Country Cousins Live-in Care

This should be the first question you ask yourself when deciding on your care provision. Home care is the perfect option for couples who need a bit of extra support. Moving into a care home may not be possible, desirable or cost effective for both partners. Maintaining relationships and the degree of privacy you get at home is essential for an improved quality of life.

Being honest about the degree of care needed for the individual or individuals is the next step on your care journey. For example, are there complex requirements, such as dementia or Alzheimer’s? In which case, an advanced level of live-in care will likely be required. The same can be said when considering care options for disabled adults.

You may need emergency care that only covers short periods, such as during convalescence. Alternatively, you may require short-term care to provide much-needed respite to a family member, or continuous, long-term live-in care and support covering a range of household tasks for ongoing care needs.

Now you are confident in who the care is for, the level of care, and how long it will be needed, you can weigh up the costs of the different care packages available. Visit our cost of care page for more information on budgeting and planning for all forms of care.

We pride ourselves on offering bespoke live-in care packages tailored to our clients’ needs, we’ve been matching perfectly suited carers to our clients for over 60 years after all. Get in touch with a member of our helpful team today to talk through your care needs.

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The self-employed carers we work with come from the UK and abroad, united by a shared passion for delivering exceptional, personalised live-in care.

Any self-employed carer that wants to work with Country Cousins must go through a meticulous selection process. Candidates are chosen based on specific skills, experience, and reliability. We undertake a comprehensive vetting process that includes verifying identities, checking references, conducting interviews, and performing Enhanced DBS checks.

We know that personality matters and that is why we assess a carer’s interests and lifestyle preferences to ensure we match them with the right client. Questions about cooking abilities, driving skills, assignment length preferences, and location preferences are all part of our comprehensive assessment.

The carers we work with undergo an in-depth interview and before being introduced to their clients by Country Cousins. All the carers we work with are trained in safeguarding of vulnerable adults, moving and handling, plus basic life support, either by our in-house training programme, or through an accredited external provider. Many have a broader range of skills and experience in specialisms such as dementia or physical disability support. This training shows how carers can meet the expectations of their clients, while delivering an efficient, flexible service, considering individual requirements and preferences.

The care you receive from the carer will be tailored to your holistic needs, so if you need a carer who can cook, we will ensure that you are matched with a carer who has experience of cooking.

All our carers can cook nutritious, balanced meals. Carers will be more than happy to cook dishes tailored to your preferences, however if they are unfamiliar to them, they may require a recipe!

Country Cousins has been established for over 60 years and is the longest serving care agency in the UK, offering peace of mind and reassurance that we are experts in delivering high-quality live-in carers.

What is the difference between an introductory care agency and a regulated service provider?

There are two main differences between regulated care and introductory care. Regulated care, also known as a managed care service, typically employs their carers directly and is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Introductory care, also known as self-managed care, matches clients with verified self-employed carers and they are not regulated.

1. Speak with one of our friendly and helpful Client Service Advisors. Their role is to explore your situation to better understand what service might be right and offer solutions and support.
2. Once you have registered with us, your dedicated Care Relationship Executive will be in contact to introduce themselves and to get a better understanding of what you are looking for. They will then begin to look for a suitably matched carer to start on your chosen start date.
3. The chosen live-in carer will move into the individual’s home and typically reside there for the agreed length of time, where the carer will have their own designated space within the home to ensure privacy and comfort when off-duty. We endeavour to build a rotation of two to four carers to return on a regular basis to ensure continuity in the care being delivered.
4. The carer will carry out the tasks outlined in the client profile. This can include personal care, prompting of medication, companionship, mobility support, meal preparation, light housekeeping, and any other identified needs. The carer provides individualised attention and assistance, focusing on the well-being and comfort of the individual.
5. Regular phone calls will be made to the client, their representatives, and the carers. We will keep the client’s profile up to date to ensure that the level of care remains appropriate and that we continue to match the best suited carers.

Providing all paperwork is completed in time, we can have a carer in place in as little as 24 hours.

The Registration process can take up to 45 minutes depending on the nature of the care needs. The registration meeting can take place on the telephone with one of our friendly Client Services Advisors.

You will have a say in choosing your live-in carer. Our meticulous selection process aims to effectively match you with a carer well-suited to your needs and preferences. After finalising our choice, one of our Client Relationship Executives will call you to introduce the carer and arrange for the carer to call you to introduce themselves. If you are satisfied with our selection, we will schedule the carer’s arrival based on your preferred date. Should you wish to explore other options, we are more than happy to restart the matching process.

Once we have selected a carer we think is suitable to you, your needs and situation, we will send you their profile. We take great care in matching the right carer for you, so it is best to wait until we have a carer who matches, but who is also available to start when you choose.

Your carer must be given their own bedroom and somewhere to keep their clothes and belongings. Clients sometimes provide a television and an armchair in the carer’s room, and this is appreciated, but we accept that it is not always possible.

Sufficient food should be provided for three healthy meals a day, for both client and carer. You should discuss both your dietary requirements and preferred mealtimes, and those of the carer. If your carer has special dietary requirements, we suggest that they purchase any “special” provisions before the assignment. You will need to agree this with them. Clients quite often want to be involved in decisions about the preparation and serving of meals, whilst others like the carer to take over – it’s best to make this position clear at the beginning of each assignment. Our carers can prepare meals for the client(s) they are looking after; should additional family members, or guests, wish to have food prepared then this needs to be agreed with the carer in advance.

On the rare occasion that things do not go to plan, the first step is to contact your Client Relationship Executive at Head Office – we will do everything we can to make things right. If clients wish to cancel the assignment, they must give notice to your Client Relationship Executive, and notify the carer accordingly. We ask you to contact us immediately.

