Kingston upon Thames · South and south-west London
Home Care in Kingston upon Thames
Visiting care for washing, dressing, medication and meals in the Royal Borough of Kingston, from Surbiton and Norbiton out to the Maldens, Tolworth and Chessington, with an honest word on how far we travel.
Yes, we provide home care in Kingston upon Thames, but how we provide it depends on where you live and which carers we have free. Visiting care in Kingston depends on carer availability, so call and we will tell you straight whether we can cover your street and your times. Live-in care we can arrange anywhere in the borough. Either way it starts with a free home assessment by Jackie, our registered manager, and a written care plan.
Can a visiting carer reach Kingston from Lewisham?
Our only office is on Lewisham High Street, SE13. Kingston is at the opposite corner of London: a train into Waterloo, then South Western Railway out to Surbiton, Kingston or New Malden, which takes roughly 65 to 80 minutes door to door and longer for Chessington or Hook. We have no local office or team base in the borough, and we won't pretend otherwise.
That matters for short visits. A morning call to help someone wash and dress only works if a carer lives near enough to arrive on time every day, not just on good days. So before we agree to a visiting package here we check who we actually have nearby. Where we can't staff it reliably we will say so, and we will talk to you about live-in care in Kingston, which doesn't depend on the commute at all.
What a visiting carer does in the time they are there
- Personal care: getting up, washing or showering, dressing, continence care and getting ready for bed
- Medication support: prompting, assisting and recording what has been taken
- Breakfast, a hot lunch or an evening meal, and making sure there is a drink in reach
- Home help: laundry, changing beds, light housework and a tidy kitchen
- Companionship, a walk to the shops, or a sit-in while a family carer goes out
We also support people living with dementia, physical disabilities and sensory impairments, which are among our registered specialisms with the CQC. Our dementia care page explains how we work.
Upstairs flats in Surbiton, semis in Tolworth: how the house changes the care
Kingston's housing splits roughly in two. Around Kingston town centre, Norbiton and Surbiton there are Victorian and Edwardian villas and terraces, and a great many of the villas have been split into flats with a shared staircase and no lift. An upper-floor conversion is the hardest kind of home in the borough for a hoist, a bath adaptation or simply getting a wheelchair in and out.
Further south and east, in Berrylands, Tolworth, New Malden, Old Malden, Hook and Chessington, the streets are mostly 1920s and 1930s semis and short terraces. These usually have space for a stairlift, a bed downstairs or a level-access shower if the stairs become too much. In Coombe the houses are larger, often on private roads. Norbiton also has council blocks, including the Cambridge Road Estate, which is being regenerated. If the person's home is about to change, tell us at the assessment so the care plan allows for the move.
Parking for carers in Kingston's controlled zones
Most suburban streets in Tolworth, Chessington and the Maldens are uncontrolled. The town centre (Zone A/A1) and the streets around several stations are not. If you need regular care and live in a controlled zone, Kingston Council sells a carer permit so that a carer can park outside your home in zones A, B, C, G, H, N, R, S, T and V. Households can also buy visitor vouchers by the hour or day, though not in every zone. Sort this out before care starts, so nobody is left waiting while a carer looks for a space.
Coming home from Kingston Hospital? Ask the ward about the council's free reablement service, which can give up to 28 hours of short-term care at home with Your Healthcare. If the person is over 65 and lives alone, Staywell's Home from Hospital service (020 8942 8256) can help in the first weeks. Call us early, while discharge is still being planned, so we can tell you honestly what we can staff. Read about our hospital discharge support.
How do I get a care needs assessment from Kingston Council?
Adult Social Care at the Royal Borough of Kingston works from Guildhall 2 in Kingston. The council suggests checking the eligibility criteria and answering a short set of online questions first, then using its care needs assessment form. You can also phone 020 8547 5005 or email adults@kingston.gov.uk. Once a care plan is agreed, a financial assessment works out what the person pays towards it.
A needs assessment is free and worth having even if you expect to pay for care yourself. It records what help is needed, and it can lead to equipment and occupational therapy advice as well as funded care.
How much does home care cost in Kingston upon Thames?
We don't quote figures over the phone. After the free assessment we give you a written price based on how many visits are needed, when, and what happens during them.
If Kingston Council agrees you are eligible, it means-tests the person's income and savings. Its paying for social care pages include estimators for your likely contribution. Council funding can be taken as a direct payment and spent on an agency of your choice; Kingston Centre for Independent Living (020 8546 9603) runs a brokerage service that helps people organise care this way. Where someone's needs are mainly health needs, NHS Continuing Healthcare may pay instead, assessed in Kingston through NHS South West London Integrated Care Board. Our guide to paying for care in London sets out each route.
Neighbourhoods and postcodes we cover
We cover the whole borough: Kingston town centre, Norbiton and Kingston Hill, Surbiton, Berrylands, Tolworth, Hook, Chessington, New Malden, Old Malden, Coombe and Kingston Vale, across KT1 to KT6, KT9 and the Kingston edges of SW15 and SW20. Surbiton is usually the easiest part of the borough for us to reach by rail, with fast trains from Waterloo. Hook and Coombe have no station, and Chessington is the furthest point from our office, so those areas lean towards live-in care.
Between visits, Staywell's day centres and the dementia-friendly groups listed on Connected Kingston can fill the day.
What we can help with in Kingston upon Thames
- 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
Areas of Kingston upon Thames we cover
Care across the borough, including these neighbourhoods. Each has its own page with local detail.
Our services
How we can help in Kingston upon Thames
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Kingston upon Thames FAQs
Kingston home care: questions we get asked
Questions families ask us about Kingston upon Thames. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionMum lives on the top floor of a converted villa in Surbiton. Can visiting care still work?
Often it can, with the right equipment and a realistic plan for the stairs. At the assessment we look at the stairs, the bathroom and how a carer gets in. If she can no longer manage the stairs safely, we will say so and talk through the options, including an occupational therapy assessment from the council.
Do we need a carer permit for visits in central Kingston?
If you live in one of the controlled zones the permit covers and care is regular, it usually helps. The permit is bought by the resident who needs the care, through Kingston Council's parking pages. In uncontrolled streets in Tolworth, Chessington or the Maldens it is rarely needed.
Dad has been offered reablement after Kingston Hospital. Do we still need an agency?
Not during reablement, which is free and short-term. Ongoing care afterwards is means-tested. Call us before reablement ends, so there is no gap if he still needs help.
My parents live in New Malden and speak Korean at home. Can you find a carer who speaks Korean?
We can't promise it. Tell us at the assessment about language, food and faith, and we will be honest about whether we can match them. If not, we will talk about what would help a carer communicate well with them.
Is your supported living home in Kingston the same as home care?
No. Our Kingston supported living home is a place to live with support, for permanent or respite stays. Home care comes to the person's own home.
Nearby
Other areas near Kingston upon Thames
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Looking for care in Kingston upon Thames?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.