Home Care in Wimbledon Town Centre

Yes, we provide home care in Wimbledon. Visiting care is possible here because the town centre is one of the easiest parts of Merton to reach from our Lewisham office, but it depends on which carers we have free, so we check before we agree to anything. Live-in care is available too, and every arrangement starts with a free home assessment by Jackie, our registered manager, followed by a written care plan.

Around the Broadway: what the homes are like

Wimbledon town centre spreads out from the Broadway and the station. On the roads either side of the Broadway the houses are mostly Victorian and Edwardian terraces and semis. Close to the station there are purpose-built flats and newer apartment blocks, some of them with lifts.

That split shapes the care plan. A flat with a lift and a level-access shower is often the easier home to care in: a carer can help with a morning wash, get someone out to the shops on the Broadway and be back up in minutes. A terrace with the only bathroom upstairs is a different job. At the assessment Jackie looks at the stairs, the bathroom, and whether the council's occupational therapists should be asked about equipment.

Can I get a visiting carer in Wimbledon?

Often, yes. Wimbledon station has South Western Railway, Thameslink, the District line and Tramlink. From Lewisham High Street the journey takes roughly 45 to 55 minutes by public transport, which makes regular visits workable when we have a carer on that route. If we can't cover the times you need, we will tell you plainly.

A visiting carer can help with:

• personal care: washing, dressing, continence care and getting ready for bed;
• medication support and reminders;
• home help: meals, laundry and light housework;
• companionship, including a walk to the shops on the Broadway;
• a sit-in so a husband, wife or daughter can go out.

Parking for carers near the station

Almost every street near the centre is inside a controlled parking zone. The council lists the Wimbledon Town Centre zones as W1 to W7, H1 to H3 and several others, so a carer who drives needs a visitor permit from you. If the person receiving care is housebound or has a Blue Badge, Merton sells an annual carer parking permit for a £10 administrative fee, which saves using up visitor permits.

Coming home from St George's

Most Wimbledon residents who need a hospital stay go to St George's in Tooting, run by St George's University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. The 57, 131 and 219 buses all run from Wimbledon station through South Wimbledon and Colliers Wood to Tooting Broadway.

When discharge is being planned, ask the ward whether the council's Hospital to Home Team will be involved; Merton describes it on its help leaving hospital page as offering short-term care and reablement. If you want care from us to follow on, call us while the date is still being set. See hospital discharge care.

Who pays for home care in Wimbledon?

Wimbledon is in the London Borough of Merton. The council has no online form for a needs assessment: you contact its Adult Social Care First Response Team on 020 8545 4388 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) or by email at ASCFirstResponse@merton.gov.uk. If the council agrees you have eligible needs, a financial assessment decides how much you contribute. You can take the council's share as direct payments and use it to pay an agency such as ours. Our Merton home care page covers this and NHS Continuing Healthcare in more detail. We set our own fees after the free assessment and confirm them in writing.

Live-in care and respite

For live-in care the carer needs their own bedroom. That rules out some one-bedroom flats near the station, but many terraces and semis have the space.

Family carers can ask for a carer's assessment through Carers First Merton on 0300 303 1555. A short live-in stay or a few regular visits can then give them a proper break. The Wimbledon Guild (020 8946 0735), a long-standing local charity, runs befriending, activities and its HomeFood Café, which can sit well alongside care at home.

Care we provide in Wimbledon

• Personal care
• Medication support
• Live-in care
• Dementia care
• Respite care
• Hospital discharge
• Complex care
• Palliative care

What we can help with in Wimbledon

• 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