Wandsworth · South and south-west London
Home Care in Wandsworth: Visiting Carers at Home
Personal care, medication support and company at home in Battersea, Balham, Tooting and the rest of Wandsworth, with an honest word on which streets a visiting carer can reach from south-east London.
Yes, we provide visiting home care in Wandsworth, and the east of the borough is where it works best: Battersea, Nine Elms, Balham, Tooting and Furzedown. Visits depend on having a carer who can get to you reliably, so we check that before we agree anything. For Putney, Southfields, Roehampton and the western edge, live-in care is usually the dependable option.
Which parts of Wandsworth can a visiting carer reach?
Our office is on Lewisham High Street, in SE13, and we have no base in Wandsworth. That matters for visiting care, because a carer who comes three times a day has to make the journey three times a day. From Lewisham, Clapham Junction and Battersea are roughly 35 to 45 minutes by train with one change. Balham and Tooting take about 45 to 55 minutes via London Bridge and the Northern line. Earlsfield, Southfields and Putney are nearer an hour, and Roehampton, which has no station, is more than an hour by bus.
In Battersea, Nine Elms, Balham, Tooting and Furzedown, regular visits are realistic when we have a carer available. Earlsfield and Putney are case by case. In Roehampton and around Putney Heath, we would normally suggest a live-in carer, who makes the journey once.
What a visit can include
- Personal care: washing, showering, dressing, shaving, continence care and help with the toilet
- Medication support, from prompting to giving medicines as the care plan sets out, with a record kept
- Getting up in the morning and getting settled for the night
- Meals, drinks and keeping an eye on whether food is actually being eaten
- Home help: laundry, light cleaning, shopping and errands
- Companionship, a walk on the common, or a sit-in so a family member can go out
We are CQC-registered for personal care, including dementia, physical disabilities and sensory impairments. We registered in October 2023 and have not yet been inspected, so have no rating. Before anything starts, Jackie, our registered manager, or a member of the team visits for a free assessment and writes a care plan with you.
Terraces, tower blocks and parking permits
The long Victorian and Edwardian streets of Balham, Earlsfield, Tooting and Battersea are full of houses split into flats, with steep internal stairs and small bathrooms up a flight. If someone needs a hoist or help to bathe, we look at the layout at the assessment, and an occupational therapist's view through the council may be needed before the care plan is fixed.
On the Winstanley, York Road and Doddington estates, and in the newer towers at Nine Elms, the question is the lift. A broken lift can stop a visit or a wheelchair user getting out, so tell us at the start if the lift is unreliable.
Then there is parking. Controlled parking zones cover most of the borough, from Battersea and Clapham Junction to Furzedown, Southfields and Roehampton. A carer coming from south-east London will normally travel by train or Tube, but if a carer will drive, the person receiving care usually needs to provide a visitor parking permit. Permits only work in the zone they were issued for, and not on housing estates or private roads.
Being discharged from St George's? If you think you will struggle at home, the council says to talk to the ward's named nurse or discharge co-ordinator, who will refer you to a social worker. Call us while discharge is still being planned so we can say honestly whether we can cover your address and from when. See how our hospital discharge support works.
Leaving hospital in Wandsworth
For most of the borough, hospital means St George's on Blackshaw Road in Tooting, run by St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Roehampton and Putney residents may also use Queen Mary's Hospital on Roehampton Lane, and mental health admissions are at Springfield Hospital in Tooting. All sit within NHS South West London Integrated Care Board.
After a stay, the council may offer free short-term reablement from its own KITE (Keep Independent Through Enablement) service. The council's leaving hospital page says it lasts from a few days to a few weeks and reduces as you regain independence. Ongoing care after that is usually means-tested.
How do I get a care needs assessment from Wandsworth Council?
Contact Wandsworth Adult Social Care through the Access Team on 020 8871 7707, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. You can also make a self-referral, or a referral for someone else, using the council's online referral form. Deaf and hard of hearing people can use the SMS line on 07860 034722. Out of hours, the number is 020 8871 8999.
Wandsworth shares adult social care staff with Richmond upon Thames, so letters may carry both councils' names.
Who pays for home care in Wandsworth?
If the council assesses you as eligible, it then does a financial assessment. Its page on how much you will pay says that with savings over £23,250 you pay the full cost. Below that, it works out a contribution from your income and savings. The council can still arrange home care for self-funders, for a weekly arrangement fee, or you can arrange it directly with a provider such as us.
If you qualify for council support, you can take it as a direct payment and choose who provides your care. Wandsworth names Ruils as its direct payments support service (020 3084 2119). Ruils can explain the paperwork or manage the account for you. We charge after a free assessment, with a written figure, and we don't quote prices over the phone. Our guide to paying for care in London covers NHS Continuing Healthcare and the rest of the detail.
Other help in the borough
Age UK Wandsworth, at 549 Old York Road near Wandsworth Town station, gives information and advice (020 8877 8940). It also runs the Gwynneth Morgan Day Centre on East Hill, which the council commissions for older people, adults with disabilities and people with dementia. A place there needs a council assessment, and days at the centre can be combined with home visits on the other days. Wandsworth Carers' Centre (020 8877 1200) supports family carers.
What we can help with in Wandsworth
- 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 Wandsworth we cover
Care across the borough, including these neighbourhoods. Each has its own page with local detail.
Our services
How we can help in Wandsworth
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Wandsworth FAQs
Home care in Wandsworth: your questions
Questions families ask us about Wandsworth. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionWe live in Roehampton. Can you send a carer twice a day?
Probably not reliably. Roehampton has no station and is more than an hour from our office, so twice-daily visits would be fragile. We will tell you honestly when you call. A live-in carer avoids the problem, because they travel once and then stay in the home.
Mum is in a controlled parking zone in Balham. Does she need a permit for the carer?
Only if the carer drives. Balham is easy to reach without a car, with both the Northern line and Southern trains. If a driving carer is arranged, a visitor permit for her zone is needed, and it won't work in a different zone or on an estate.
Dad is getting KITE reablement after St George's. What happens when it stops?
KITE is short-term and reduces as he gets more independent. If he still needs help afterwards, the council will look at ongoing care, which is usually means-tested. You can also arrange care privately. Talk to us before KITE ends so there is no gap.
Can Wandsworth direct payments be used to pay JNP Sidona?
Direct payments let you choose your own provider, so generally yes, provided the care meets the needs in your support plan. Check with your social worker or Ruils first, then we can set up a written agreement.
My aunt lives in a Nine Elms tower. Is that easier for care than a house?
Often, yes. Lifts and level access make wheelchairs and equipment simpler than in a terrace with steep stairs, and the Northern line extension means a carer can get there by Tube.
Nearby
Other areas near Wandsworth
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