Comfort at home, surrounded by what matters to them
Most people would rather spend this time in their own home with their own things around them than in a hospital ward or hospice, where that is a realistic option.
✧ Our services
Palliative Care at Home: Comfort, Dignity, Support
Palliative care focuses on comfort and quality of life for someone with a life-limiting illness. Live-in palliative care brings that support home, with one carer working alongside district nurses and hospice teams so your relative can be where they feel most at ease.
- Comfort first Care focused on quality of life, not just tasks
- From £1,300 a week Often funded by NHS Continuing Healthcare
- With your nurses and hospice Carers work alongside the palliative team
- Start in 24–48 hours When time matters, we move quickly
What is palliative care at home?
Palliative care is care for anyone with an illness that cannot be cured, such as advanced cancer, heart failure, COPD, MND or dementia. Its aim is to make life as comfortable and fulfilling as possible: managing pain and other symptoms, and supporting emotional, practical and spiritual needs for the person and their family. Palliative care can begin at diagnosis and continue for months or years, alongside treatment. It is broader than end of life care, which focuses on the last months, weeks and days.
Live-in palliative care means one carer living in the home, providing personal care and company around the clock, while the medical side is led by the GP, district nurses and specialist palliative teams.
What a live-in palliative carer does
- Comfort and personal care — gentle washing, mouth care, skin care and repositioning to prevent pressure sores.
- Symptom awareness — noticing pain, breathlessness, nausea or agitation and reporting it quickly so nurses can respond.
- Medication support — making sure prescribed medicines are taken on time; injections and syringe drivers are managed by nurses.
- Eating and drinking — small, appealing meals, and following advice as appetite and swallowing change.
- Company and emotional support — time to talk, listen, reminisce, or simply sit together.
- Support for the family — taking on the practical load so relatives can spend time together, and giving them the chance to rest.
- Keeping life going — outings, visitors, hobbies and the things that still bring joy, for as long as the person wants them.
Working with nurses, the GP and the hospice
Good palliative care at home is teamwork. District nurses, community palliative care nurses and hospice-at-home services provide clinical care; the GP coordinates. The live-in carer is the constant presence in between: the person who notices changes first, makes sure nothing is missed, and keeps the professionals informed. Many hospices welcome live-in carers as part of the team around the person.
Private palliative care and NHS funding
Many families arrange private palliative care at home to make sure there is someone there all the time. But it is always worth asking about NHS Continuing Healthcare: people with a primary health need can have care funded in full, and the Fast Track pathway can put funding in place quickly when someone's condition is deteriorating rapidly. Ask the GP, hospital or district nurse to start an assessment. Live-in palliative care starts from £1,300 a week, or £2,600 with two carers when nights are very disturbed.
Planning ahead
An advance care plan records what matters to the person: where they want to be cared for, treatments they would or would not want, and who should speak for them. Setting up a lasting power of attorney and discussing a ReSPECT form or DNACPR decision with the GP means the carer and professionals can follow the person's wishes if they can no longer express them.
Managing common symptoms with the palliative team
Palliative care is led clinically by the GP, district nurses and specialist palliative nurses. The live-in carer's job is to notice, comfort and report, so that symptoms are treated quickly. Common symptoms, and how day-to-day care helps, include:
- Pain — watching for signs of pain, including in someone who cannot say they are in pain (grimacing, restlessness, guarding a part of the body), making sure regular pain relief is taken on time, and calling the nurses if it is not controlled.
- Breathlessness — helping the person sit upright, using a fan directed at the face, pacing activity, and staying calm, which helps them stay calm too.
- Nausea and poor appetite — small, frequent, appealing portions, never pressure to eat, and reporting persistent sickness.
- Constipation — a common side effect of strong painkillers; carers keep a record and flag problems early.
- Dry mouth — regular mouth care, sips of water and lip balm, which bring real comfort.
- Anxiety and low mood — company, conversation and reassurance, and letting the team know if distress is growing.
Quality of life: what palliative care is really for
It is easy to think of palliative care only as managing decline. In practice, much of it is about living as fully as possible for as long as possible. For some people that means a trip to the seaside, a family gathering, finishing a project, visiting a favourite place, or simply sitting in the garden with the dog. A live-in carer can make these things possible: planning around energy levels, managing equipment, and giving the family freedom to join in rather than organise. Asking "what would make today good?" is one of the most useful questions in palliative care.
Supporting the family through palliative care
A long palliative period can be exhausting for families, who may be juggling work, children and caring, while facing the prospect of losing someone they love. Anticipatory grief — grieving before a death — is common and entirely normal. Live-in care takes on the physical and practical care so that family time can be family time. Hospices also offer support for relatives, including counselling, carer support groups and bereavement services, and it is worth using these early rather than waiting until a crisis.
When palliative care moves towards end of life care
At some point, the focus may shift from living with an illness to the last weeks and days. Signs can include sleeping much more, eating and drinking very little, and growing weaker. The palliative team will usually discuss this with the family, review medication, and arrange anticipatory medicines and equipment. For families who want care to continue at home, the same live-in carer can stay on, which provides continuity at a time when a familiar, trusted face matters most. See our end of life care page.
