What does a live-in nurse do?
At Consultus Care and Nursing, we know that being able to stay at home - surrounded by familiar faces, personal belongings, and comforts - can make all the difference when dealing with illness or injury. Our live-in nurses provide compassionate, expert clinical care from the comfort of people’s own homes, allowing them to continue living life their way.
Live-in nursing care is an exceptional alternative to hospitals or residential nursing care homes, allowing individuals to receive one-to-one support from a registered nurse, 24 hours a day. Whether you require short-term support following an operation or long-term management of a complex health condition, our live-in nurses can help.
What is a live-in nurse?
A live-in nurse is a fully qualified, registered healthcare professional who resides in your home to provide round-the-clock nursing care and clinical support. Unlike domiciliary carers, live-in nurses have advanced medical training and can deliver a range of specialist procedures - enabling those with complex health needs to remain at home.
This type of care is provided by a registered nurse and is particularly suited to individuals with high-dependency needs or those recovering from serious illness or injury. With the reassurance of an on-hand experienced nurse, families can receive peace of mind knowing their loved one is receiving personalised support day and night.
What are the responsibilities of a live-in nurse?
A private nurse is a qualified, registered healthcare professional that delivers expert clinical care to individuals outside of traditional healthcare environments such as hospitals and hospices. Unlike these environments where nurses support multiple patients, our private nurses provide care on a one-to-one basis, often around-the-clock.
The role of a private nurse will vary significantly based on the individuals needs, but can include:
Administering injections, managing most intravenous therapies, wound care, catheter management, ventilator care, and other complex medical procedures that require professional nursing expertise.
Regularly monitoring vital signs, for example, blood pressure, heart rate, oxygen levels, blood glucose levels, and other health indicators to track your condition and adjust your care as needed.
Administering and managing pain relief strategies, including the use of prescription pain medications, and ensuring your comfort.
Administering prescribed medications, including those that require precise dosing or monitoring, and managing a complex medications regime.
Assisting with physical therapy exercises, mobility training, and other rehabilitation activities prescribed by healthcare professionals.
Providing compassionate and sensitive palliative care focused on comfort, dignity and quality of life for people with terminal illnesses, including symptom management and emotional support.
Ongoing care for chronic conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, COPD, multiple sclerosis, and others that require regular medical intervention.
Providing care after surgery, including wound management, pain control, and assistance with rehabilitation.
Who can benefit from a live-in nurse?
Live-in nursing can benefit those that require continual, higher-level clinical care but wish to remain in the comfort of their own home. This may include those living with:
We provide comprehensive support for individuals living with long-term conditions such as diabetes, heart disease, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD), or multiple sclerosis. Our personalised care plans help manage symptoms, promote overall well-being, and maintain independence at home.
For those living with progressive neurological disorders such as Parkinson’s disease or Motor Neurone Disease, we offer specialist care focused on symptom management, mobility support, and preserving quality of life through compassionate, expert assistance.
Whether undergoing active treatment, in remission, or receiving palliative care, our team delivers sensitive and respectful support tailored to each stage of the cancer journey.
Recovery after surgery can be challenging, and we provide essential short-term or ongoing care during this critical period. From medication management to mobility assistance, our support helps individuals regain strength and confidence at their own pace.
We understand the complexities of dementia and Alzheimer’s and offer consistent care from the familiarity of home. Our focus is on maintaining routines, reducing anxiety, and enhancing quality of life through empathetic and structured support.
After a stroke, timely and focused care is essential. Our dedicated nurses support individuals with after stroke care, promoting independence, helping with physical recovery, and assisting in adapting to new daily routines.
Our specialist nurses are trained to support those living with spinal cord or acquired brain injuries. We offer tailored care plans that address complex needs, promote independence, and enhance quality of life through personalised, compassionate care.
Why choose Consultus Care and Nursing?
One of the longest-established and most trusted providers
Founded in 1962, we have always been innovators in live-in care and live-in nursing. With over 60 years’ experience, we are one of the country’s longest-established, most highly recommended and experienced providers.
Unrivalled choice and control over your care
We understand that every person’s needs are different and every family’s situation is unique. With our choice of fully managed live-in care and nursing, and our introductory service, we offer more flexibility and personalisation than any other provider.
Highly trained nurses and carers
We are nationally recognised for the quality of our nurses and carers. With market-leading training, delivered at our own, multi-award-winning training centre (a Skills for Care Centre of Excellence), they provide exemplary, compassionate care tailored to individual needs, offering total peace of mind for clients and their families.
Expert care and support, dedicated to you
Our Care Consultants oversee our nursing and managed care services supporting only a small number of families. This means our service is truly personal, with unrivalled support and continuity of care. Reassurance that we are there when you need us most.
