Home Care in Westbourne Park

Westbourne Park straddles the borough line. On the Westminster side this is the longest trip for our carers, so we only offer regular calls when someone on the team can make them reliably, and we'll say so straight. On the Kensington and Chelsea side, visits are possible in parts, depending on carer availability. Live-in care isn't affected by distance and is available on both sides. Whichever you're considering, Jackie, our registered manager, visits the home first at no cost.

How far we travel to Westbourne Park

For an 8am start, TfL's planner puts the Westbourne Park Road area at 66 to 68 minutes from our office: a Southeastern train to London Bridge, the Jubilee line to Baker Street, the Bakerloo to Warwick Avenue, then a walk or the 6 bus. That's workable for a single daily visit. Several short calls a day are much harder to staff reliably at that distance, so we only agree a pattern once a named carer can keep it.

Which council covers Westbourne Park?

Two councils do, and the line is closer than most people expect. Under a 1993 boundary order, the border follows the Grand Union Canal and the western side of Great Western Road. The Brunel Estate, Westbourne Park Villas and the streets around Porchester Road are in Westminster, mostly in its Westbourne ward. West of the line is Kensington and Chelsea, and Westbourne Park station itself and Meanwhile Gardens by the canal are on that side.

A needs assessment comes from whichever council the person pays council tax to. Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea pool their adult social care into one service and one website, People First, yet each still handles its own residents:

• Westminster: the adult social care referral form, or 020 7641 2500.
• Kensington and Chelsea: People First's Kensington and Chelsea assessment page, or 020 7361 3013.

When in doubt, look at the council tax bill.

Estates, conversions and a high level of need

The Census paints a very different picture from Mayfair or Belgravia. Social landlords housed 55% of Westbourne ward's households in 2021, and 84% of homes were in purpose-built blocks. Next door, Harrow Road ward had more converted-house flats than anywhere else in Westminster, at 41%. Between them, the two wards counted 525 residents caring unpaid for 50 hours a week or more, and in Westbourne ward nearly one person in ten was limited a lot in daily life by disability.

Much of the Westminster side was rebuilt in the 1970s. The Brunel Estate covers about ten acres, with the Keyham House tower and low-rise blocks around a landscaped park added to the national Register of Historic Parks and Gardens in 2020. Westmead was finished in 1974 and the Wessex Gardens Estate in 1978. Between them are surviving Victorian streets such as Westbourne Park Villas, many of the houses now flats.

That means two different sets of questions at the assessment. On the estates: does the lift work, how do carers get through the entry door, and is there a plan if the lift is out? In the Victorian conversions: how many stairs, how narrow is the bathroom, and can a shower seat or rails make washing safe?

Memory problems: help close at hand

The Memory and Dementia Resource Centre at 42 Westbourne Park Road houses the Westminster Memory Service (020 3317 3666), the Admiral Nurses who support family carers (020 3317 3667), and the Westbourne Park Dementia Day Centre (020 3905 6982). The GP refers to the memory service. Day centre places often follow a council assessment, so ask about it when you request one. A carer can take someone to appointments or to the day centre if it's in the plan. See our dementia care page.

The North Westminster Community Mental Health Hub is also nearby, at 7a Woodfield Road, and Carers Network, the carers' charity for Westminster and Kensington and Chelsea, is based at the Beethoven Centre on Third Avenue, a short ride north (020 8960 3033).

Buses, and parking on both sides

Westbourne Park and Royal Oak stations are on the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines. The 7 bus stops by the Brunel Estate on its way to Queensway, Paddington, St Mary's Hospital and Oxford Street. The 23 runs from Great Western Road to Paddington and St Mary's, and the 36 from the Harrow Road past Royal Oak to Paddington and on through Victoria and Pimlico towards south-east London.

On the Westminster side visitors pay at time-limited bays, and the council issues no visitor permits. On the Kensington and Chelsea side, residents' bays are for residents, so carers and relatives also rely on paid bays there.

St Mary's and coming home

Patients from here are usually treated at St Mary's on Praed Street. Before discharge, check whether the Community Independence Service is lined up; in Westminster it offers up to six weeks' free help at home. Tell us as soon as the ward raises a date, so Jackie can visit before it's fixed. Our leaving hospital page explains more.

Live-in care and breaks for carers

As regular visits here hinge on our rota, a resident carer is often the steadier choice for someone who needs a lot of help, if there's a spare room. In Westbourne ward only a quarter of households had one in 2021, so check early. A family carer who's running on empty can look at respite, such as a week or two of live-in cover. Jackie confirms any private cost in writing after her visit.

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