Home Care in Notting Hill, W11

Yes, we provide home care in Notting Hill: visits for washing, dressing, meals and medication, companionship, dementia support, and live-in care where the home has a spare room. Jackie, our registered manager, starts with a free assessment at home and a written care plan. We are based in Lewisham, so visiting times in W11 depend on which carers are available; ring and we will tell you plainly what we can staff.

Stucco, stairs and communal gardens

The pastel terraces off Portobello Road and the white villas around Ladbroke Square, Kensington Park Gardens and Lansdowne Road were built as family houses. Almost all are now flats, and that shapes care more than anything else here. Converted houses rarely have a lift. The upper flats are reached by a long common stair; the garden flats by steps down from the pavement.

When we assess someone in a building like this, we look at the route from the front door to the bed and bathroom as closely as at the person's needs:

• Can a carer get in without the person coming down two flights to open the door? A key safe fixed by the street door usually solves it.
• Will a shower chair, commode or perching stool fit in a bathroom carved out of an old landing?
• If a profiling bed or a hoist is needed later, can it physically come up the stairs? Better to know before it's urgent.

Behind the famous streets there is also council and housing association housing, around Colville, Powis Square and up towards Westbourne Park, where the questions are about the lift and the entry phone. We work in both.

Market days and getting out

Portobello Road and the shops on Westbourne Grove and Notting Hill Gate are on the doorstep, and for someone who has lived here for decades a slow walk to the market with a carer can be the best hour of the week. That is what a companionship visit is for. Carnival weekend in August is the opposite case: streets close, buses divert and some front doors are hard to reach. If you have care with us, we plan visit times for that weekend in advance with you.

How do I get a council care assessment in Notting Hill?

Notting Hill is in the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, which runs adult social care jointly with Westminster. You can request a needs assessment through People First, the two councils' information site, or ring the Social Services Line on 020 7361 3013 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm). A GP or hospital ward can also refer. Our Kensington and Chelsea page covers carers' assessments and direct payments in more detail.

How much does home care cost in Notting Hill?

If the council arranges care, it means-tests what you pay. If health needs are the main issue, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare, which is free when someone qualifies. For our own care, we give a written quote after the free assessment, based on the visits actually needed. More on funding is on our paying for care page.

Stations and buses

Notting Hill Gate is on the Central, District and Circle lines, and the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines stop at Ladbroke Grove and Westbourne Park on the northern side. Buses 27, 28, 31, 52, 70, 94, 148, 328 and 452 stop at Notting Hill Gate, and the 52 runs up Kensington Park Road past Chepstow Villas. From our Lewisham office it is roughly 50 to 65 minutes by train and Tube. On-street parking is for residents with permits, so carers who drive use pay-to-park bays.

Coming home from St Mary's

St Mary's Hospital in Paddington is the nearest A&E and the usual discharge hospital for W11. Short-term reablement after a stay can come through the council's Community Independence Service. If more help is needed once that ends, or alongside it, call us when a discharge date is first mentioned. See hospital discharge care.

Live-in care and breaks for family

A live-in carer needs their own bedroom, which rules out many one-bedroom conversions but not the larger maisonettes and whole houses on the garden squares. Where there's room, live-in care gives continuous support at home. If a husband, wife or daughter is the main carer, we can cover a week or two while they take a break: see respite care.

• Personal care
• Medication support
• Companionship
• Dementia care
• Sit-in service
• Live-in care

What we can help with in Notting Hill

• 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