Round-the-clock support, without leaving the home they love
Live-in care lets your loved one stay in the home they know, with one dedicated carer close at hand day and night. East Sussex has one of the oldest populations in England, with more than a quarter of residents over 65, and families here increasingly want an alternative to moving a parent into a care home. From the Victorian seafront conversions of Eastbourne and Bexhill to cottages out in the High Weald, Cheriton Homecare has provided this kind of home care for almost 30 years.
Why East Sussex families choose Cheriton Homecare
Inviting a carer to live in your home is a big step, and most families want to know exactly who they are trusting before anything else. Cheriton Homecare is led by founder Richard Barnett, whose whole approach grew out of caring for one man, Bill, and treating him as a partner rather than a patient. That principle still shapes how our live-in carers work today.
Here is what sets our support apart:
- Rated Good overall by the CQC and Outstanding for how caring the service is, alongside a 9.8 out of 10 review score from 34 families on homecare.co.uk
- Carers are enhanced DBS checked, with structured onboarding and ongoing training, before they ever move into a home
- One familiar live-in carer, with organised relief cover for breaks and holidays so support never drops
- You choose the carer. Families see detailed profiles and pick the person who fits, because with live-in care you are choosing who shares your home
- Specialist live-in support for dementia, palliative, and complex needs, coordinated with your GP and community nurses
- A local team based in Brighton, covering the coast through Eastbourne, Bexhill and Rye, and inland across Wealden
What live-in care makes possible at home
The most common reason families choose live-in care is simple. It lets someone stay in their own home, surrounded by familiar things and the people they love.
Alongside that, you get a trained carer matched to your needs and these benefits:
Stay independent for longer while still getting the care you need, and keep living with dignity.
Carers who know the area, so the walk along the front at Seaford, the same butcher, and the same Sunday service stay part of the week.
Your wider family stays involved in care decisions, with a team to lean on when those decisions are hard.
Often cheaper than residential care, and you keep your home rather than selling it to fund a care home place.
Long-term or short-term arrangements that flex to your needs, not the other way around.
Continuity of care from one steady carer has been linked to better health outcomes.
Request a brochure
Request a printed brochure to browse with your loved one at your leisure and find out more about live-in care.
How much does live-in care cost?
Cost is usually the question families put off asking, so here is a straight answer. Live-in care is charged weekly and covers full-time support from one carer living in the home, with no hourly visit fees stacking up.
Typical starting prices:
- From £1,190 per week for one person
- From £1,476 per week for a couple
The couples rate surprises people. One carer supports both, so it often costs far less than two residential home places.
Where you land depends on the level of personal care needed and whether dementia, palliative, or mobility support is involved. Call us and we will give families along the coast and in inland towns like Uckfield a clear weekly figure for their situation.
How care gets arranged, step by step
You reach the same small team who will go on to manage the care, so nothing gets lost in a handover. Tell us what is happening at home and we will be straight with you about whether live-in care is the right answer, or whether something lighter would serve you better.
Our field care supervisor, Nastasha, comes to the house rather than doing this over the phone. She walks the home, completes the risk assessment, and gathers the detail that becomes the care plan, from the steep stairs of a Victorian conversion to medication routines and what your loved one likes doing with an afternoon. She drives out to the Weald villages around Crowborough and Heathfield as readily as to the seafront.
Our care coordinator matches candidates on need and temperament, then sends you their profiles. You decide who moves in. If the fit is wrong once care begins, we change the carer rather than asking your family to adjust.
Care can usually begin within a few days of the assessment. A case manager oversees the placement with senior management reviewing it above them, daily notes are logged digitally so you can see how each day went, and relief cover is arranged in advance for the carer’s breaks and holidays.
What your carer helps with day to day
Your care plan is built around your loved one’s level of need, from light support to complex, and it adjusts as things change.
A typical day covers:
- Personal care, from washing and dressing to discreet help with continence
- Meals and the household, including cooking to preference, light housework, and the weekly shop
- Medication, prompted at the right times, with blood pressure or blood glucose monitored where needed
- Appointments, coordinated with the GP so nothing gets missed
- Company and getting out, whether that is a hobby, a walk, or seeing friends
Because the same carer is there every day, small changes get noticed early, a missed meal or new unsteadiness on the stairs. On the steep streets of Hastings Old Town, where one fall can end someone’s independence overnight, that early warning matters more than the tasks themselves.
Is live-in care the same as 24-hour care?
Families ask this constantly, and for most situations the two mean the same thing. One carer lives in the home, supports your loved one through the day, and sleeps at night while staying close by if something happens.
The distinction matters in one case. If someone needs help several times every night, a single live-in carer cannot cover that and still rest properly, so waking-night cover is the honest answer. Tell us if nights are the hard part and we will say plainly which arrangement fits.
Visiting care works differently again, with carers arriving at set times and leaving afterwards. For someone still fairly independent in Newhaven or the quieter streets of Peacehaven, a few planned visits can be enough until needs grow.
Worried about a loved one managing alone at home?
That worry is usually what brings families to us first. Talk it through with our Brighton-based team and we will help you work out whether live-in care fits your situation, with no pressure either way. We support families right across East Sussex, from Lewes and Battle to the Bexhill seafront.
Questions East Sussex families ask before saying yes
Will East Sussex County Council or the NHS help pay for live-in care?
Possibly. A council needs assessment can lead to funding or direct payments, and NHS Continuing Healthcare may cover the full cost where needs are primarily medical. We can point you toward the right route before you commit to anything privately.
Does the carer need a spare room in a smaller coastal home?
Yes, a live-in carer needs their own bedroom, though it does not need to be large. Many of the flats and terraces along the East Sussex coast work fine, and we will tell you honestly at the home visit if the space will not.
Do your carers drive, for families out in the Weald?
Where the location needs it, yes. Out in Wealden nearly nine in ten households run a car because the bus timetable will not stretch to a GP appointment, so we factor transport into the match rather than leaving you to solve it afterwards.
Can you arrange live-in care when someone is being discharged from hospital?
Yes, and it is one of the most common reasons families call us. We can coordinate with ward staff and the discharge team at hospitals such as the Conquest or Eastbourne DGH so support is in place the day your relative gets home.
What about parking for the carer in permit zones?
Worth sorting early, since much of the coast is controlled parking. Some councils offer carer or visitor permits, and we will help you get it arranged before your carer arrives.
