Home Care in Old Bexley and Bexley Village, DA5

Three kinds of house in one small place

Old Bexley packs a lot of housing history into DA5, and each kind raises different questions for care at home.

• The village centre. The High Street and the streets round St Mary's Church form the Old Bexley Conservation Area. Older cottages here can have steep, narrow or winding stairs and small rooms. Equipment has to be chosen to fit, and some changes to the outside of a building in a conservation area may need the council's agreement.
• The Victorian estate. Around Parkhurst Road and Knoll Road is an 1880s commuter estate. Taller houses, higher ceilings, often a longer staircase.
• The 1930s estates. Semis, including council-built streets north of Bourne Road, with the familiar Bexley layout of a straight flight and the bathroom upstairs.

In all three, the council's occupational therapists, reached through 020 8303 7777, can assess for rails, commodes, bath equipment and, where needed, a stairlift.

The station with lifts

Bexley station, on the Sidcup line, has step-free access to all platforms, with lifts. Of the eleven stations wholly inside the borough, National Rail rates only Bexley and Bexleyheath as fully step-free; Abbey Wood, on the Greenwich border, also has lifts. For anyone using a wheelchair or a walking frame who still likes to travel, Old Bexley is the easiest place in Bexley to catch a train. A carer can go with them.

For our carers, Sidcup-line trains run through Hither Green, and some call at Lewisham, which puts Old Bexley in the part of the borough we reach well. Whether we can staff your particular times is something we confirm before anything is agreed.

Buses from the village

Several routes stop by Bexley station and Bexley Library on the edge of the village:

• The 229 and 269 run south to Sidcup and Queen Mary's Hospital, for outpatient clinics and urgent care, and north to Bexleyheath.
• The 492 runs to Bexleyheath one way and Sidcup the other, and the B12 to Bexleyheath and on to Erith.
• The 132 runs west along Blackfen Road towards Eltham.

For an admission, the hospital is likely to be Darent Valley in Dartford or Queen Elizabeth in Woolwich. Either way, Bexley Council is responsible for care at home afterwards. Ask the ward whether Bexley's reablement service, up to six weeks of free support, is being referred.

Parking round the High Street

The Bexley Village controlled zone, H, runs for just one hour, 10am to 11am, Monday to Friday. That covers the High Street and the roads round the station. A carer visiting outside that hour does not need a permit, and a carer during it can use the council's social care permit in resident and pay bays. Families who live in the zone can order visitor scratch cards from the council.

Asking Bexley Council for help

Old Bexley addresses often read "Bexley, Kent", but the council is the London Borough of Bexley. Ring adult social care on 020 8303 7777 or use the online self-assessment. Bexley Village Community Library is community-run; for library help with the form, the council lists its own branches, and Sidcup and Central Library in Bexleyheath are nearest. A OneBexley charity can do the assessment instead, through BVSC on 020 4530 6580.

If needs are eligible, a financial assessment follows, and the council's contribution can come as a direct payment to use with a registered agency like us. We give a written quote after a free home visit. Our Bexley home care guide explains the rest.

Getting out: Hall Place and the river

Hall Place, a historic house with gardens on Bourne Road (DA5 1PQ), is a short walk from the village. With the Cray running past the High Street, there are level walks close to home. A companionship visit can be a walk by the river, a coffee on the High Street or help to get to the Sunday service at St Mary's.

When someone needs help through the day and night, see live-in care in Old Bexley.

Everything our carers can help with →