Live-in Care in Reading

Reading • Berkshire

Round-the-clock live-in care at home in Reading

Live-in care lets your loved one stay in the Reading home they know and love, with a dedicated Care Professional living alongside them to provide support day and night. For many families across Berkshire it is the natural alternative to moving into a care home: one-to-one attention instead of shared staff, familiar surroundings instead of an unfamiliar room, and a daily routine built entirely around one person. Protocol Healthcare Services has spent more than a decade arranging exactly this kind of care, and we bring the same standards to Reading that we apply everywhere we work.

We will be straight with you about how we operate. Our offices are in the South of England, so we do not run a high-street branch in Reading. What we do run is a genuinely national service, coordinating vetted, background-checked Care Professionals wherever they are needed. Every person we place has completed enhanced DBS and right-to-work checks, references and training before they ever start, and a consultant is on hand around the clock, so families in Caversham, Tilehurst or Earley get the same reassurance as those on our doorstep.

What live-in care in Reading includes

• ✓ A dedicated live-in Care Professional in the home
• ✓ Round-the-clock support and reassurance
• ✓ Personal care, washing, dressing and continence support
• ✓ Medication management and prompting
• ✓ Meal planning, cooking and nutrition
• ✓ Mobility support and help avoiding falls
• ✓ Dementia, Parkinson's and complex care
• ✓ Companionship, hobbies and days out

Why choose live-in care over a care home in Reading

Leaving a long-time home in Emmer Green, Southcote or Woodley is one of the hardest decisions a family can face, and it is often not the only option. With live-in care your relative keeps their own bedroom and garden, their neighbours, their GP surgery and the community they have built over decades. Pets stay put. Familiar routines carry on, from a morning walk by the Thames to a regular trip into the Abbey Quarter or Forbury Gardens. Because the support is one-to-one, it flexes around the person rather than around a rota. For couples the case is even stronger: two people can be supported under a single live-in arrangement, which often compares well with the cost of two care-home places.

Local knowledge across Reading

Reading is a busy Thames Valley town of around 175,000 people, and care needs vary just as much from one neighbourhood to the next. We arrange live-in care north of the river in Caversham, Caversham Heights and Emmer Green, out west through Tilehurst, Southcote and Calcot towards Purley on Thames, and across the south and east of town in Whitley, Coley, Katesgrove and the large modern estates of Earley, Lower Earley and Woodley. Whether a client lives in a Victorian terrace near the town centre in RG1 or a bungalow out in RG4, RG6, RG30 or RG31, we tailor the support to the person and the property rather than offering one fixed package.

We also support people coming home after a hospital stay. The Royal Berkshire Hospital on London Road in central Reading, run by the Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust, is the main acute hospital for the town, and the first few weeks back at home after a discharge are critical. A live-in Care Professional can be in place quickly to manage medication, support mobility and rehabilitation, and keep families and community teams in the loop, which reduces the risk of a readmission and helps recovery happen where people are most comfortable.

Funding and the cost of live-in care in Reading

Live-in care is always priced on an individual assessment, because the right package depends on the level of support, whether it is for one person or a couple, and any specialist needs such as dementia or nurse-led care. We give you a clear, all-inclusive weekly figure before anything begins, with no hidden extras. Many Reading families self-fund, but you may also be entitled to help: Reading Borough Council, the unitary authority for the town, can carry out a free care needs assessment followed by a financial assessment, and where needs are primarily health-related, NHS Continuing Healthcare funding may apply. Our team is always happy to explain how the routes fit together, and you can read more on our paying for care guide.

More than home care: staffing for Reading providers

Alongside care for families, we are also an REC-affiliated healthcare staffing agency with national reach. Care homes, supported living services and NHS teams across Reading rely on us for dependable cover, from NMC-registered nurses and support workers to mental health and learning disability specialists. If you run a service in Berkshire, see our staffing services overview.

Areas of Reading we cover for live-in care

We arrange live-in care at home across the town and its surrounding communities, including:

• Caversham
• Tilehurst
• Earley
• Lower Earley
• Whitley
• Southcote
• Emmer Green
• Calcot
• Purley on Thames
• Coley
• Katesgrove
• Woodley