Round-the-clock care in your own home across West Sussex
Live-in care gives you a genuine alternative to a care home, letting you stay in the home and community you know with a dedicated carer on hand day and night.
Cheriton Homecare is CQC rated and works alongside the NHS to support families across West Sussex, from Chichester Harbour and the coastal towns to the downland villages and the Weald.
Whether you are recovering after a hospital stay, living with a condition such as dementia or Parkinson’s, or simply need steady daily help, your carer works around your routine rather than a fixed timetable.
What your live-in carer can help with
Your support follows a care plan that is agreed in advance and flexes as your needs change. It usually covers three areas:
- Everyday life at home. Cooking, light cleaning, laundry, gardening and looking after a pet.
- Health and wellbeing. Coordinating with your GP surgery and district nurses, keeping track of outpatient appointments at Worthing Hospital or St Richard’s in Chichester, and monitoring things like blood pressure and blood glucose.
- Company and connection. Support with trips out and visits, whether a walk along the seafront at Worthing, a morning at Chichester’s market cross or coffee with old friends, plus video calls to family further afield.
Live-in care or 24-hour care: what West Sussex families need to know
For most families, “live-in care” and “24-hour care” 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 needed.
The exception is someone needing help repeatedly through the night. That calls for waking-night cover, so mention it when we talk and we will advise on the right set-up.
Visiting care works differently, with carers calling at set times rather than staying over. For someone still fairly independent in Littlehampton or a village near Steyning, occasional visits can suit better than a constant presence.
Why families across West Sussex choose Cheriton Homecare
Cheriton Homecare was founded by Richard Barnett, who spent 12 years as a live-in carer for an elderly man with advanced dementia after a care home proved unsuitable. The company takes its name from that gentleman’s home, Cheriton House. West Sussex has one of the oldest populations in England, heaviest along the Arun coast, and we have built our carer network around that demand rather than parachuting staff in from elsewhere.
You build a relationship with a consistent carer who learns your routine and preferences, not a rota of strangers.
Every carer is trained and fully vetted before they move into a home, backed by a head-office team on hand for advice and reviews.
A 9.8 score across 34 reviews on homecare.co.uk, plus CQC oversight, not just our own word.
Relatives can be part of care planning and key decisions whenever they want to be.
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 we arrange your live-in care
Shaped over 30 years of placing live-in carers, our process is built around getting the match right first time.
- A proper conversation, not a sales call. We talk through what is happening at home and whether live-in care is the right answer. If it is not, we will say so.
- A free in-home assessment. A local live-in care expert visits you, whether on the coast or inland around Horsham. A retirement flat in Bognor Regis and a flint cottage with steep stairs on the Downs need very different plans.
- A care plan built around routines, not tasks. We shape it around daily routines, preferences and changing health needs, held on digital care records so everyone works from the same information.
- Matching, decided together. We share detailed carer profiles and the final decision is made between you, your family and our team. Every carer holds an enhanced DBS check, a structured induction and ongoing training, and you meet them before they move in.
- Ongoing management, not a handover. Your carer works a fixed schedule with proper breaks, our head office is reachable around the clock, and if something is not working we organise cover.
Where a ward is pushing for a discharge date or things change suddenly at home, we can arrange a fast start.
What does live-in care cost in West Sussex?
Live-in care is charged weekly and covers full-time support from a carer living in your home. What you pay depends on how much support is needed and whether care is for one person or a couple.
Families deserve straight answers on price before they commit, whether care is being arranged in a market town like Haywards Heath or a coastal home further west.
Starting prices:
- From £1,190 per week for one person
- From £1,476 per week for a couple
For couples, one carer supporting both of you often works out well below the cost of two care home places in West Sussex. We can also talk you through funding routes, including local authority support and NHS Continuing Healthcare, when you call.
Worried a loved one is struggling alone at home? Get in touch
If you are worried about a parent or partner coping on their own, we can help you weigh up the options without any pressure. Our office sits just along the coast in Brighton and we cover the county from Chichester in the west to the Mid Sussex towns, so ask us anything about live-in care and what it would look like for your family.
Still weighing it up? What West Sussex families ask us
Do you place carers in the rural villages across the South Downs?
Yes. We cover the harder to reach villages of the South Downs and the Weald around Petworth and Midhurst, where isolation and thin bus services are often what prompt the call.
Can you provide live-in dementia care in West Sussex?
Yes. Dementia care is where Cheriton began, and we match carers with the right specialist training and experience for the stage your loved one is at.
Do you offer short-term or respite live-in care?
We do. Families across West Sussex use respite cover for a holiday, a hospital stay of their own, or simply a break from caring, from a couple of weeks upwards.
Can a live-in carer work in a retirement flat or sheltered housing?
Usually yes, provided there is a spare room and the lease allows it. It is common in the retirement blocks around Worthing and Bognor Regis, and we check the practicalities at your assessment.
Will West Sussex County Council help pay for live-in care?
Possibly, depending on a financial assessment of savings and income. Those above the threshold self-fund, though some qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare instead.
