24-Hour Care at Home in London
In London, 24-hour care at home usually means live-in care: a trained carer moves into the spare room, so someone is in the house day and night. It suits people who need help through the day and mostly sleep through the night. To start, book a free home assessment with Jackie, who will look honestly at what the nights involve.
What does 24-hour care at home actually mean?
Care providers use "24-hour care", "24 hour live in care" and "round-the-clock care" loosely, and they can mean quite different things. Before you compare quotes, it helps to know which of these you are being offered:
- Live-in care. One carer lives in the home, works through the day, takes proper breaks and sleeps in their own room at night. Someone is in the house around the clock, but they are not awake and working for 24 hours.
- A live-in carer plus a separate night carer. A second person stays awake overnight to give active help, such as turning someone in bed or helping them to the toilet several times a night.
- A rota of carers working shifts. Several carers cover the day and night between them, usually where needs are high or clinical.
What we provide is the first of these: live-in care. If the nights need someone awake, that is a different arrangement, and we will say so at the assessment so you know exactly what you are paying for.
How live-in care covers the day and the night
A live-in carer becomes part of the household routine. In the morning that means help getting up, washing and dressing, then breakfast and medication. Through the day it covers meals, housework, shopping, appointments, a walk or a trip out, and company. In the evening the carer helps the person get ready for bed and settles the house for the night.
The carer then sleeps in their own room. They need a proper break during the day and a decent night's sleep to stay fit to care, and we arrange cover for their days off and holidays. For someone who sleeps reasonably well but should not be alone in the house, this is often exactly the right amount of support: there is another person under the same roof overnight, and the day starts with someone who already knows how they like their tea.
Tell us about the nights. At the assessment Jackie will ask how often the person wakes, what they need when they do, and whether that is changing. It is the single most useful thing you can tell us, because it decides whether live-in care is safe on its own.
What if an elderly person needs overnight care?
Some people need active care overnight, every night. Typical examples are:
- being turned or repositioned in bed to protect their skin
- needing help to the toilet several times a night
- dementia that brings night-time wandering, agitation or a reversed sleep pattern
- medication, feeding or breathing support that has to happen at night
- a health condition that needs watching through the night
One live-in carer cannot do this and still be fit to care the next day, so we will not stretch one person across twenty-four hours. If the assessment shows that nights need someone awake, we will tell you, and talk through what would be safe. That might be a care home with staff awake at night, a nursing home if nursing care is needed, or asking the NHS to assess for NHS continuing healthcare where the needs are health-led. Where the risk at night is occasional, such as a fall, a personal alarm, fall detector or sensor can sit alongside live-in care.
Needs also change. Someone who sleeps well today may not in six months, which is why we review the care plan and raise it early if the nights are getting harder.
Is 24-hour care at home better than a care home?
Neither is better for everyone. An honest comparison:
- Nights. A care home has staff in the building overnight; ask any home how many are awake. A nursing home always has one or more qualified nurses on duty, as the NHS guide to care homes explains. Live-in care gives one person in the house who is asleep at night. If the nights are busy, a home may be the safer choice.
- One-to-one attention. A live-in carer looks after one person, or a couple, not a floor of residents.
- Couples, pets and routines. At home, a couple stays together, the cat stays, and dinner happens when it always has.
- Space. Live-in care needs a spare bedroom for the carer. In a one-bedroom London flat that can rule it out.
- The house. The NHS says you will not have to sell your home to pay for help in your own home, but you may have to sell it to pay for a care home unless your partner carries on living there. That is set out in its guide to paying for your own care.
- Household costs. At home you still pay the bills, and the carer needs food while they live with you.
For couples especially, live-in care is often the option that keeps people together. If you are weighing this up for a parent, our page on care for elderly parents in London covers the wider decision.
How much does 24-hour care at home cost in London?
We give you a written quote after the assessment, not before, because a figure given down the phone is a guess. What drives the cost:
- how much personal care is involved, and whether one or two people are being cared for
- conditions such as dementia, stroke or Parkinson's that need more experience or training
- whether live-in care alone is safe, or the nights need a different arrangement
- cover for the carer's breaks, days off and holidays
Our guides to live-in care costs in London and home care costs in London explain how pricing works and what to ask any provider.