Deciding where to be cared for
People receiving palliative care often have the choice of being cared for at home, in a hospice, in a care home or in hospital, and their wishes may change over time. Many people prefer to be at home, while others feel safer in a hospice, particularly if symptoms are complex. There is no right answer. What matters is that the person's wishes are known and recorded, often in an advance care plan, and that the support needed to make their chosen place work is in place. Live-in care is often what makes staying at home possible.
Further reading and sources
Why families choose it
What live-in palliative care gives your family
One consistent carer, not a changing rota
At this stage, having the same familiar person providing care day after day matters enormously — for the person and for the family sitting with them.
Family get to be family, not full-time carers
With daily care handled, relatives can spend the time they have left simply being present, rather than exhausted by round-the-clock caregiving.
Support alongside district nurses and the GP
Carers work closely with the wider palliative care team — district nurses, the GP, hospice-at-home services — so symptom management stays properly clinically led.
Someone there through the night as well as the day
Symptoms and distress do not keep office hours. Live-in care means support is there at 3am as much as at 3pm.
Is it right for us?
When families arrange palliative care at home
If one of these sounds familiar, palliative care at home is worth a conversation.
A terminal diagnosis and a wish to stay at home
Many families call as soon as a palliative diagnosis is given, to understand what staying at home would actually involve.
A hospice or hospital discharge with ongoing symptom needs
Coming home from a hospice or hospital stay often needs immediate, consistent support in place from day one.
The family carer is exhausted and cannot continue alone
Palliative caregiving is physically and emotionally draining. Bringing in professional support is not giving up — it usually means better care for everyone.
Symptoms are becoming harder to manage at home
Pain, breathlessness or reduced mobility increasing can prompt a need for more consistent care alongside the district nursing team.
A family wants everyone present, not managing rotas
When time may be limited, families often want to be together rather than organising who is covering which shift.
What a carer does
How a live-in palliative carer helps
Every care plan is built from these, weighted to whatever matters most in your household.
Comfort and dignity
Personal care and positioning support given gently, always at the person's own pace.
Working with the palliative care team
Close contact with district nurses, the GP and hospice-at-home services so symptom care stays clinically led.
Emotional support for the whole family
Company and quiet presence for the person, and space for family to simply be together rather than managing care.
A calm, familiar home
Everyday household tasks kept going quietly in the background, so the home stays a comfortable place to be.
Related services
Other types of live-in care we arrange
Live-in care is not one fixed thing. These are the variations families most often need — and we will tell you which one actually fits.
24 hour live-in care
For people who need attention repeatedly through the night. Covers waking nights and, where nights are consistently broken, two carers in rotation.
Respite care
A professional steps in so a family carer can rest, from a few days to several weeks. Also the easiest way to try live-in care before committing.
Emergency home care
For a hospital discharge, a fall, or a carer suddenly unable to continue. We can often have someone in place within 24 to 48 hours.
Overnight care
Cover through the night only, where days are manageable but nights are not. Useful after a hospital stay or while a diagnosis settles.
Dementia care
Carers experienced in memory loss, sundowning and changes in behaviour. Familiar rooms and one consistent face matter more here than anywhere.
End of life care
Support for the final months, weeks or days at home, for the person and for the family around them.
Companionship care
Where the need is company and daily structure rather than personal care. Often the first step, before anything more is required.
What you get
What palliative care includes, and what it doesn't
Being straight about the boundaries saves everyone a difficult conversation later.
Included in the weekly fee
- Personal care delivered with dignity and at a gentle pace
- Medication prompting and administration, working to the plan set by the GP or hospice team
- Comfort positioning and support with mobility
- Liaison with district nurses, the GP and hospice-at-home services
- Support at mealtimes, including small or modified meals
- Emotional support and companionship for the person and their family
- Light housework and laundry so the home stays comfortable
- Overnight presence as well as daytime support
Not included
- Nursing tasks requiring a registered nurse — district nurses and the hospice team continue to visit
- Administration of controlled medication beyond what is agreed with the clinical team
- The carer's own food — the household provides everyday meals
- Two-person or hoist transfers (that is our Advanced plan)
Compared honestly
Palliative care at home, a hospice, or visiting carers?
The three realistic options, side by side. We will tell you if one of the others suits you better.
| Live-in care | Residential care home | Visiting care | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Typical weekly cost, one person | From £1,200 | £1,100 – £1,600 | £300 – £900 |
| Typical weekly cost, a couple | From £1,200 (one carer) | £2,200 – £3,200 (two places) | Varies by hours |
| Staff-to-person ratio | One-to-one | Shared across residents | One-to-one, but only during visits |
| Same carer each day | Yes | No — shift rota | Rarely |
| Stay in your own home | Yes | No | Yes |
| Overnight cover | Yes | Yes | No — unless booked separately |
| Couples stay together | Yes | Often not possible | Yes |
| Pets can stay | Yes | Almost never | Yes |
| Visitors any time | Yes | Visiting hours | Yes |
Care home figures are typical UK ranges for 2026 and vary considerably by region and by whether nursing care is included. We quote our own prices exactly; always confirm a care home's fees directly with them.
