Live-in care in Essex: Costs & Available Carers


Are you looking for live-in care in Essex? Hometouch selects the best live in carers across the county. If you're looking for private live in care, live in care for the elderly or live in dementia care in Essex please get in touch.
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Select your loved one’s care with Hometouch


There are two ways to manage the provision of care to someone who is in need of support from a carer. These are called Regulated and Introductory.

Introductory care


Our introductory service helps you find the best carer and gives you full control, affordability and flexibility.

  • Search for and view approved carers online
  • Communicate directly with carers via our secure messaging system
  • We help you find, shortlist and choose your carers - if you need
  • Create and manage your care plan online
  • Review bookings and billing information
  • Stay informed with your care journal
  • Full PPE included
  • Carer meals included
From £1250 per week

Regulated care


If your care needs are complex, or if you would prefer a fully managed service, regulated by the CQC, then our regulated CQC live-in care service will give you total peace of mind.

All of the benefits of introductory care plus:

  • Fully managed clinical service
  • Access to our multi-skilled clinical team comprising of registered nurses, mental health first aider and healthcare professionals
  • Dedicated care account manager
  • Face to face assessment
  • Personalised carer matching process with you choosing your main carer
  • Bespoke person-centred care plan curated by our in house clinical team
  • Activities to support mental health and wellbeing
  • Remote access to your care plan to review daily updates via an app
  • Regular check-ins and reviews of your care plan and carer
  • Emergency cover
  • Dignified approach to end of life care
From £1500 per week

Find an exceptional Essex live-in home carer


Whether you’re in Chelmsford or Colchester, Southend or Saffron Walden, we’ve got the right live-in carer for you. We’ve looked all over Essex to find the best live-in carers, so your loved one can live happily, safely and with dignity in their own home. By the sea or on London’s doorstep, we’ve got a range of Essex-based carers to suit your needs.

All our carers are handpicked and carefully vetted. Moreover, we take your preferences, suggestions, and care requirements into consideration before assigning a live-in carer. Therefore, we prioritise a personalised care plan that ensures your loved one is happy and comfortable with everything. You can tailor your care service to ensure your loved one gets the highest quality care, from companionship to clinically complex support when they can no longer live independently.


Why choose Hometouch for live-in care in Essex?


We were founded by a former NHS dementia specialist, and our mission is to help slow the progress of dementia through expert care – and help your loved one live happily, safely and with dignity in their own home.

9 out of 10 of our clients would recommend us. Hometouch is regulated by the Care Quality Commission. We’re proud of our five stars on Trustpilot, and we’re rated 9.8/10 on homecare.co.uk. We’ve helped over a thousand families across the UK, and we’d love to help you. Our prices start at £1250 a week for companionship care, with more advanced packages available for people with complex care needs. Call a Care Advisor today to find out how Hometouch can transform your loved one’s life.


Live in carer Essex - the option of 24 hour care


One of the live-in care services available at Hometouch is 24-hour care at your own home in Essex. We offer other types of support that you can choose for your loved ones. One of them is dementia care in Essex, which is also increasingly common due to the rise in older people affected by this condition. We have specially trained caregivers to provide care for people with dementia as it requires rigorous training the ability to recognise needs and prevent adverse effects of the condition (e.g., wandering, confusion, agitation, etc.).

Our live-in carers are specifically trained to provide help and supervision over the health and well-being of the elderly. Care in your own home from our specialised dementia live-in carers offer an alternative to dementia care homes in Essex and all over England.

Another form of assistance that many can benefit from is overnight care at home or visiting care services. This type of care and support is suitable for care providers who need to take a break. These care services are aimed to provide temporarily live-in support overnight or for a few hours, depending on your needs. This way, your loved ones stay in their own environment.


Dementia Care Essex


Hometouch is a dementia care specialist and has developed a bespoke dementia training syllabus for our carers. Whether your loved one has mild, moderate or advances dementia our dementia care planning will allow you loved one to remain at home for longer.

Domiciliary care service is about helping around the house and providing non-physical care. It includes encouraging the elderly to do as many activities as possible and ensuring independent living.

A professional carer who provides private care in Essex is typically self-employed and either works independently or through an introductory agency. There are various types of care available, including night time carerespite careParkinson’s care, and companionship care.


Respite care in Essex: How does it work?