For more information on our cancellation policy and other terms and conditions, a copy is supplied with the registration paperwork, or is available on request by contacting your Client Relationship Executive. If the client decides not to go ahead after the notice period has elapsed, they would be liable for payment to the carer, unless an alternative assignment is found for the carer, or an alternative arrangement has been made between you and the carer.

If, however, the client provides the agency with at least seven days’ notice prior to the day on which the carer is booked to start the assignment, the agency will cancel the assignment and the client will not need to pay the carer anything (unless you have agreed different terms with the carer).

The length of time the carer stays will depend on if the carer has any holiday booked, or if they are coming from another placement. Most carers tend to work for two to three weeks before taking a break of about two to three weeks. When a carer is taking a break, we will match you with an alternative carer.

Yes, your carer can accompany your loved one or relative on holiday. Any associated costs for travel, insurance, and food will need to be covered.

Yes. The carers we work with are dedicated to enabling you to maintain the lifestyle you cherish within the comfort of your own home. This encompasses household tasks, light tidying, meal preparation, running errands, and accompanying you on outings – our live-in carers are even available to assist you during vacations. Additionally, your designated carer can provide transportation to your appointments using your personal vehicle. It is your responsibility to ensure they have an appropriate license and insurance in place.

Whilst we endeavour to meet your requirements for a carer, we cannot guarantee to introduce you to a carer who can drive. If we do manage to match you with a carer who can drive, any vehicle which is required to be driven by the carer must be appropriately maintained and insured. Before permitting such use, you agree to inspect the carers driving licence to ensure that they are permitted to drive the vehicle.

Yes, your carer can walk your dog and feed your pets. As long as we know this is a requirement, we will ensure that you are matched with a carer who is happy to do this. Some carers are allergic to animals so we must know if pet care is required.

Country Cousins is an introductory service and is not regulated by The Care Quality Commission (CQC), so therefore the carer is not able to administer any medication. However, they can prompt and assist the individual to manage their medication.

All arrangements regarding additional expenses should be made between the carer and you, the client.

It is not uncommon for a carer to be woken during the night to deliver care and, if this happens, the carer will duly support as needed. They will, however, charge a fee for this. The suggested fees are outlined in the pricing schedule and may vary depending on the number of times the carer is woken during the night.

If regular waking occurs, we can introduce the client to an additional carer if required and update the client’s profile. This enables us to take understand the increase in the level of care needed when we are asked to provide the next introduction. Alternatively, the client and the carer may amend their arrangements to cover the additional care and update us so that we can keep the client’s profile up to date for future introductions.

You should agree time off arrangements with your carer(s). We suggest a daily two-hour break to be taken away from the client’s premises. However, the reality of the situation may be very different. There may well be an hour or two each day for carers to have time to themselves, but it may not always be possible to leave the client’s home. Sometimes, more complicated arrangements must be put in place – perhaps a friend or relative has already agreed a regular time to take over or a relief carer is supplied by a local care agency. Again, the key is to be as flexible as possible. Whatever arrangement is made, it is best to discuss and agree this before the carer arrives.

We exercise diligence in choosing a carer tailored to your specific requirements. However, should you feel the need for a different carer, we will promptly initiate the process of finding a replacement. Open communication is key, so kindly share your feedback with your Client Relationship Executive.  This allows us to explore potential solutions and ensure a more effective match going forward.

If the person receiving care passes away, the carer will be there to support you and the family through the difficult time. Some families choose to keep the carer in place to help organise things and make arrangements; others prefer for the carer to leave. It really is up to you.  We charge for the 7 days following the day of the death, or from the day the carer leaves the property.

We charge a one-off lifetime registration fee of £240 once you register with us. This covers our initial consultation, set-up your requirements and match a carer to you, and enables us to maintain an active carer pool to provide care in as little as 24 hours.

We offer guidance around the recommend rates for the carers’ service, but as all Country Cousin’s carers are self-employed, they will invoice you directly for their services and you are responsible for paying the carer at the end of each week Or at the end of the assignment if they are there for 2 weeks or less. The recommended rate for your Country Cousins carer is from £109 per day.

The agency fee is the fee charged by Country Cousins to ensure we continue to match our client’s with the perfect live-in carers on an ongoing basis. This is £31 per day.

Bank Holiday rates for the carers will vary, this is similar across the care sector. The agency fee, however, will remain the same.

The Registration Fee is to register with Country Cousins. During the Registration call, your expert Client Services Advisor will take down lots of detailed information about you or your loved ones needs, daily routine and situation. This information is then passed over to the Operational Team who takes great care in sourcing a carefully selected carer to you. The registration is for life and enables you to use our services flexibly, on an ad hoc, respite or an ongoing basis. Please note this is not a care plan it is to gain sufficient information to match the right carer for you.

The agency fee covers the management of the carers and the provision of the ongoing and out of hours emergency support from the Country Cousins team.

Carers fees will be charged at double the standard rate.

We ask that you cover the cost of the carer’s travel to and from the placement.  The cheapest form of travel will be charged; either second class rail fair or mileage as per the HMRC current rates. All travel will be agreed prior to care starting.

The carer will provide you with an invoice at the end of each assignment or at the end of each week if agreed beforehand. The carer will need to be paid at the end of their stay, preferably by bank transfer. As the carer is self-employed, they will deal with their own taxes.

Once the assignment has been completed or at the end of every four weeks an invoice will be sent for the agency fees which will be collected by Direct Debit 21 days after the invoice is generated, for respite care, we can accept an upfront cost.

We require you to give us seven days’ notice if you change your mind and wish to cancel an assignment before it is due to commence or if you cancel an assignment after it has begun.