Full-time, one-to-one support from a carer who lives with you
There usually comes a point when a parent needs more help at home than family can give, yet moving out is the last thing anyone wants. Our live-in care in Bognor Regis bridges that gap: a trained carer moves in and helps with everything from washing and medication to meals and company. Whether home is a bungalow near the promenade, a flat in the town centre or a house in Aldwick, the support fits the way you already live.
Wherever it can be arranged, the same carer stays with you. If you’re also weighing up live-in care in Chichester for another relative, you’ll deal with the same team and the same process. New to the idea? Our guide to live-in care covers the basics.
Hear it from the families we support
How a live-in carer can help around your Bognor Regis home
No two placements look alike. Some people need hands-on help from the moment they wake, while others mainly want reassurance that someone is close by. Our overview of a live-in carer’s duties goes into more depth.
Personal care
Mornings start when you’re ready, not when a rota says so. Your carer assists with bathing, dressing, continence and moving safely between rooms, always protecting your dignity.
Companionship
Loneliness creeps in fast once getting out becomes harder. A live-in carer keeps the days sociable, from a chat over lunch to a seafront stroll or an afternoon in Hotham Park.
Medication reminders
Missed or doubled doses are a common worry for families who live further away. We make sure every dose is prompted, recorded and flagged to the GP practice when prescriptions change.
Alzheimer’s and dementia care
Change is hardest on someone living with memory loss, so staying home with one familiar face helps. Our dementia-trained carers learn the routines that keep each day calm and settled.
Palliative care
Many people hope to spend their final months in their own bed, close to family. A live-in carer makes that possible, working with district nurses and increasing support as needs change.
Household chores and assistance
Running a home doesn’t stop when health slows down. Cooking, laundry, cleaning and the weekly shop are all covered, along with collecting prescriptions and keeping on top of post.
What sets a hands-on care team apart from a national agency
Many families on this stretch of coast are offered carers picked remotely by agencies based in another county. We visit your home instead, introduce your carer first, and give you a named manager to call. The approach dates back to 1997, when our founder, Richard Barnett, promised a client with Alzheimer’s he’d be a partner, not a patient, and families receiving live-in care in Brighton and Hove, close to our office, would recognise the same approach here.
- Outstanding for caring, according to the CQC. Few providers in the UK hold that rating in the Caring category.
- Checked before they start, trained throughout. Every carer holds an enhanced DBS check, and specialist training is standard rather than an extra.
- You choose who moves in. Profiles and a conversation come first, so your carer is never a stranger at the door.
- Joined up with local healthcare. Carers work alongside GP practices, community nurses and chiropodists, and we can liaise with the discharge team at St Richard’s Hospital.
- Coastal homes bring their own practicalities. A seafront flat may leave nowhere to park, while a bungalow in Pagham may need a carer who drives, just as rural homes around Arundel often do. We plan for both.
- Holiday cover arranged early. Digital care records keep relatives informed, and cover comes from a carer you have already met.
Why staying at home can beat a move into residential care
Moving into residential care usually means giving up the house, the neighbours and the view. Live-in care avoids that trade, whether you live a short walk from the pier or out past Felpham toward Littlehampton.
- Surroundings you already know. Recognisable rooms and daily habits help most when memory or balance begins to change.
- A relationship, not a shift pattern. One carer gets to know the details, from the favourite radio programme to how the morning should start.
- Pets, hobbies and habits stay put. The cat keeps its chair, the roses still get pruned, and Sunday lunch happens at the usual table.
- Visits on your family’s terms. Relatives can drop in whenever suits them, with no set hours and no sign-in book.
- Your community stays within reach. The same surgery, pharmacy and neighbours, rather than a bed in whichever home happens to have space.
- The cost may surprise you. Live-in care can be up to 30% less than a residential place, and couples tend to save the most. It’s worth weighing up the wider advantages too.
Request a brochure
Request a printed brochure to browse with your loved one at your leisure and find out more about live-in care.