Essex respite care is another service available to you. It allows family members who care for their loved ones to take a much-needed break or request short-term residential care in Essex. It is also a fully-managed service that can be requested for a minimum of a week, and it includes round-the-clock supervision.

When caring for your loved one, you shouldn’t ignore your own needs. Therefore, this live-in care service can provide assistance and professional expertise on how to look after the elderly whose health is deteriorating.


Elderly Care in Essex


A care service that is also available to many patients who prefer to stay at their own home is elderly care. Here, our experienced live-in carers provide all kinds of support, including frailty, problems with mobility, and companionship.

If your loved one requires special needs, you can easily request personalised care and tailor the service according to the health condition.

Elderly care in Essex provided by Hometouch includes activities such as medication administration, companionship, and driving clients to appointments. This service is also available day and night, and care providers can perform domestic tasks, including shopping for groceries.


How do care homes in Essex differ from Live in care?


As the name suggests, a 24-hour care service will provide high-quality care for your loved one’s needs all day long. A Hometouch caregiver, carefully matched, moved in with your family member to supervise the condition of health and support basic needs daily. A 24-hour caregiver has to be awake throughout the night; therefore, two professionals usually come in rotation.

In contrast, a live-in care service is a professional that moves in with your loved ones and provides all the support and care. However, a person cannot physically stay awake every night to monitor the health of your loved one. This is why you should evaluate your family member’s needs before hiring one of the services mentioned above.

24-hour care in Essex broadly can be divided into residential and live-in care. For more details on care homes in Essex and live-in care as an alternative, please refer to our more in-depth article.


"We needed extra care for my Dad and many other care agencies couldn’t help. I found hometouch online and the carer we have is kind, professional and is great with Dad. If we’ve needed to increase hours or change things they have been very helpful. Very pleased with the efficiency of the company."

What is live-in care?


Live-in care is when a carer lives with the person receiving care in their home.
From companionship care all the way to round-the-clock complex care, a live-in carer can provide one-to-one support in your loved one’s own home. This is especially important for people living with dementia, who may become increasingly confused or distressed in unfamiliar surroundings.

A dedicated live-in carer can provide your loved one with more individual care than they’d receive at a residential home. So whether it’s a day out on weekends, or fish and chips in front of the TV on a Friday evening, your loved one can carry on doing the things they enjoy.
And because the carer is staying on-site, it’s often cheaper than a care home too. To find out more about the cost of care where you live, take a look at our page on understanding the cost of care.

At Hometouch, we help people live happily, safely and with dignity in their own homes. If you think live-in care could be right for your loved one, contact a Hometouch Care Advisor today.


Where your loved one comes first

We know what it takes to make a great live-in carer – warmth, empathy and expertise. We’ve handpicked the finest carers from across the country to provide live in home help, dementia live in care and live in care for the elderly, ready to assist your loved one live happily, safely and with dignity in their own home.

Choose your live-in carer
Our carers are paid above the industry average
We are founded by a dementia doctor and have an experienced nursing team
All our carers undergo in house dementia training
We cover 24 hours/day 365 days a year
Trusted by more than 1,000 families - we deliver 50,000 hours of care each month

People in Essex are reading

Frequently Asked Questions


Finding a carer

How do I search for carers that fit my needs?

Enter your postcode on the carer page and this will generate a list of carers in your area. You can then filter by language, skills, interests, experience. We recommend you review previous client reviews, watch videos of the carers and read our Trustpilot reviews to see how other clients have used hometouch successfully.

I cannot find a carer in my area. Why is this?

We regularly update our pool of carers – if you are having problems, just call a Care Advisor, and they’ll be happy to help.

Should I meet a carer before arranging a contract?

It depends on the circumstances. If you need a carer urgently to cover another carer, we can recommend carers who are suitable and who have been able to help in this area before. This is best setup as an immediate contract and payment.

If you are looking for a longer term contract, we advise you meet the carer, decide they are the right person for you or your loved one and then agree the contract terms. Many clients like to meet with their carer before confirming an ongoing or longer term contract to ensure there is a good match.

Are carers insured?

Yes, carers have personal liability insurance. hometouch will ensure all carers commencing a contract will have a policy in place if this is requested by a client.

Once I have met a carer, can I arrange to pay them in cash?

