Live-In Care in Chichester
Full-time support at home from a carer who lives in
When a parent needs more help than a few short visits can give, live-in care in Chichester brings one trained carer into the home to support them day and night. That works as well for a flat near the Cathedral as for a cottage on the Manhood Peninsula, whether someone is recovering after hospital, living with dementia, or simply shouldn’t be alone anymore.
Cheriton Homecare has arranged this kind of care for almost 30 years, since Richard Barnett founded the company after twelve years as a live-in carer for a man with dementia. Families rely on that approach for live-in care in Brighton and Hove and right across West Sussex. If the idea is new to you, our guide on how live-in care works is a good first read.
How our carers support daily life around Chichester
Support is shaped around the person, so a carer might do very little one month and a great deal the next. Our overview of what a live-in carer’s role covers sets out the full scope.
Personal care
Washing, dressing, continence care and safe transfers, done in the order your relative prefers. Whether it’s a bath before breakfast or a shave after the morning paper, the day starts on their terms.
Companionship
Someone to share the day with, whether that’s an afternoon in Priory Park, a matinee at the Festival Theatre, or a drive out to the seafront at Littlehampton. Staying connected to the city matters as much as any task.
Medication reminders
Your carer prompts each dose, keeps a clear record, and tells the GP surgery or local pharmacy about any change, so repeat prescriptions never run short.
Alzheimer’s and dementia care
A settled routine and one consistent face ease the confusion that so often follows a move, and our dementia-trained carers bring that steadiness to homes across the city and peninsula.
Palliative care
Many people want to stay home to the end. Your carer follows the plan set by district nurses and, when involved, St Wilfrid’s Hospice, and a second carer can join if nights become harder.
Household chores and assistance
Cooking, laundry, tidying and pet care, plus the errands that keep a household going. For homes out on the peninsula, that often means driving into town for the supermarket or the chemist.
What makes us a different choice for Chichester families
Plenty of agencies advertise across the district, and many run their placements from a head office nowhere near Sussex. Our approach is hands-on. A senior member of the team visits in person, you choose your carer from real profiles, and the people overseeing your placement pick up the phone themselves.
- Outstanding in Caring, according to the CQC. An independent rating for the quality families weigh above everything else.
- Enhanced DBS checks before anyone starts, backed by a structured induction and refresher training for as long as they work with us.
- No strangers at the door. You read carer profiles and speak with your shortlist before deciding.
- Plans built around real routines, then reviewed whenever health or circumstances shift.
- Connected to local health services, from the discharge team at St Richard’s to community nurses and GP practices across the district.
- Peninsula homes, planned properly. Out past Birdham or toward the Witterings, shops and surgeries are a drive away, so placements there are set up around longer errands and a carer at ease with rural life. Rural placements make up a large share of our work, from the peninsula to the Arun valley villages near Arundel.
- Cover arranged ahead of time. Holidays and absences are handled by a relief carer who’s already been briefed, while families follow daily notes through digital care records.
Why staying home often beats a residential move
A townhouse in Summersdale, a bungalow by the seafront in Bognor Regis, a cottage by the water at Dell Quay: wherever someone has built their life, live-in care keeps it intact.
- Familiar rooms, familiar routines. Knowing where everything is builds confidence, especially as memory or balance changes.
- Undivided attention. One carer focused entirely on one person, not a shift shared along a corridor of residents.
- Pets and pastimes stay put. The cat keeps its chair, the roses still get pruned, and Sunday lunch happens at the usual table.
- An open door for family. Drop by unannounced, stay the night, or bring the grandchildren round during the school holidays.
- Local ties stay unbroken. Same surgery, same neighbours, same stroll along the city walls, instead of a move to wherever a room came free.
- Costs that can surprise you. Live-in care can run up to 30% below a residential placement, with couples seeing the widest gap. Our look at the five advantages of live-in care covers the rest.
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, 24-hour and visiting support
On paper the two sound identical, but in practice they’re staffed differently. A live-in carer shares the home, takes a daily break, and either sleeps nearby or stays up overnight, depending on what the plan needs. When someone can’t safely be left even for that break, as can happen with advanced dementia or complex health needs, two carers cover the home in handover shifts instead.
