West Kensington · Hammersmith and Fulham
Home Care in West Kensington, W14
Help at home in the mansion blocks and terraced flats between North End Road, Queen's Club and Barons Court, alongside the free home care Hammersmith & Fulham Council provides.
Can we provide home care in West Kensington? Yes, from short morning visits to a carer living in. Our registered manager, Jackie, does a free home assessment first and writes the care plan with you. We travel from Lewisham, and the District line from Victoria makes West Kensington one of the more reachable parts of the borough, but visit times still depend on which carers are free, so ask.
Not quite Kensington
West Kensington is in Hammersmith and Fulham, not Kensington and Chelsea, and that's the council that assesses and arranges care. The old hamlet here was North End, a name that survives in North End Road. Roughly, it runs from Hammersmith Road down to Lillie Road, between Fulham Palace Road and the Earls Court border, with the A4 Talgarth Road cutting across it. North End Road and its street market are the shopping street, and the Queen's Club tennis grounds sit in the middle of the houses.
Mansion flats, conversions and the two estates
Much of the housing is red-brick mansion blocks and Victorian terraces split into flats, on streets such as Gunterstone Road, Palliser Road and Comeragh Road. To the east are the West Kensington and Gibbs Green estates, next to the former Earls Court exhibition land that is being redeveloped.
Each type brings its own checks at the assessment:
- Mansion blocks: is there a lift, does it take a wheelchair or a folded hoist, and how do carers get through the communal door? A key safe usually answers the last one.
- Converted flats: internal stairs, a small bathroom and rarely a spare room. Visiting care fits better than live-in care here.
- Estate flats: lift reliability, and where a carer can park.
Who arranges free home care for someone in West Kensington?
Hammersmith & Fulham Adult Social Care. The council stopped charging for home care in 2015, so care it arranges after an assessment is free to anyone who meets the eligibility criteria. Ring 0800 145 6095 (weekdays, 8.45am to 5pm), use the online form, or ask the GP to refer.
What we charge is set after our own free assessment, in writing. We don't give prices over the phone. Private care can sit on top of the council's for longer or extra visits, companionship, or live-in support. Our Hammersmith and Fulham page has more on direct payments.
North End Road market. For someone who used to do their own shopping on North End Road, going with a carer once a week can matter more than any task on the care plan. Choosing the vegetables, chatting with the stallholders, then home for a cup of tea: that's a companionship visit worth booking.
Stations, buses and parking
West Kensington station is on the District line and Barons Court on both the District and Piccadilly lines. Kensington (Olympia), at the northern edge, is on the Overground. The 28 runs along North End Road past West Kensington station, and the 74 along Lillie Road. Carers who drive park on a resident visitor permit session, booked through RingGo, as the whole area is in controlled parking zones.
Charing Cross Hospital, next door
Charing Cross Hospital on Fulham Palace Road is just west of the area, and it's where most West Kensington residents are admitted and discharged. The council's hospital assessment service for Charing Cross and Hammersmith hospitals can be reached on 020 3311 1844. Let us know as soon as a discharge date is likely so we can assess before the move home. See hospital discharge care.
Nearby help that costs nothing
Greyhound Road, on the Barons Court side, is home to Age UK Hammersmith and Fulham. Its activity centre at number 105 offers classes, lunches and help setting up a Lasting Power of Attorney. Action on Disability gives free benefits advice on PIP, Blue Badges, the Freedom Pass and Taxicard.
Live-in care and respite
Live-in care needs a spare bedroom, which larger mansion flats and whole houses here sometimes have. Where they do, it's the most reliable way to get care every day. If a daughter or husband is doing most of the caring, a short live-in stay lets them have a holiday: see respite care. Carers can ask for their own assessment on 0800 145 6095 or through Carers Network on 020 8960 3033.
- Personal care
- Home help
- Companionship
- Medication support
- Sit-in service
- Dementia care
- Live-in care
- Respite care
- Complex care
- Palliative care
- Hospital discharge
- Nail care
What we can help with in West Kensington
- 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
Elsewhere in Hammersmith and Fulham
Home care pages for other parts of Hammersmith and Fulham:
Our services
How we can help in Hammersmith and Fulham
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Visiting care in Hammersmith and Fulham
Regular visits for personal care, medication, meals and company.
Read more →Live-in care in Hammersmith and Fulham
A carer who lives in, for one person or a couple.
Read more →Respite care in Hammersmith and Fulham
Cover so a family carer can rest, recover or go away.
Read more →Supported living in Hammersmith and Fulham
Our homes in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge.
Read more →West Kensington FAQs
West Kensington: common questions
Questions families ask us about West Kensington. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionMy father's address says W14 Kensington. Which council do we call?
If he's in West Kensington, it's Hammersmith & Fulham, whatever the address says. His council tax bill confirms it. That matters, because H&F's home care is free and Kensington and Chelsea's is means-tested.
Mum lives on the West Kensington estate. Can you work with her council carers?
Yes. We can add visits around the council's ones, for example an afternoon call for company or a trip to the market. Share the council carers' times with us so the two fit together.
The lift in his mansion block is tiny. Will a hoist fit?
Many mobile hoists fold down, but we measure first. If the lift is too small, equipment can sometimes be carried up the stairs, and the occupational therapist at the council assessment can advise on alternatives.
Do you cover Barons Court and the streets by Queen's Club?
Yes. We cover all of W14 in Hammersmith and Fulham, including Barons Court, the Queen's Club streets and down to Lillie Road.
Nearby
Other areas near West Kensington
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