✧ Live-in care in Scottish Borders
Live-in Care in the Scottish Borders
Live-in care in the Scottish Borders brings one carer to live with your relative, in Galashiels, Hawick, Peebles, Kelso, Jedburgh or a Tweed valley village. We arrange care across the Borders, alongside free personal care in Scotland.
- Care within a week Urgent starts often in 24–48 hours
- From £1,200 a week The same rate nationwide, not by postcode
- Care Inspectorate Regulates home care in Scotland
- 74 areas Covered across Scotland
Live-in care across the Tweed valley
The Scottish Borders is a large, rural region of rolling hills and small towns, most of them strung along the Tweed and its tributaries. Families searching for home care in the Scottish Borders are supporting parents in Galashiels, Melrose and Selkirk, in Hawick and Jedburgh, in Peebles and Innerleithen, in Kelso and Coldstream, and in Duns, Eyemouth and the Berwickshire coast. Between the towns, farms and villages can be many miles from the nearest care agency. A live-in carer brings support to any of them.
We have local pages across the region, including Galashiels, Hawick, Melrose, Peebles, Berwickshire, Roxburghshire and Selkirkshire.
Borders General Hospital
Borders General Hospital near Melrose, run by NHS Borders, is the region's main hospital, with community hospitals in towns such as Hawick, Kelso, Peebles and Duns for rehabilitation. More specialist care is in Edinburgh. After a long journey home, a live-in carer in the Scottish Borders means your relative has someone waiting to help them settle.
Free personal care through the Borders partnership
In Scotland, personal care is free for adults assessed as needing it, whatever their income. In the Borders, assessments are arranged through the Scottish Borders Health and Social Care Partnership, which brings together Scottish Borders Council and NHS Borders. Care services are regulated by the Care Inspectorate. We can explain how free personal care payments can sit alongside private live-in care.
Common Ridings, mills and rugby
Every Borders town has its Common Riding or festival, its rugby club and, often, a mill where older residents once worked in knitwear or tweed. Staying in that community matters. Live-in care lets your relative stay at home, and a carer who drives can keep up church, the club and visits to family. The Borders Railway to Edinburgh also makes it easier for family in the city to visit. You choose your carer from matched profiles and a video call before anything is agreed.
Care homes locally
Care homes in Scottish Borders, and the alternative
Our care-home directory lists 22 registered care homes in Scottish Borders. 5 provide nursing care and 15 support people living with dementia.
If a move into one of these homes is on the table, it is worth comparing it with live-in care: one carer living in your relative’s own home in Scottish Borders, looking after only them. See what live-in care costs, or ask us to check carer availability in Scottish Borders.
Weighing the options
Live-in care, visiting care or a care home?
The three choices most families are deciding between.
| Feature | Live-in care | Visiting care | Care home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Stays in their own home | Yes | Yes | No |
| Support through the night | Yes | Rarely | Yes |
| The same carer each day | Yes | Rota of staff | Rota of staff |
| Keeps pets and belongings | Yes | Yes | Usually not |
| Couples stay together | Yes | Yes | Often separated |
| Typical cost | £1,200 a week | Varies with hours | Varies by home |
Visiting care and care home costs vary widely by area and provider, so we don’t quote figures we can’t stand behind. See our pricing in full →
What a live-in carer does day to day, what is not included, and the three steps to arranging it: how live-in care works →
Funding & regulation
Paying for care in Scotland
Home care is regulated and funded differently in each nation, so the route is not the same everywhere. Here is how it works where you live.
Read our full funding guide →Who regulates care here
Home care in Scotland is regulated by the Care Inspectorate. They inspect and register home care services to make sure standards are met.
Where funding comes from
Apply through your local council's social work department. Scotland provides free personal and nursing care to those who are assessed as needing it, regardless of income — a different system from means-tested funding in England.
How we fit in
Live-in Care Direct is an introductory agency. We introduce self-employed carers to families rather than employing them, so you contract directly with your carer and keep the choice of who provides your care.
Our carers
The people who would be caring for your family
Our carers are spread across the UK, supported by regional care managers. Every one is interviewed in person, enhanced DBS checked and reference-checked before they are ever introduced to a family — and you choose who moves in.
- Interviewed face to face, never hired on paperwork alone
- Enhanced DBS checked, with references verified
- You meet and approve your carer before they start
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Monica
Live-in carer
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Gladys
Live-in carer
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Patience
Live-in carer
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Vistorine
Live-in carer
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Refiloe
Live-in carer
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Brenda
Live-in carer
Our services
Our live-in care services
Nearby
Areas we cover near Scottish Borders
Free callback
Speak to someone about live-in care
Leave your number and a care manager will call you back — usually within an hour, and always free.
- No obligation. A conversation, not a sales call — and never a call centre.
- A real care manager. Someone who arranges care every day, who can answer properly.
- Just two details. Your name and number — we don’t need an email address.
Or call us now on 0800 368 8558 Lines open 8am–10pm, seven days a week
Common questions
Questions about live-in care here
Local answers on paying for care, nearby areas and care homes.
Not seeing your question?
Our care managers answer these every day. A no-obligation call takes about ten minutes.
0800 368 8558Lines open 8am–10pm, seven days a week See all questionsIs there help with the cost of care in Scottish Borders?
Often, yes. Your local council's social work department can carry out a free needs assessment. In Scotland, personal care is free for adults assessed as needing it, whatever their income, and the council may contribute further depending on savings. Attendance Allowance, paid to people over State Pension age who need help with personal care, is not means-tested and can be put towards care.
How many care homes are there in Scottish Borders?
Our care-home directory lists 22 registered care homes in Scottish Borders. If you are weighing up a care home, live-in care is the alternative that keeps your relative at home with one carer supporting only them, and we can explain how the two compare on cost.