Live-In Care Following Hospital Discharge

Report - 22 December 2025

Healthwatch Kent spoke to patients, carers and healthcare professionals about their experiences of live-in care after hospital discharge. We found that the programme helped patients return home safely and regain confidence, while giving carers reassurance and peace of mind. However, communication gaps and limited involvement of carers in planning were common challenges, alongside missed opportunities for patients to meet their care worker before discharge.

Following a pilot that took place in 2024, East Kent Health and Care Partnership are planning to have a soft launch of the Better Lives Together programme, “Live-In Care Following Hospital Discharge”. The first attempt at delivering the programme came to a halt with a limited evaluation carried out when the provider ceased to work with the NHS. 

To inform the programme moving forwards, East Kent Health and Care Partnership commissioned Healthwatch Kent to gather and analyse insights from five patients and their carers (relatives or friends) about their experiences of live-in care.  All interviews were conducted between March and May 2025.

We also spoke with the Multi-Disciplinary Team (MDT) Leads responsible for working with each patient and overseeing their live-in care planning and discharge from hospital alongside Carer Support Coordinators from Carers’ Support East Kent. 

Our interviews were conducted at the early stages of the pilot with there being iterative developments and improvements since then.  The key themes that emerged across multiple cases were:

  • A positive impact on patient recovery:
  • Examples of Inconsistent communication between hospital, unpaid carers (relatives or friends) and the care provider.
  • Variable carer (relatives or friends) involvement in discharge planning
  • Some challenges with live-in care worker matching including mismatches in expectations
  • Overall support for live-in care despite any challenges 

As the pilot has developed, responsive actions have been taken to improve the experience for people receiving care and their support networks. Some of these include: 

  • Now each person is offered a video call introduction with their care worker.
  • Queries about practicalities, including costs/food arrangements, have been resolved.
  • An updated patient leaflet is being developed to help give patients and their families/friends information about what Live in Care is and what to expect. 

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Live-In Care After Hospital Discharge, Early Review Insights
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