As we age, many of us will need help from others to complete daily activities and stay safe, healthy and happy. Receiving this care at home is often the most convenient option and allows you to remain as independent as possible. Curam’s experienced home carers provide specialist support throughout the UK.
With an in-home carer, you can continue living life in your own space. They can support you in numerous ways:
Enable you to remain living independently in your own home
Provide support with domestic tasks and chores
Aid with mobility and exercise
Provide companionship and security
Help with medication and medical equipment
How does elderly care work?
Elderly care at home can take many different forms, depending on your needs. Types of elderly care include:
Live-in or hourly care at home 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.
It’s particularly useful for 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.
Responsibilities, duties and tasks of a home carer
The personal care provided by in-home carers can be tailored to include whatever level of assistance you need. A 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
Assistance taking prescribed medicines
Help with cooking and meal preparation
Preventing falls and accidents in the home
General care help, including laundry, gardening and admin. tasks
Companionship and help with social interaction
Benefits of home elderly care vs care homes
While a care home might be right for you, live-in and other home carers can support you in numerous ways that care homes cannot:
Enable you to remain living independently 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 care at home. Being able to maintain your social network and keep up with your favourite hobbies while being cared for is very beneficial to your mental well-being. Physical health benefits include reducing the risk of falling and the likelihood of being housebound.
Home care is the most cost-effective kind of care for those who need support but would like to maintain their independence. Contrary to what many people assume about home care, it can actually be more cost effective than moving to a care home
Is home care cheaper than a care home or nursing home?
While it depends on the complexity of the care and the rate charged by the carer, home care is generally more affordable than a care home. The average live-in rate charged by carers on the Curam platform is £1,127 per week. For those paying privately for care, there is an additional Curam client fee of 10% and VAT.
Elderly home care services
Carers will fulfil the tasks agreed to in their service agreement. These tasks can range from personal care to domestic tasks and chores including shopping, laundry, meal preparation and transport. The focus is on making sure you feel safe, independent and cared for through your regular routines.
Types of elderly care
Home care is tailored to you. Carers on the Curam platform provide many different kinds of care:
Last-minute live-in care in case of cancellation or sickness
Palliative and any other specialist care type needed, including care for couples, those with progressive disorders, following a hospital discharge or following a stroke
Live in care
Live in-care for 24/7 support
Hourly care
Hourly care according to their schedule
Overnight care
Overnight care, including both sleeping night and waking night care
Respite care
Respite care while your regular carer goes on holiday or suddenly unavailable
If you have pets, there are carers that can help to look after them. Many carers also drive their own vehicles and can help you with transport or accompany you as you need.
How it works?
Easy 3 step process to hire a carer of your choice.
1
Find
Personalise your search to find experienced carers near you Or Post your express CuramPlan to find carers that fit your immediate care needs
2
Meet
Video/audio call your chosen carer on CuramMeet or message them via the app.
3
Hire
Hire your insured and vetted carer via Curam.
Take the first step, share your post code to find elderly care near you
Costs of elderly care
Our self-employed carers set their own rates on the Curam platform. The cost of live-in care is often determined by the level of care required and the number of people needing care. These rates can vary according to the carer’s experience and qualifications.
For those who don’t need 24/7 support, hourly care and overnight care at home may suit their needs.
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.
Check average rates in your postcode
With Curam you pay less but your carer earns more
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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 elderly care?
You can pay for home care privately, with assistance from the NHS or local authority, or from a combination of different sources.
Most people who pursue care at home 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.
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 particular 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 fee of £2,000. Please see our terms and conditions for more information, specifically point 9.3.
Why choose Curam for elderly care?
We know that hiring a carer is an emotionally charged decision, so we’ve 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’ve made it possible to hire a carer within a matter of hours. With Curam you can search, interview, 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.
Experts and experience
Curam is a community of experts. Every carer on Curam's platform has been interviewed and fully vetted by our recruitment team. They have had a DBS check, are legally entitled to work in the UK and any qualifications mentioned on their profile are backed up with certificates.
Self-managed
Curam does things differently. Unlike care agencies, we make sure the choice of care is in your hands. You can interview carers personally before hiring them and have a final say on what their responsibilities will be in your home.
Our carers are self-employed. They don't pay joining fees and their charge rates include Curam's fee of 12.5% and VAT, which covers the cost of their insurance, easy-to-use service agreements and a hassle-free payment system. This means that the client pays less than they would with an agency, and the carer in turn receives a higher wage.
Individual support
In-home care with Curam respects independence. It is tailored to each individual while allowing them to live in the comfort of their own home. Receiving care at home can be a safer and more cost-effective alternative to a care home.
How to find and hire an elderly carer with Curam?
To arrange 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’s critical to our mission that both the client and the carer have choice and control over their care relationship.
Find & hire your Elderly carer
Frequently asked questions
Elderly care is not usually tax deductible, so you cannot claim your payments to home carers against your income tax bill. However, depending on your circumstances, local authority funding may cover some of the cost of elderly care for your loved one.
Respite carers allow for anyone in a care role to take essential time for themselves while continuing to provide an exceptional level of care. Whether you’re a professional carer or caring for an elderly parent, taking time out to rest and recharge is important for your own health and wellbeing.
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.