Family-founded, family-owned
We continue to be a family-owned and family-managed business. The largest wholly family-owned live-in care provider in the UK, we focus on what our clients and their families need from a high-quality care service, not on meeting investors’ expectations.
Download our brochure
To find out more about our award-winning live-in care services, download our brochure below.
What our clients say
"Consultus Care allowed us to keep our Mum at home following a fall and a hip break. This meant that she had a really good quality of life; her friends could visit her easily. It made a huge difference to her to be in her own surroundings.
The quality of care was excellent throughout."
Alison
How to arrange live-in care
Speak to a Care Advisor
Our friendly, expert Care Advisors are here to guide you through your options, answer your important questions, whilst providing support along the way.
Care assessment
If you would like our managed live-in care service, a Care Consultant local to you, will complete a free assessment of your needs in your home.
Care starts
A fully trained carer will be carefully matched to meet your needs, and will start to provide our high-quality service in your home.
Live-in nursing FAQs
Live-in nursing is specialist form of care and support, where a registered nurse resides in your home to provide one-to-one medical care around-the-clock. Our live-in nursing service means you can avoid a prolonged stay in hospital or a disruptive move to a nursing home or hospice to get the specialist care you need. Our live-in nurses are qualified and trained to provide support with medical conditions and chronic health concerns, recovery and rehabilitation following surgery, and sensitive and compassionate end-of-life care.
Live-in nursing is suitable for individuals, or couples with complex medical conditions, such as:
Acute medical needs requiring clinical supervision
Post-surgical care and rehabilitation
Chronic illness and disease management
Neurological conditions, such as dementia and Parkinson’s
Palliative and end-of-life care
Recovery support following a hospital stay to transition back into daily life
All our nurses are thoroughly vetted through a rigorous process, including:
Right-to-Work and an enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) checks
Registration verification with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC)
Employment reference checks to ensure a minimum or three years post-registration experience in an acute, community or palliative care setting
Face-to-face interviews to assess suitability, professionalism and compassion.
Whilst we provide you with a couple of nurse profiles to review, our experienced Nurse Consultants will recommend the best match based on your specific needs and preferences. We have over 60 years’ experience of matching suitable nurses that meet our clients’ needs to ensure they have the right level of nursing care.
A live-in nurse typically works from 8am to 8pm, with a two-hour break during the day.
A live-in nurse can provide up to two-night calls per night, which are chargeable. If you require more frequent nighttime assistance, your dedicated Nurse Consultant will review your nursing needs, and we may recommend a dedicated night carer, or nurse.
You’ll need to provide a private bedroom with basic amenities, including a bed and somewhere to store their clothes. They need to have access to a bathroom, but this does not need to be a dedicated bathroom. Nurses will also need access to WIFI to enable them to communicate and complete administration tasks. Most families provide food for our nurse, but if this is not possible, we ask for an £8 per day allowance if the nurse needs to make their own provision.
Our live-in nursing service is highly flexible. Care plans are regularly reviewed by your nurse and dedicated Nurse Consultant to ensure it accurately reflects the clinical support you require working closely with healthcare professionals involved in your care.
Nurses are trained to respond effectively to emergencies, such as contacting emergency services, notifying family members, and following agreed protocols to ensure your safety. Our live-in nursing service is fully managed, so you have around-the-clock emergency support from our office-based nursing team.
The minimum booking for our live-in nursing service is four days.
Live-in nursing can typically be arranged within 24-48 hours, depending on the complexity of your needs.
Live-in nursing care costs from £2,780 per week, subject to an assessment of you or your loved one’s needs.
When considering funding live-in nursing, it is worth noting that in the UK, healthcare is provided free at the point of delivery. If you need live-in nursing at home due to an identified health care need, you may be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare Funding. This funding is managed and provided by your local Integrated Care Board (ICB), formerly the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG). This funding covers the treatment, management or prevention of diseases, illnesses, injuries or disabilities, as well as aftercare those living with these conditions. At Consultus Care and Nursing, our Nursing Co-ordinators are here to guide you through your options, so you can make the right choice for you or your loved one.
It starts with a friendly discussion with a member of our experienced Care Advisory team who will talk through your requirements and expectations and guide you as to the suitability of our services. Should you wish to proceed, a Nurse Co-ordinator will discuss with you, and your family and other healthcare professionals involved in your care, your specific healthcare needs to ensure we match you with the perfect nurse to meet your needs. Once the contractual paperwork is concluded a service start date is agreed.
Looking for care?
Please fill out the enquiry form below and we will aim to contact you within 24 hours. Looking to work for Consultus Care and Nursing? Please apply here.