Elder is an award-winning marketplace connecting families and self-employed home carers across Great Britain.
On average, services facilitated by Elder are 35% cheaper than traditional alternatives.
Whenever and however you need it, you set the scope of your service.
Pick your favourite self-employed carer from personalised matches.
Use our platform to plan and manage care from anywhere, and chat to 5* rated support teams.
Long-term 24-hour support
Temporary 24-hour support
Flexible home visits
Why 9 out of 10 elderly people would prefer to be cared for in their own home.
Live-in care means a focus solely on your loved one: care tailored to their unique needs and wants, from a familiar face, 7 days a week.
Care at home allows the elderly to preserve their independence, routines and friendships. 97% of people receiving it say it’s improved their quality of life.
Moving to a care home often causes anxiety, whilst the unfamiliar location is proven to increase the chance of life-changing falls by 50%.
All carers on Elder pass a rigorous screening which includes a background check, character and skills assessment, and verifiable professional references. Only 2% of applicants are successful. As a result, 9 out of 10 customers are very satisfied with their first carer.
Find your ideal carer
We have connected over 5000 families to carers so far.
Tell us what you’re looking for using our simple request form, and build your care profile to give us a complete picture of the care that’s needed.
You’ll start receiving profiles of your uniquely matched carers in 24 hours. Chat online to carers you’d like to know better, or arrange a phone or video call.
Use MyElder to communicate with your chosen carer and the Elder support team, manage your care schedule, and set up secure payment.
Still have questions?
0333 920 3648Every carer must pass our interview process and provide:
– At least 2 verifiable references
– Examples of at least 6 months’ experience
– An enhanced DBS certificate
As an introductory provider, we are unable to provide bespoke training. However, through our carer loyalty programme, carers who actively find work through our platform have access to a third-party online learning platform, where they can enhance their skills.
We match based on the skills and experience you tell us you need, for example, if your loved one has dementia, we’ll only match you to self-employed carers with experience of looking after someone with the condition. We consistently re-evaluate which carers we work with based on feedback from families.
We’ll always send you an introductory video of each carer you’re matched with – where they’ll tell you about their background, what they enjoy about being a carer, and their hobbies and interests.
Once you’ve chosen your carer, we’re happy to set up a virtual meeting too, such as a Zoom call so that you can get to know them better before they arrive.
We have a large nationwide network of 6000+ independent care professionals, and have connected families to carers in 123 of 124 postcode areas in Great Britain. This means we can usually get care in place within 24 to 48 hours if your needs are urgent.
Yes if the medications are non-controlled. However carers can prompt and remind, but aren’t allowed to administer controlled drugs and injections. If this is a hard requirement, it might make financial sense for you to have a nurse visit in addition to the main carer, rather than hiring a clinically-trained carer.
Yes. Every carer we work with must have a good level of written and spoken English.
If you’d prefer a carer who also speaks a second language, simply let us know.
No. We do our best to keep the number of carers that visit you to a minimum as we recognise the importance of routine and consistency to the elderly. Plus it allows them to do a better job, and they take pride in that.
Yes, many of our customers use funding from their local authority to cover all or part of their care costs. Often customers choose to receive their funding as a direct payment, so that they’re free to choose their own the carer provider, rather than the council picking one for them.
If you’ve not started the process of applying for local authority funding, we have mapped out the full process here.
If you or a loved one is living with an on-going health condition, it’s worth applying for NHS Continuing Healthcare too. If you meet the criteria, this form of funding will cover every penny of your care costs. However, bear in mind that this funding is reserved for complex conditions which may fall out of the scope of what a self-employed carer can provide.
No, you can book as little as 1 hour. However if you require a large number of hours, we offer live-in care which might suit you better. Our care advisors can explain it all, just give us a call if you’re unsure.
Elder is an introductory agency so we’re not CQC regulated. We’re here to help match and introduce you to a self-employed care professional, and help the ongoing relationship run smoothly. You can learn more about our status here.
Not having the status allows us to keep our prices affordable, and we still go to great lengths to ensure the quality of carers – as described above, as well as in our safety and trust guide.
Highland
19 years
As well as being very kind, caring, helpful and considerate, Sue was also very h...
Maidstone
19 years
David is an exceptional carer. He has transitioned into the family easily and ov...
Hertsmere
15 years
Phil was kind, reassuring and always helpful. We both enjoyed his company.
Aberdeen City
5 years
Joan was extremely kind and caring towards my husband,She communicated
Thurrock
9 years
Irina was very professional in what she did, calm , patient and caring and reall...
Tower Hamlets
5 years
Judith, is a very hard working and kind carer for my Mum. She encourages my mum ...
Southampton
16 years
Georgia was good once she got used to the routine.
New Forest
18 years
Jean was always very respectful when she talked about my sister and seemed to sh...
Islington
20 years
Ade is an exceptional person, compassionate, skillful. She is a wonderful carer ...
Wolverhampton
15 years
Fantastic all round carer! Sue and me have asked Mercy to care for us when we ge...
Glasgow City
18 years
Toyin is a truly professional carer in all respects. She came at short notice an...
Moray
25 years
Carol was calm, efficient, experienced and a very good communicator. She eviden...
Lewisham
12 years
Ayisat looked after my mother for a couple of weeks before she passed away. She ...
Cheshire East
14 years
Ayesha was perfect for Mum, she quickly established a great routine and was a su...
Caerphilly
9 years
Shamusa is a very gentle and kind person. She was a great help and comfort to me...
Stockport
15 years
Lynette is wonderful- calm, caring and so kind. I couldn’t recommend her more hi...
Dudley
7 years
Charlotte is an excellent carer, she looks after the clients every need, and goe...
Stroud
25 years
Paula fitted in immediately with my exceptionally old mum and we would not hesit...
Dacorum
34 years
Greta is an outstanding carer and lovely person to have around. We will miss her...
Westminster
8 years
Mira is a brilliant carer,professional,patient and kind,she developed a very goo...