Visiting care suits someone who manages most of the day alone and needs help at fixed points, such as getting up or making dinner. For homes out on the peninsula or up toward the Downs, depending on several short calls each day can feel fragile, so many families there opt for someone living in.
From your first phone call to a carer settling in
Urgent situations, like a fall at home or a relative ready to leave St Richard’s or a ward over in Worthing, get moving straight away. Everything else follows a timetable you set.
- A conversation first. Phone, WhatsApp, email or a booked callback all reach our own office. Shane, our Assistant Manager, or a colleague listens, answers honestly, and books a visit if live-in care looks right.
- A visit to the house. Richard Barnett, our Registered Manager, or Field Care Supervisor Nastasha comes to you. Alongside health needs and daily habits, they check the spare room, look at the stairs, and agree whether nights call for sleeping or waking cover.
- Profiles, then your decision. Daisy, our Care Coordinator, shortlists carers who fit the plan, prioritising drivers for peninsula and village homes. You read their profiles, speak with them, and make the choice.
- Moving in. The carer arrives on the agreed day and spends the first week learning the household’s rhythm, with Daisy checking in along the way.
- Oversight that continues. A case manager reviews every placement regularly, and senior management audit the case managers in turn. If your carer is ever unwell, Nastasha can cover in person while a relief carer is briefed.
Transparent weekly pricing for care at home
You pay one weekly fee for a dedicated carer living in, with nothing added by the hour.
- One person: from £1,190 a week
- A couple at home together: from £1,476 a week
Where you land within that depends on care needs and on how overnight support is arranged:
- Sleeping nights. Your carer rests in their own room and can be woken if needed. Right for most households.
- Waking nights. Your carer stays alert and working through the night, at a higher weekly rate.
Those figures are the private rate, and plenty of families qualify for help toward them.
Who pays? The funding routes open to chichester families
Most families begin by paying privately, but it’s worth checking what help exists before savings start to run down. These are the routes we most often help families explore:
- NHS Continuing Healthcare. If your relative’s needs are mainly clinical, ask for a CHC checklist, ideally before discharge. We’re experienced in supporting NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC) funded care packages, which can meet the full cost.
- West Sussex County Council. Once savings fall below the council’s threshold, it can start contributing. A care needs assessment is the first step, and it’s worth requesting early.
- Direct Payments. Taking any council contribution as a Direct Payment means you can keep the carer and provider you’ve chosen, rather than accept whoever the council commissions.
- Attendance Allowance. Paid on care needs rather than means, so self-funders qualify too. It won’t cover a live-in fee by itself, but it’s one of the most overlooked benefits we see.
Unsure where to begin? Most families are
Calls to our office rarely come at a calm moment. Often it’s the week after a fall, a discharge date that’s suddenly close, or a growing sense that a parent is struggling more than they admit.
You don’t need to arrive with answers. We’ll listen, give you a straight opinion, and if another type of care would serve you better, we’ll say so.
What Chichester families want to know before care starts
Can a carer be in place before mum leaves St Richard's?
Usually, yes. For urgent discharges we can often have a carer at home within 48 to 72 hours, working around the date the ward gives you. Planned starts typically take one to two weeks.
Will the council count our Chichester home toward the cost of care?
Not while care is provided at home. West Sussex County Council’s financial assessment leaves out the value of the house you live in, although savings and income are still counted.
Can we organise care for a parent in Chichester from London?
Yes, and plenty of families do. The first conversation and carer interviews can happen by phone, and we’ll time the home visit so you can be there if you want to.
Will a live-in carer fit in a smaller or older Chichester home?
The one essential is a private bedroom for the carer. If stairs or a narrow bathroom are a worry, we’ll suggest practical changes during the home visit, such as moving a bedroom downstairs or adding grab rails.
Can we try live-in care in Chichester for a few weeks first?
Yes. Short placements work well as a trial, for recovery after an operation, or as respite while a family carer takes a break.
