only interested in having a carer present at night, rather than 24-hour live-in care, you can read more about overnight care.
24-hour home care is a convenient and more comfortable alternative to a care home, allowing you to remain in the comfort of your own home while providing the security of always having a carer on hand.
Curam carers provide great continuity of care - and our website allows you to choose exactly who will be caring for you.
What services are included in 24-hour home care?
The personal care provided by 24-hour home carers can be tailored to include whatever level of assistance you need. A 24-hour carer is there to meet your needs, however personal or complex.
Responsibilities of a carer will vary according to your needs but typically will include:
Personal care such as washing, dressing and continence care
Prompting clients to take prescribed medicines
General care help, including laundry, gardening and admin. tasks
Help with cooking and meal preparation
Preventing falls and accidents in the home
Companionship and help with social interaction
Benefits of 24-hour care at home
While a care home might be right for you, 24-hour home carers can support you in numerous ways that care homes cannot:
Enable you to remain living comfortably in your own home
Maintain your privacy and existing schedule
Help you to keep in contact with your family, friends and community
Provide focused one-on-one care
Keep you close to, and help care for, your pets
There are also tangible physical and mental health benefits to 24-hour live-in care. Being able to maintain your independence, social network and keep up with your favourite hobbies while being cared for is great for your mental well-being. Physical health benefits include reducing the risk of falling and the likelihood of being housebound.
24-hour care at home vs Care home
In-home care respects independence. It is tailored to everyone, while they live in the comfort of their own home. Receiving 24-hour care at home can also be a safer and more cost-effective alternative to a care home.
Questions to ask when considering the cost of in-home care:
Are there agency administration fees? Or joining fees to consider?
Is your carer paid directly or through a third party?
Can you choose your carer?
Is your carer local or will you have to pay for transport costs?
Do you have specialist healthcare needs such as dementia or physical disabilities?
Do you need occasional hourly care, respite care or overnight care?
When to choose 24-hour home care?
Anyone who requires care can have 24-hour home care. This type of care is a popular choice for those who wish to remain in their own home and stay independent while receiving the support and care that they need.
24-hour care is particularly useful for the elderly and those who have complex care needs that require one-on-one attention, including those with progressive conditions such as multiple sclerosis (MS), Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease and dementia.
If you are recovering from a serious illness or injury, 24-hour care may be necessary to monitor your condition, prevent further accidents and provide aid in the event of an emergency. If you are seeking a live-in carer but do not require 24-hour care, you might consider standard live-in care.
Cost of 24-hour home care
The cost of 24-hour care is often determined by the level of care required and the number of people needing care. Curam’s self-employed carers set their own rates. These rates can vary according to the carer’s experience and qualifications.
24-hour home care is the most cost-effective kind of care for those who need 24/7 support but would like to maintain their independence. Contrary to what many people assume about home care, it can be more cost effective than moving to a care home.
General costs
The average live-in care rate charged on Curam is £1,127 per week, with rates starting at £850 per week. The average hourly care rate charged by carers on Curam is £19.74 per hour, with rates starting at £13 an hour. Rates vary depending on where you live in the UK.
Invoices are also subject to the Curam client fee of 10% and VAT. However, this client fee may be lower or waived for our business partners or those receiving local authority or NHS funding for their care. Please email client@curamcare.com to learn more about your costs with Curam.
Check average rates in your postcode
With Curam you pay less but your carer earns more
Please enter your postcode
Clients on the Curam platform pay on average 22% less than the
current suggested UK Home Care Association hourly rate of £25.95
How to pay for 24-hour home care?
You can pay for 24-hour home care privately, with assistance from the NHS or local authority, or from some combination of different sources.
Most people who pursue 24-hour care will pay for it privately. However, you may be able to get funding to help pay for your care. There are three steps that you can follow to ensure that you receive all the money to which you are entitled:
If you still have difficulty funding your own care after checking the above services, you may consider other options such as equity release.
Frequently asked questions
According to the NHS, you might be eligible for local council support towards the cost of your social care if you have less than £23,250 in savings (called the upper capital limit, or UCL). From October 2023 this will rise to £100,000 in savings.
Exactly how much your council will pay depends on what care you need and how much you can afford to pay.
The first step is for your council to do an assessment to check how much help you need. This is called a needs assessment. The needs assessment is free and anyone can ask for one. Find out more about getting a needs assessment.
Some people with long-term complex health needs qualify for free social care arranged and funded solely by the NHS. This is known as NHS continuing healthcare.
To be eligible for NHS continuing healthcare, you must be assessed by a team of healthcare professionals (a multidisciplinary team). The team will look at all your care needs and relate them to:
What help you need
How complex your needs are
How intense your needs can be
How unpredictable they are, including any risks to your health if the right care is not provided at the right time
Your eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare depends on your assessed needs, and not on any diagnosis or condition. If your needs change then your eligibility for NHS continuing healthcare may change.
With Curam, you pay for live-in care though a secure payment system on our app or website. Your carer of choice will create a service agreement and shift invoice, which will automatically be sent to your Curam account for your approval.
Once you have approved these, you will be taken to the payment portal. Your payment is held securely until the shift is completed and is then released to the carer two working days after the end of the shift, minus the Curam fee. Shift invoices typically cover one to two weeks of care at a time, but specific payment frequency can be agreed with your carer.
Off-platform and cash payments are not accepted. These are liable to a recruitment fee of £2,000. Please see our terms and conditions for more information, specifically point 9.3.
How to arrange 24-hour home care with Curam?
To arrange 24-hour, live-in care on the Curam platform, create an account. If you provide us with your postcode, your care requirements, your gender preference for carers and more detail as needed, carers that fit your demonstrated needs will then apply to your Curam account.
We recommend that you call or meet your carer of choice before contracting with them. Read our advice on interviewing a potential carer.
Alternatively, you can use our search tool to find a carer that suits your needs. You can filter by care type, condition, experience, languages spoken and more in your search. If you see a particular carer that fits your criteria, send them a message outlining your care needs and checking their availability.
All carers can be tried on a trial basis and any specific arrangement can be changed or cancelled with a minimum notice of 48 hours.
Please note that Curam does not provide managed care. It is critical to our mission that both the client and the carer have choice and control over their care relationship.
Why choose Curam for 24-hour home care?
We know that hiring a carer is an emotionally charged decision, so we have done everything we can to make it as safe, seamless and stress-free as possible.
Choice is at the heart of Curam. By connecting carers and those who need care, we enable people to take control of their lives.
We have made it possible to hire a carer within a matter of minutes. With Curam you can search, interview via video call, message, hire and pay approved and vetted carers throughout the UK.
We are building a care community that allows each of us to live an independent life.
Find & hire your 24-hour home carer
Thousands of happy clients have used Curam, you can do it too
Full choice over who provides care
Get a carers for your care needs
You can join for free, no tie-in contracts.
We are making sure you get the ideal carer with each passing day
Finding and managing your carer is much easier on our Curam client app. Lots of new features including digital health care plans and family sharing apps coming very soon.