Our carers
Who will your palliative carer be?
The single biggest worry families raise, and rightly. You choose the carer from matched profiles, and you can speak to them by video call before deciding anything.
Enhanced DBS
On every single carer, checked before introduction
In person
Every carer is interviewed, not just screened on paper
You choose
Profiles sent to you — including a video call first
24–48 hrs
How fast we can move in an emergency
Our carers
The carers who provide palliative care
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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Refiloe
Live-in carer
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Monica
Live-in carer
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Patience
Live-in carer
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Brenda
Live-in carer
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Gladys
Live-in carer
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Vistorine
Live-in carer
How it works
Arranging palliative care in three steps
Tell us what you need
A friendly, no-obligation call to understand the situation, explain how the care works and give you an estimated weekly cost.
Choose your carer
We send profiles of available carers matched to your needs. You can speak to them on a video call before deciding.
Care begins at home
Your carer moves in and support starts, with a named care manager checking in regularly to make sure it's working.
Free callback
Prefer we call you?
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 palliative care
What families ask us before arranging care.
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 questionsWhat is the difference between palliative care and end of life care?
Palliative care supports anyone with an illness that cannot be cured and can last months or years. End of life care is the part of palliative care in the last months, weeks and days of life.
Can palliative care at home be funded by the NHS?
Yes, if an assessment finds a primary health need, NHS Continuing Healthcare funds care in full. The Fast Track route can put funding in place quickly when someone is deteriorating rapidly.
How much does live-in palliative care cost?
Live-in palliative care starts from £1,300 a week. Where two carers are needed so someone is awake at night, it starts from £2,600 a week.
Can a carer give pain relief injections?
No. Injections and syringe drivers are managed by district and palliative nurses. Carers help with tablets and liquid medicines and report pain so nurses can respond.
How quickly can palliative care at home start?
Usually within 24 to 48 hours. We understand that time is precious and prioritise palliative care requests.
Will you work with our hospice?
Yes. Our carers work alongside hospice-at-home teams, district nurses and the GP as part of the team around your relative.
Can palliative care at home last for months or years?
Yes. Palliative care can begin at diagnosis of a life-limiting illness and continue for months or years, alongside treatment. It is not only for the final weeks of life.
How does a carer help with breathlessness in palliative care?
By helping the person sit upright, using a fan directed at the face, pacing activities and staying calm. Any worsening breathlessness is reported to the palliative team, who can adjust treatment.
Can we still go out and do things during palliative care?
Yes, and it is encouraged where the person is well enough. A carer can plan outings around energy levels, manage equipment and help make trips, visits and family occasions possible.
What support is there for families during palliative care?
Hospices offer counselling, carer support groups and bereavement services. Live-in care takes on practical tasks so family members can spend time together rather than only providing care.
Transparent pricing
How much palliative care costs
One weekly fee covering the agreed care plan. No hidden charges for everyday care.
Read next
Guides for families arranging palliative care
End of Life Live-In Care: Compassionate Support in a Difficult Time
Read guide →
Lasting Power of Attorney and Live-in Care
Read guide →
Will NHS pay for live-in care?
Read guide →Related care
Care often arranged alongside palliative care
End of Life Care
What is end of life care? End of life care is health care for a person who has been diagnosed with a terminal illness and is nearing his death every day, or it can be an aged person who is enjoying his last days and weeks in the world. Naturally, this type of care has to be of the live-in kind, in the precious comfort of one’s home. End of life care at home is undoubtedly a sensitive and touchy job and needs someone who understands what a person deserves in the near-death days of his life.
Cancer Care
Cancer care involves providing professional support to individuals diagnosed with cancer, focusing on their emotional, physical, and medical needs. In London, where many families juggle busy lifestyles and complex medical systems, having access to live in cancer care ensures peace of mind and proper support at home.
Motor Neurone Disease Care
Motor neurone disease, or amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), is a progressive and fatal neurodegenerative disorder. These diseases are characterized by the death of motor neurons in both the brain and spinal cord, leading to muscle weakness, atrophy and paralysis.
24 Hour Live-in Care
24 hour live-in care means someone is in the home around the clock — including through the night, when help is most often needed and least often available.
Heart Disease Care
The lifestyle, which includes diet and exercise patterns, plays the most important role in developing, deteriorating, and treating the disease. You may feel like it is easy to manage it all by yourself, but in fact, it is not.
Near you
Palliative care in your area
Local pages cover how care is regulated and funded where your relative lives.
Where we work
Palliative Care across the UK and Ireland
We arrange care in 850+ towns and cities. Choose your area for local pricing, funding and how care is regulated where you live.
- Carers travel to you — they move into the home rather than driving from a local branch, so rural and coastal areas are covered too.
- The same weekly price everywhere — care is priced on the support needed, never on your postcode.
- Care can start in 24–48 hours in most areas, and often the same day after a hospital discharge.
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Can’t see your area? Call 0800 368 8558 — we almost certainly still cover it.