No, it is against our terms and conditions to pay for carer services outside of hometouch.

Can I employ more than one carer at the same time?

Yes, If you need a carer for different times of the day or week, you may need to find additional carers who are able to work at different times. Equally, you may have a carer who is taking leave and you can arrange a short term contract with another carer to cover this period. hometouch allows you to have multiple carer contracts simultaneously which can all be managed from the contracts page on the main hometouch dashboard.

Do I pick my own carer or do you assign one to me?

You should pick your own carer according to the criteria you looking for. However, if you need some assistance, we can help you with recommendations. The ultimate choice though is you and your family’s. Please email us at hello@myhometouch.com or call a Care Advisor for help.


Arranging care

Is there a minimum contract length?

No. You can book a carer for a one-off job for a few hours or days or arrange an ongoing contract. An ongoing contract can be cancelled with two weeks notice. If cancelling a single shift, please give the carer 24 hours notice.

How long can the visits be?

hometouch is committed to supporting minimum one hour visits. Otherwise it is as long as is required by you and your family.

What happens if I am not happy with my carer?

First of all, please let hometouch know straight away if you are having problems. We are here to help and want to resolve any problems you have. We take any allegations of poor care, dishonesty, poor punctuality, incompetence or poor communication very seriously and will take action immediately if you have concerns. If you have reason to be dissatisfied with your carer, you need to decide whether they have breached the contract with you (eg have not turned up, been non-punctual), or whether you no longer wish to employ them for your own personal reasons.

How are your carers vetted?

We check all of our carers ID, Qualifications and CRB/DBS certificates. We also face to face interview every carer that joins hometouch and assess them against 5 criteria – punctuality, communication skills, compassion/empathy, ability to take initiative and personal presentation/honesty. We conduct detailed scenario testing and reference check all carers. We pride ourselves on the high quality bar we set and only accept a small fraction of the carer applicants we receive.

Is hometouch registered with the Care Quality Commission?

Yes, hometouch is registered and regulated by the CQC. However our introductory model of care which started in 2015 is technically not regulated by the CQC as the hometouch does not interfere in the care delivery, manage the care plan or provide rotas. Our managed care service is regulated by the CQC.


Contracts and payments

What will the carer be paid?

The carer will be paid the stated rate on their profile minus 20% (inc VAT) commission on an ongoing basis for the duration of the contract and any further contract with the carer. hometouch defines this as an “introductory fee” which is spread out over the length of the contract and any other subsequent contracts with that individual carer. We are committed to supporting a minimum £10/hr income for all carers.

When do I need to pay?

The payment needs to be made before the contract starts. This is held in a third party (escrow) account before being transferred to the carer at the end of the following week. Weekly recurring payments are then made for contracts longer than a week.

How do I pay for care?

hometouch provides a secure online payment facility. Payment details are required before any contract commences and payment is via credit/debit card or direct debit for self funding clients. For ongoing contracts payment is taken in advance every Monday.

Who sets the rates for carer pay?

Carers set their hourly rates according to their experience level, areas of expertise and the trust ratings they have built up on hometouch. The minimum hourly rate chargeable on hometouch is £10/hr. Please be aware that carers are working on a self-employed basis and therefore have to cover their travel costs and other reasonable expenses. We are committed to ensuring that carers can earn a living wage via offering their services on hometouch.

Do I need to pay employers National Insurance?

No, carers work on a self employed basis and there is no statutory requirement to pay Employers NI.

Can I cancel a contract?

You can cancel at any time for an ongoing contract. If you are booking for defined time period of less than a month, you are committed to paying that amount unless exceptional circumstances have occurred. We will look at each request on a case by case basis. Please note, you are party to a contract with the carer and if there is no reasonable reason is given for ending the contract prematurely, you would be in breach of that contract and the care would be entitled to full payment. All cancellations must be submitted by email to both hometouch on hello@myhometouch.com and the carer.

What if there is a dispute?

If there is reason to believe the carer has not fulfilled their duties or there are any other concerns, you can dispute the contract in the contract section. hometouch will look at each disputed contract on a case by case basis and try to resolve the matter fairly. A carer also has the ability to dispute a contract in case they believe they have reason to.

What is your safeguarding policy?

Our safeguarding policy protects vulnerable adults from abuse and is a legal requirement under the Health and Social care Act