Live-in care – everything you need to know

Elder is defined by the CQC as an introductory agency, in line with the Health & Social Care Act 2008. This is a model that falls outside the scope of the CQC’s regulations, but is still recognised by them.

Rather than employ the carers we work with, we act as a marketplace – connecting customers who require care with suitable self-employed care professionals and providing them with the tools they need to manage their ongoing relationship directly.

The agreement for how care will be provided sits between the carers and families we help. We find this introductory service usually suits families who really want care to take place at home but don’t mind taking on a bit of extra responsibility to keep costs down and stay in control of the overall experience, without a care manager controlling how their loved one should be cared for.

A fully-managed live-in care agency is regulated by one of three independent bodies in Great Britain – the Care Quality Commission (CQC) in England, The Care Inspectorate Wales (CIW), or The Care Inspectorate Scotland (CIS).

The carers are direct employees of their company, meaning the company manages your carer’s pay, benefits, holidays and pension.

A fully-managed agency recruits a staff of carers and provide standardised training. They generally charge more than introductory agencies, as the fee includes all the elements of care planning and management too – a fee that’s determined in an assessment. In contrast, introductory agencies are more flexible in costs – meaning they tend to have lower fees.

This difference in fee doesn’t necessarily affect the quality of care, however it’s worth bearing in mind that because a care manager will take a more hands on approach to planning how your care works each day, and the agency will rely on a staff of care workers, the continuity of care you receive may be prone to change, and you may not have as much say over how you or your loved one is cared for, or whether things are done a certain way.