Can the council or NHS help pay for round-the-clock care?
Possibly. The main routes are:
- A council needs assessment. It is free and anyone can ask for one. You can apply through GOV.UK or contact your borough's adult social care team. Our guide to the care needs assessment explains what happens.
- The financial assessment. If you have savings above £23,250, the upper capital limit in England, you will not get council help with the cost. The value of your home is not counted for care in your own home. See our guide to the financial assessment for care.
- Direct payments. If the council funds some of your care, you can ask for it as a direct payment and use it to pay a provider you choose.
- NHS continuing healthcare. If someone has significant ongoing health needs, the NHS can assess them for continuing healthcare, which can fund care at home or in a care home in full.
- Attendance Allowance. For people over State Pension age, the higher rate of £114.60 a week is for help or supervision throughout both day and night. It is not means-tested. Our guide to Attendance Allowance rates covers both rates and how to claim.
Our page on paying for care in London brings these together.
How it works, step by step
- Call or WhatsApp us on 0203 375 4047 or 07446 010486. Tell us what is happening now, including the nights.
- A free home assessment. Jackie, our registered manager, visits and talks to the person who needs care, as well as family. With your agreement, she can also talk to professionals already involved, such as a social worker.
- An honest answer. If live-in care is safe, we explain how it would work. If the nights need more than one carer can give, we tell you.
- A written care plan and quote setting out what the carer does and when.
- Matching a carer. We take time over the match, and if it is not right we change it.
- Reviews. We review the plan as needs change, and arrange cover for the carer's time off.
Who 24-hour live-in care suits
- someone who should not be alone in the house but usually sleeps through the night
- couples where one or both need care and want to stay together
- people living with dementia whose nights are mostly settled; see our dementia care page
- people coming home after a hospital stay who need daily help as they recover; see hospital discharge care
- people with physical disabilities or long-term conditions, alongside our complex care service
- families who need a break from caring, through respite care; read our respite care guide
If a few visits a day would do, visiting care is simpler: see elderly care at home, personal care and companionship care. For care at the end of life, see palliative care.
Live-in care across London
Our office is in Lewisham, but because a live-in carer moves in, distance from SE13 is no barrier: we arrange live-in care across London. JNP Sidona Support Services is registered with the Care Quality Commission for personal care. We registered in October 2023 and have not been inspected yet, so we have no rating. Find your borough on our areas we serve page, or start here:
- Live-in care in Lewisham
- Live-in care in Bromley
- Live-in care in Croydon
- Live-in care in Barnet
- Live-in care in Kensington and Chelsea
- Live-in care in Richmond upon Thames
Related care and guides
- All our services
- Private home care
- Choosing a home care agency
- Urgent home care
- Medication support
- Home help
- Live-in carer jobs
Questions about 24-hour care at home
Is 24-hour live-in care the same as having someone awake all night?
No. A live-in carer is in the house around the clock, but they sleep at night and are not awake and working. Someone awake all night is a separate arrangement, and the assessment is where we work out whether it is needed.
Can you provide overnight care for an elderly parent?
If your parent mostly sleeps through but should not be alone at night, a live-in carer can be the answer, because they live and sleep in the home. If they need someone awake through the night, that is a different arrangement. For a family member who is struggling with the nights themselves, respite care may help.
What happens if my mum's nights get worse?
Tell us early. We will review the care plan and be straight with you about whether one live-in carer is still safe. If not, it may be time to ask the council to reassess, request an NHS continuing healthcare assessment, or look at a care home with staff awake at night.
Do we need a spare bedroom for 24-hour care at home?
Yes. The carer needs their own bedroom with somewhere to keep their things, plus use of the kitchen and bathroom. A sofa bed in the living room is not enough for someone living there.
Can one live-in carer look after a couple?
Often, yes, where both partners' needs can be met by one person during the day and the nights are settled. We assess both people before we say so.
Does Attendance Allowance help with the cost?
It can. The higher rate is for people who need help or supervision throughout both day and night, and it is not means-tested. It is paid to the person, who can put it towards their care. See our guide to applying for Attendance Allowance.
Talk it through with Jackie
No call centre and no obligation. Tell us what you are dealing with and we will tell you honestly whether we can help.