Home Care in Banstead, Nork and Woodmansterne

Banstead has an older population than the rest of Reigate and Banstead. At the 2021 Census, a quarter of people in the Banstead Village ward were 65 or over, and 23% in Nork, against 18% across Reigate and Banstead as a whole. So plenty of families here are working out, often in a hurry, how to get help into a parent's home. This page sets out how that works in Banstead, who does what, and where we fit in.

Our part is live-in care, where a carer moves into the home. We can't promise daily visits in SM7, because our office is in Lewisham and visits depend on a carer living close by. When we can't do something, we'll say so and point you to who can.

Asking Surrey for help: the steps in order

Adult social care in Banstead is run by Surrey County Council, not by Reigate & Banstead Borough Council. The route looks like this:

1. Make contact. Fill in Surrey's online social care needs self-assessment, with an email address, a phone number and the GP's details to hand. Or ring the information and advice line on 0300 200 1005, weekdays 9am to 5pm. People who are deaf or hard of hearing can text 07527 182 861.
2. Talk it through. The local care team arranges a conversation, in person, by video or by phone, about what is hard day to day.
3. Get a decision in writing. Surrey writes to say whether the needs are eligible for support.
4. Work out the money. A financial assessment follows. Our financial assessment guide explains what is counted.
5. Choose how care is arranged. Surrey can arrange it, or pay a direct payment so the family picks the provider.

One change is coming. On 1 April 2027 a new council, East Surrey Council, replaces both Surrey County Council and the five district and borough councils in this part of Surrey, Reigate & Banstead among them. Until that date, keep using the existing contacts. Our needs assessment guide covers what to say in that first conversation.

Is your road in Surrey or in London?

Banstead sits right on the London boundary, and a Banstead postal address does not settle which council you deal with. Belmont and Cheam, just north of Banstead Downs, are in the London Borough of Sutton. To the east, Woodmansterne village is in Surrey, but Woodmansterne station is in Croydon. The council tax bill is the quickest check.

If the answer is Sutton, see home care in Belmont or home care in Cheam. On the Coulsdon side, see home care in Coulsdon. Those councils have their own assessment routes, and our visiting reach is different there too.

Coming home from Epsom, St Helier or East Surrey Hospital

Banstead patients can end up at any of three hospitals, depending on the address and what has happened. Getting there and back matters, both for visiting and for the day of discharge:

• Epsom Hospital (Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust) is the terminus of the 166 bus, which runs through Banstead High Street.
• St Helier Hospital in Carshalton, run by the same trust, is on the S1 route from Banstead through Sutton.
• East Surrey Hospital near Redhill (Surrey and Sussex Healthcare NHS Trust) is the awkward one without a car. TfL's journey planner gives well over an hour from Banstead station.

Before discharge, tell the ward you are the carer and ask for Surrey's Carers' Hospital Passport. Action for Carers has Hospital Carer Support Advisors at East Surrey and Epsom hospitals who can help with discharge planning. Surrey may offer reablement, which is free, usually lasts from a few days up to six weeks, and can only be suggested by a professional. If care will be needed when reablement ends, ring us early so there is time for an assessment. Our hospital discharge support page explains more.

Making a Banstead house work: grants, equipment and alarms

If, as in many older houses, the only bathroom is upstairs, that is usually the first problem to solve, before anyone talks about carers.

Bigger adaptations, such as a level-access shower, a stairlift or a downstairs bathroom, can be paid for by a Disabled Facilities Grant. In Banstead, Reigate & Banstead Borough Council means-tests the grant and Millbrook Healthcare, the council's home improvement agency, can draw up plans and manage the builders. The order matters: Surrey's social care team first, then an occupational therapist's assessment, then the therapist's report goes to the council and Millbrook. Don't start work before the grant is formally approved. The council's Disabled Facilities Grant page has the contacts.

For someone who lives alone, a personal alarm is often the next thing. Surrey's alarms page lists Mole Valley Life as the service for Reigate and Banstead.

Help on the doorstep in Banstead

Age Concern Banstead (01737 352156) covers Banstead, Nork, Woodmansterne, Tadworth, Tattenham, Chipstead and nearby villages. A member of staff can visit at home free of charge to talk through problems. It also runs vetted volunteer befrienders, help with Attendance Allowance, PIP and Blue Badge forms, and footcare clinics. Its volunteer drivers take older people to health appointments for a charge that covers costs; book on 01737 370078 at least 48 hours ahead, ideally a week.

At The Horseshoe on Bolters Lane, the borough council's Banstead Community Centre serves lunch every weekday (book on 01737 361 712) and runs a minibus two days a week for people who can't get there alone. Citizens Advice Reigate & Banstead is based in the same building.

Banstead Library is also at The Horseshoe. If reading has stopped because getting out has, Surrey's free Library Direct Home Service sends DBS-checked volunteers with books and audiobooks.

If memory is the worry

Start with the GP, who can rule out other causes and refer on for a memory assessment. Our guide to the early signs of dementia may help you describe what you have noticed.

There is dementia support in Banstead itself. Banstead Library has a Tovertafel, a table that projects interactive games for people living with dementia, installed with Active Surrey. You can drop in or book a slot. Age Concern Banstead runs one-to-one dementia information appointments and Musical Memories on Thursday afternoons. For specialist advice on the phone, Surrey points families to the Dementia UK Admiral Nurse helpline on 0800 888 6678. Our dementia care page explains how we support someone at home.

What we can offer in Banstead, honestly

We are a small agency with one office, on Lewisham High Street, about 15 miles away. Here is where that leaves us in Banstead:

• Live-in care: yes, anywhere in Banstead. The carer travels once and stays, so distance doesn't affect the care. See live-in care in Banstead.
• Regular visits: only if a carer happens to live within reach of your address. Ask and we'll check, but please don't plan around it until we have said yes.
• First steps: a free assessment at home and a written care plan before anything starts. We give a written quote afterwards; we don't publish prices.

Everything our carers can help with →