Choosing between live-in, round-the-clock and visiting care
These terms get mixed up constantly. With live-in care, one carer shares your home and takes planned breaks during the day. When someone can’t be left alone even briefly, 24-hour care is needed, which means two carers taking turns.
Visiting care is the lighter option. A carer calls in at agreed times for set tasks, then moves on. It suits someone who manages most things alone, though nobody is there between visits.
From your first call to the day your carer arrives
After a fall, or once a discharge date is set at St Richard’s Hospital or Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital, we can usually place a carer within 48 to 72 hours. Without that pressure, allow one to two weeks from the assessment.
Call, book a callback, or message Shane, our Assistant Manager, on WhatsApp. We answer your first questions and explain what happens next.
Richard Barnett, our Registered Manager, or Nastasha, our Field Care Supervisor, comes to see you. Beyond health needs and routines, they check the practical side: parking for the carer, whether the stairs are manageable, how far the pharmacy is.
You receive written profiles and can question candidates before deciding. If the address needs a driver, only drivers make the shortlist.
Your carer arrives on the agreed day, and Daisy, our Care Coordinator, stays in close contact through the first week.
Your case manager tracks how things are going week to week, and a senior manager reviews their work in turn. Small concerns get picked up early, before they turn into problems at home.
What live-in care costs each week
One weekly fee pays for a carer who lives with you and gives one-to-one support, with no hourly billing and no surprise extras.
- Care for one person: from £1,190 a week
- Care for a couple in the same home: from £1,476 a week
Two things move that figure: how much help is needed, and what happens after dark.
- Quiet nights, mostly asleep? Your carer goes to bed in their own room and is there if you call out. This is the usual set-up.
- Up often, restless or at risk of falls? A carer stays alert and on duty until morning, and the weekly fee rises to match.
Those figures apply if you’re funding care yourself. The routes below may cover part of the cost, or all of it.
Help with paying for care at home
Plenty of families end up paying less than the full rate. Council support works the same way wherever you arrange live-in care in West Sussex, and we’ll help you check which of these could apply.
- When health needs are complex or clinical. NHS Continuing Healthcare can meet the whole cost, and we’re experienced in supporting NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funded care packages.
- When savings are limited. West Sussex County Council carries out a financial assessment and may contribute toward your care.
- When the council contributes but you want to choose. Direct Payments send that money to you, so the provider is your decision.
- When you’ve reached State Pension age. Attendance Allowance isn’t means-tested. It won’t fund live-in care alone, but it often goes unclaimed.
When everything changed this week, start with one phone call
Calls to our team rarely come at a calm moment. A discharge date has been set, Mum has had another fall, or the house has quietly become too much.
You don’t need a plan worked out before you ring. We’ll hear what’s happening, give you a straight opinion, and if another type of care would serve you better, we’ll point you towards it. There’s no sales pitch involved.
Questions local families ask before care begins
Can you assess my parent while they're still in St Richard's Hospital?
Often, yes. Where the ward allows, we meet you there or at home and speak with the discharge team, so a carer is ready for the day your parent comes home.
Can live-in care work in a retirement flat or small bungalow?
It can, as long as there’s a spare bedroom for the carer. A shared bathroom is fine. Some retirement developments limit long-stay guests, so check your lease and we’ll talk it through at the assessment.
Is short-term care available after a stay at Bognor Regis War Memorial Hospital?
Yes. A few weeks of live-in support can bridge the gap after a rehabilitation stay, give a family carer a break, or act as a trial before anything longer.
Your office is in Brighton. How do you manage care in Bognor Regis?
Your carer lives with you, so day-to-day care never depends on the office. Assessments happen in person, with our managers covering the coast from Brighton through Worthing to here, and your case manager stays in regular contact.
Can a live-in carer drive my parent's own car to appointments in Chichester?
Yes, provided they hold a valid licence and are named on the insurance. If that isn’t practical, we can arrange for the carer to use their own car instead.
