Home Care in Kensington and Chelsea

Yes, we provide visiting home care in Kensington and Chelsea, but our office is in Lewisham, so whether we can staff regular visits depends on where you live in the borough and which carers are free. The south of the borough, along the District and Circle lines from Victoria, is the most realistic for us. Call us, tell us the address and the times you need, and we'll give you a straight answer before anything is arranged.

Can a carer get from Lewisham to Kensington and Chelsea?

For some addresses, yes. A carer leaving our office on Lewisham High Street can reach Sloane Square, South Kensington or Earl's Court in roughly 40 to 50 minutes, on Southeastern to Victoria and then the District or Circle line. Notting Hill and North Kensington take longer, roughly 50 to 65 minutes, changing at London Bridge or Cannon Street. That's a long way to come for a short morning call, so we'll only agree to a visiting rota we're confident we can keep.

Two things make it harder than the map suggests. First, much of Chelsea south of the King's Road, and the World's End end of it, is a 15 to 20 minute walk from any Tube station, so carers rely on the 11, 19, 22, 49, 211 and 328 buses. Second, driving barely helps. On-street parking in the borough is residents-only in permit bays, the council says it can't issue permits to businesses or visitors, and the whole borough sits inside the ULEZ. A carer who drives ends up in pay-to-park bays, if one is free.

Where visits can't be covered reliably, especially in the far north of the borough or at World's End, live-in care is usually the steadier answer, because the carer travels in once and then lives with you.

What a visit can include

• Personal care
• Medication support
• Home help
• Companionship
• Sit-in service
• Dementia care

Visits cover washing, dressing and continence care, prompting or helping with tablets and recording them, a cooked meal, light housework and laundry, and someone to talk to. Every package starts with a free home assessment, usually with Jackie, our registered manager, and a written care plan that says what happens at each visit.

Area steps, narrow stairs and small bathrooms

Most older residents of this densely built borough live in flats, and that shapes personal care.

• Converted stucco houses in South Kensington, Chelsea and Notting Hill often put an older person on an upper floor with a narrow common stair and no lift, or in a basement flat reached down area steps. Getting out to an appointment can need two people or a plan.
• Mansion blocks around Kensington and Earl's Court usually have lifts, but some are too small for a wheelchair, and bathrooms tend to be compact, with a bath and no level-access shower.
• Estate flats in North Kensington (Lancaster West, Silchester, the blocks around Trellick Tower) and at World's End depend on the lift. When it breaks down, someone upstairs can be stuck.

If bathing has become unsafe, or a profiling bed or hoist is needed, ask Adult Social Care about an occupational therapy assessment. We'll fit the care plan around whatever equipment can actually be got into the flat.

Coming home from Chelsea and Westminster or St Mary's

Residents in the south of the borough, including Chelsea, South Kensington and Earl's Court, are mostly discharged from Chelsea and Westminster Hospital on the Fulham Road. In the north, Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove and North Kensington, the nearest A&E is St Mary's in Paddington, run by Imperial College Healthcare. Some people on the western edge are treated at Charing Cross.

Short-term reablement after a hospital stay runs through the joint Community Independence Service, which Adult Social Care runs with Central London Community Healthcare. If that ends and longer-term help is still needed, that's where we may come in. Tell us while the discharge is still being planned so we can say honestly whether we can cover it. Our hospital discharge support page explains how it works.

Asking the council for a needs assessment

Adult social care in the Royal Borough is run jointly with Westminster City Council, and the official information site for both is People First, where you can request an assessment for Kensington and Chelsea online. You can also phone the Social Services Line on 020 7361 3013 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm). The Adult Social Care team is based at the Town Hall on Hornton Street, W8. Out of hours, for an emergency, the number is 020 7373 2227.

An assessment looks at what the person can and can't manage, and whether they meet the eligibility criteria. If they do, a financial assessment follows. A council-funded package can be taken as a direct payment, and the bi-borough councils support a Virtual Wallet account for managing it online, which lets you choose a registered agency such as us.

How much does home care cost in Kensington and Chelsea?

We don't quote prices over the phone. After the free assessment we give you a written figure based on how many visits are needed, how long each one is, and what they involve. If the council is funding care, what you pay depends on its means test. If the main need is health-related, ask the GP or hospital team whether NHS Continuing Healthcare should be considered. Our guide to paying for care in London sets out the funding routes.

Where in the borough we can cover

We take enquiries from across the Royal Borough, from Chelsea and World's End by the river, through South Kensington, Earl's Court and Kensington around the High Street, to Holland Park, Notting Hill, Ladbroke Grove and North Kensington up to Kensal. That's W8, W10, W11, SW3, SW5, SW7 and SW10, plus parts of W14, W2 and SW1X. Visiting care is likeliest to work near Sloane Square, South Kensington, Gloucester Road and Earl's Court. Further north, ask us and we'll tell you honestly.

Alongside paid care, Age UK Kensington & Chelsea, at Thorpe Close under the Westway, offers advice, befriending, escorting and foot care, and runs its own home care service. It's worth asking both of us. For anyone affected by the Grenfell Tower fire, People First lists dedicated support services.

What we can help with in Kensington and Chelsea

• 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