Private Nurse at Home

Home Care

Find a Private Nurse for Care at Home

Need to find a nurse? We provide NMC-registered private nurses for one-to-one clinical care in the comfort of your own home, from a single visit to ongoing nursing support, across London and the South Coast.

Whether it's recovery after an operation, ongoing medical needs or specialist nursing, our nurses deliver safe, professional care, so you or your loved one can be cared for at home rather than in hospital.

What a Private Nurse Can Do at Home

• ✓Medication administration
• ✓Wound care & dressings
• ✓Catheter & continence care
• ✓PEG & tube feeding
• ✓Post-operative care
• ✓Palliative & complex nursing

Every nurse is NMC-registered, fully vetted and experienced. We match the right clinical skills to your needs and can arrange cover from a one-off visit through to 24-hour nursing care at home.

When Families Ask for a Nurse Rather Than a Carer

The distinction is about clinical accountability. A Care Professional supports daily living: washing, dressing, meals, mobility, companionship and prompting medication. A registered nurse carries a professional registration and can carry out clinical tasks, assess a changing condition and escalate it. Families most often ask for nursing input after an operation, when a wound is not healing, where there is a catheter, stoma or PEG tube to manage, where medication has become complex or needs to be injected, where pressure areas are a concern, or during palliative and end-of-life care at home alongside the district nursing and hospice teams.

Plenty of households need both, and that is a common arrangement: a Care Professional for the everyday support, with a nurse visiting for the clinical elements or leading a package where needs are complex. If what you actually need is help with washing, meals and company, we will tell you that a nurse is not necessary and point you to visiting care instead.

What a Private Nurse Cannot Do

We would rather set expectations honestly. A private nurse at home is not a substitute for your GP or hospital consultant. Nurses do not diagnose conditions or, unless they are separately qualified as prescribers, prescribe medication. They work to the treatment plan set by the clinicians responsible for your care, and part of their job is to recognise when something needs escalating to that team or to emergency services. Nursing at home also depends on the setting being safe and appropriately equipped; where care genuinely requires hospital facilities, we will say so.

Working Alongside the NHS

Private nursing at home sits alongside NHS services rather than replacing them. Your GP, district nurses, community matron, hospital discharge team or hospice remain involved, and our nurses share information with them, follow the agreed plan and document what they do. This matters most in two situations: the first fortnight after a hospital discharge, when medication changes and reduced mobility drive readmissions, and end-of-life care, where continuity and symptom management make an enormous difference to a family.

How We Vet Our Nurses

Every nurse we place holds a live registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council, checked against the NMC register; registered nurses must revalidate every three years to stay on it. Alongside that we verify identity and right to work, complete an enhanced DBS check, take up references covering recent employment with any gaps explained, confirm mandatory training and occupational health clearance, and check that the specific clinical competencies match the task. Protocol Healthcare Services Ltd has supplied nurses and care staff since 2016, is an FSB member and is REC affiliated.

Arranging a Nurse, and How Quickly

We start by understanding the clinical need, not just the hours. That covers diagnosis and current treatment, medication, the specific tasks required, equipment already in place, who is clinically responsible, the layout and safety of the property, and whether you need a single visit, regular visits, waking nights or 24-hour cover. We then match a nurse with the right skills and experience. Cover can often be arranged within 24 to 48 hours, including urgent and out-of-hours requests, and our consultants are contactable around the clock. If needs change, the package changes with them.

Paying for Private Nursing at Home

Private nursing is quoted individually rather than at a published rate, because it depends on the clinical skills required, the length and timing of cover and the complexity of the case. Many families self-fund. Where needs are primarily health-related, NHS Continuing Healthcare is fully funded and is not means tested, and can be delivered at home; your GP, social worker or hospital discharge team can help you request an assessment. Council-funded social care follows a separate route, with the Care Act 2014 capital thresholds in England of £23,250 (upper) and £14,250 (lower). Our paying for care page explains how the routes fit together.

Read More

• ✓The complete guide to home care in the UK →
• ✓Paying for care: assessments and benefits →
• ✓Check the areas we cover →

Need nursing alongside everyday support? See dementia and specialist care or live-in care, or get in touch for a free chat about what is needed.