Home Care in Earlsfield (SW18 and SW17)

Yes, we arrange home care in Earlsfield. Live-in care can start anywhere in SW18 and SW17; regular visits depend on whether we have a carer close enough at the times you need, so we check that with you first. Everything begins with a free assessment in the home and a written care plan.

A valley of terraces

Earlsfield follows the River Wandle, which runs roughly parallel to Garratt Lane on its way down to the Thames. The station opened in 1884, and most of the houses on the side streets went up in the decades after it: long rows of late-Victorian and Edwardian terraces, climbing away from Garratt Lane towards Wandsworth Common on one side and Southfields on the other. Newer blocks of flats have been built along Garratt Lane itself.

The houses are handsome, but they are narrow. For care, the details that come up again and again in a terrace like this are:

• The hall. A front door that opens straight onto a narrow hall and the foot of the stairs leaves little room to turn a wheelchair or a walking frame.
• The stairs. Straight and steep in most houses, which is good news for a stairlift and bad news for anyone climbing them unaided at night.
• The bathroom. Often upstairs at the back, sometimes reached through another room. Getting someone safely in and out of a bath is one of the first things we plan for.
• Converted flats. Many houses are now split into an upstairs and a downstairs flat. An upper flat with its own internal staircase can make hoists and bathing harder still.

None of this rules out care at home. It does mean the assessment looks at the building as closely as at the person, and that we may suggest asking Wandsworth Council's occupational therapy service about equipment before care starts.

Two hospitals within walking distance

Earlsfield sits unusually close to the borough's two main hospitals. St George's in Tooting is the acute hospital most Wandsworth residents are discharged from, and Springfield Hospital, the mental health hospital off Glenburnie Road, is about twenty minutes' walk from Earlsfield station.

The 44, 77 and 270 all stop at Fairlight Road, beside St George's, and run straight down Garratt Lane to Earlsfield station, so a carer can travel home with someone after an outpatient appointment without a change. The 270 also runs the other way, to Wandsworth and Putney Bridge. If your relative will need more help than the council's short-term KITE reablement, call us before the discharge date is fixed so we can tell you honestly whether we can cover it. Our hospital discharge care page explains how we work alongside the ward.

For day-to-day health care, Brocklebank Health Centre at 233 Garratt Lane is one of the NHS surgeries in the area, listed on the NHS website. A carer can collect prescriptions, prompt or give medication as set out in the care plan, and go with someone to appointments.

How do I get a care assessment for someone in Earlsfield?

Earlsfield is in the London Borough of Wandsworth, so the council's Adult Social Care Access Team is the starting point. You can make a self-referral or refer a relative through the online referral form, or phone 020 8871 7707 on weekdays between 9am and 5pm. Out of hours, the number is 020 8871 8999. If the council funds care, you can take the budget as a direct payment and choose your own agency; Ruils supports Wandsworth residents who do that. If you are paying privately, call us directly. The borough-wide picture is on our home care in Wandsworth page.

Live-in care in an Earlsfield terrace

A three-bedroom terrace usually has the spare room a live-in carer needs; a converted flat often does not. If there is a room, one live-in carer can cover the whole day, including help on the stairs at night, when a steep staircase is at its most risky for someone unsteady or half-awake.

A break for the family carer

A husband, wife or grown-up child who does most of the caring is entitled to ask Wandsworth for a carer's assessment. We can also cover a week or two of respite care at home, with visits or a live-in carer, while they rest or go away.

Care we can arrange in Earlsfield

• Personal care
• Medication support
• Live-in care
• Hospital discharge
• Home help
• Companionship
• Sit-in service
• Respite care
• Dementia care
• Complex care
• Palliative care

What we can help with in Earlsfield

• Personal care, washing and dressing
• Medication prompting and support
• Meals, laundry and home help
• Companionship and getting out
• Dementia care at home
• Support after a hospital stay
• Short breaks for family carers
• Live-in care when needs grow