A 24-hour nurse at home is for patients whose medical needs do not stop at night. It is most often arranged straight after a hospital discharge, for patients on oxygen or drips, and for patients receiving palliative care who need medicines and comfort through the night.
Round-the-clock nursing is usually covered by two nurses on 12-hour shifts, so the nurse on duty at night is awake and alert. Each nurse hands over to the next with notes on the patient's readings, medicines given and anything the doctor should know.
What round-the-clock nursing covers
- Regular vital signs, oxygen level and blood sugar, day and night
- Medicines and injections at the prescribed times, including overnight doses
- IV drips, catheters, Ryle's tube feeds and suction as the doctor has ordered
- Monitoring of patients on home oxygen
- Turning, positioning and bedsore care
- Calling the doctor or an ambulance, and the family, if the patient's condition changes
Nurse, aya, or both?
If the night-time need is personal care rather than medical care, a 24-hour aya is enough and costs less. Many families combine a nurse for the medical tasks with an aya for personal care. For daytime nursing only, see home nursing service.
How to arrange a 24-hour nurse
- Call or WhatsApp +91 90513 20961. Tell us the discharge summary or diagnosis, the treatments prescribed, and the date care should start. The phone is answered around the clock by the people who will actually arrange the caregiver.
- We suggest who to send. If what you describe needs a nurse rather than an aya, or an attendant rather than either, we will say so.
- Shift and rate are agreed first. Shifts of 4, 6, 8, 10, 12 or 24 hours are available, and you know the cost before anyone is sent.
- The caregiver comes to you, often the same day, and we check back to make sure the match is working.
Common questions
Can 24-hour nursing start on the day of discharge?
Yes, if you call ahead. Tell us the discharge date and bring the discharge summary; the nurse will need it.
Is 24-hour home nursing the same as ICU care?
No. A home nurse cannot replace an ICU. Home nursing suits patients the doctors consider stable enough to go home but who still need close monitoring.
How is 24-hour nursing staffed?
Usually as two 12-hour shifts, so the night nurse is fresh. We agree the arrangement with you before care starts.
Last reviewed 27 September 2026