Live-In Care Hastings
One-to-one care at home, from the Old Town to St Leonards
For most families, the hard part isn’t admitting a parent needs help. It’s finding that help without asking them to leave a house they’ve lived in for decades. Live-in care in Hastings solves that: one carer moves in, learns how the household runs, and shapes the day around your loved one.
In a town built on hills, where the walk back up from the seafront gets harder every year, that steady presence often decides whether someone can stay put. It also keeps them close to the small things that make up their week, like a neighbour across the road in Silverhill or a regular seat on the bus into town.
Words families who have been where you are now
How a live-in carer helps, day after day
Every placement starts with the person rather than a task list, so a carer’s day in one Hastings home can look nothing like the next.
Personal care
Bathing, dressing, continence and getting about the house safely, handled privately and without hurry. Plenty of homes here have steep staircases, so safe transfers get extra attention.
Companionship
Someone to share breakfast with, play cards with, or sit beside on the front at St Leonards. A carer can also keep up the outings that matter, whether that’s lunch with an old friend or an afternoon over in Rye.
Medication reminders
Prompting each dose, watching supplies so nothing runs out, and noticing early if a new tablet doesn’t agree with someone. When a prescription changes, the routine changes with it.
Alzheimer's disease & dementia care
A familiar face and an unchanged home ease much of the confusion a move can bring. Our dementia-trained carers keep days predictable and stay calm through late-afternoon restlessness.
Palliative care
When someone wants to spend their final weeks at home, a live-in carer makes that achievable. Comfort and dignity come first, and the family gets time to simply be together.
Household chores and assistance
Home-cooked meals, laundry, fresh bedding and a tidy house, plus the shopping, prescription collections and help keeping on top of the post.
What sets our Hastings placements apart
Cheriton started with one promise: our founder, Richard Barnett, vowed to treat Bill, a client with early-onset Alzheimer’s, as a partner rather than a patient. Nearly 30 years on, every Hastings placement still runs on it.
- Rated Outstanding in Caring by the CQC, the regulator's highest grade for how people are treated
- You pick the carer from written profiles, rather than accepting whoever is free that week
- Each case manager is checked on, with senior management reviewing how every placement is run
- Run by a hands-on team at our Brighton head office, the same people behind our live-in care in Brighton and Hove, not a call centre in another region
- Enhanced DBS checks and ongoing training for every carer, including specialist dementia training
- Carers matched to the address as well as the person. A house high up toward Ore or the West Hill calls for someone at ease with steep streets, and often a carer who drives
Why staying put usually beats a care home move
In a town where plenty of people have lived at the same address for decades, leaving home is rarely a small thing.
Familiar rooms keep someone oriented, which matters most when memory or balance starts to fade.
In a care home, staff split their time between many residents. At home, the carer is there for one person.
Get up when you like, eat what you fancy, and keep the pet a care home might not accept.
One carer can support both partners, so nobody has to move out alone.
The same surgery, the same corner shop, the same faces on the front.
Weekly fees can come in as much as 30% below a residential placement, and the saving grows for couples.
Choosing between live-in, round-the-clock and visiting support
The difference comes down to who is in the house, and what happens at night. With live-in care, one carer lives with you and sleeps in their own room, on hand if needed. 24-hour care adds a second carer working in shifts, so someone is awake all night for people who need help several times a night. Visiting care means a carer calling at set times, with nobody staying over.
If a hand at mealtimes, with medication or at bedtime is all that’s needed, visiting care across East Sussex may suit better, and we’ll tell you so.
Prefer to read it all at home, or talk it through?
Have a printed brochure posted out to go through with the family, or reach us whichever way suits: a call, an email or a quick WhatsApp message. Still weighing things up? You can work out which kind of care fits best first.
From that first phone call to a carer on your doorstep
Some families come to us with weeks to plan. Others ring the day a parent gets home and plainly can’t cope. The steps stay the same either way, only the speed changes.
- Talk it through. Call, message us on WhatsApp or book a callback. Our office is open 9am to 5pm every day, and you’ll speak to the people who actually arrange care.
- A home visit. Richard Barnett, our Registered Manager, or a field care supervisor comes to the house. They look at the practical side as well as the medical one: whether the bathroom is a floor away from the bedroom, where the carer will sleep, how far it is to the GP surgery.
- Choose who moves in. We send written profiles of carers who suit the role, and you can ask each one anything before deciding. Knowing what a live-in carer does day to day helps shape those questions.
- Moving-in day. Your carer arrives on the agreed date with the care plan in hand, and our care coordinator stays in close contact through the first week so small issues get fixed early.
- Care that keeps up. Your case manager reviews the arrangement regularly and updates the plan as health changes. Breaks and holidays are covered by a relief carer arranged well ahead, so support never lapses.
What live-in care costs for a Hastings household
Fees are weekly and cover a carer living in your home full time. Being over an hour along the coast from our Brighton head office adds nothing to the bill, so rates here match what families pay for live-in care in Eastbourne or in Brighton itself.
- From £1,190 a week for one person
- From £1,476 a week for a couple
The final figure comes down to how much care is needed and how nights are covered. A carer on waking-night duty costs more than one who sleeps and is rarely disturbed.
For couples still living in a family house up on the hills, one carer supporting you both at the couple’s rate usually costs far less than two care home places. You’ll get a free, no-obligation quote before anything is agreed.
Help towards the cost in East Sussex
Whether you pay privately or with funding, we’ll explain what support a Hastings household may be able to claim. The rules are set at county level, so they’re the same anywhere in East Sussex.
- NHS Continuing Healthcare (CHC). We’re experienced in supporting CHC-funded care packages, which can cover the full cost when needs are mainly health-related.
- East Sussex County Council. Adult social care may contribute after a needs assessment and a financial assessment.
- Direct Payments. If the council funds your care, you can receive it as Direct Payments and choose us as your provider.
- Attendance Allowance. Available to people over State Pension age who need care, whatever their savings or income. It won’t pay for live-in care alone, but it’s worth claiming.
Mum says she's fine. You're not so sure.
That gap between what a parent says on the phone and what you notice on a visit is usually what makes people call. The unopened post, the half-empty fridge, the bruise nobody mentions.
You don’t need to have decided anything before you ring. Tell us what’s been happening and we’ll be honest about what would help, even if the answer is less than you expected.
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Straight answers for families weighing up care in Hastings
Can care be ready for the day someone leaves the Conquest?
Usually, yes. Give us the expected discharge date and we’ll work toward it. When time is short, we can often place a carer within 48 to 72 hours.
Will a live-in carer work alongside St Michael's Hospice?
Yes. When someone is receiving end-of-life support at home, our carer works with the hospice and community nursing teams, covering the hours between their visits.
Do you also arrange live-in care in Bexhill and Battle?
We do. Our carers work across Bexhill, Battle and the wider Rother villages, as well as throughout Hastings and St Leonards.
Can live-in care help someone recover from a stroke at home in Hastings?
Yes. A live-in carer keeps up the exercises and routines set by the therapy team after discharge, helps with mobility and everyday tasks, and flags any changes early.
Can i arrange care for a parent in Hastings from London or further away?
Yes, and it’s common. Most of it can be handled by phone, and digital care records let you see how each day has gone without being there.
