Live-in Care in Banstead

Yes, we arrange live-in care across Banstead, Nork, Woodmansterne and the villages nearby. The carer takes the spare room and covers the day: getting up and dressed, cooking, prompting tablets, conversation, a walk when the weather allows. Their rest periods and days off are set down in the care plan. Before any of that, Jackie, our registered manager, usually comes to the house for a free assessment. We are based in Lewisham, and with live-in care that makes no difference to what happens day to day.

Banstead has a lot of care homes. Why stay at home?

If a care home has been mentioned, you will find plenty nearby. Surrey County Council's October 2025 planning profile counts 1,111 nursing home beds and 691 residential beds in Reigate and Banstead. That is about 73 nursing beds for every 1,000 people aged 75 or over, close to twice the England rate of 38. The profile also notes that new care home building here is likely to draw in residents from other areas.

Having lots of beds nearby doesn't make a move the right answer. Someone attached to their own garden, their routine and the neighbours over the fence can often stay put with a carer living in. A care home is sometimes the safer choice, and we'll say so if we think it is. Our comparison of live-in care and care homes sets out the differences in plain terms.

There is a middle option too. Banstead Place (SM7 3EE) is a private extra care housing scheme of 54 flats, where people live in their own flat with care available on site. Surrey also has plans for affordable extra care housing on the former Bentley Day Centre site in Banstead. In January 2026 its Cabinet agreed the long lease that scheme needs, with the detailed design still to go to planning.

Will your house take a live-in carer?

Think about it from the carer's side: a room they can shut the door on, a drawer and a hanging rail, a shelf in the fridge and a bathroom they can use. A three-bedroom house can usually manage this, even after the person being cared for has moved downstairs. These are the questions we look at during the assessment:

• Is there a spare room that can stay a bedroom? A box room can work if a single bed, storage and a window fit.
• Where is the bathroom? In many older houses it is upstairs only. A stairlift, a commode or a downstairs wet room may come first.
• Is there floor space for equipment? A hoist or a hospital bed needs room on both sides.
• Is it a one-bedroom bungalow or flat? Then live-in care usually isn't possible unless another room, such as a dining room, can become a proper bedroom.

If the home doesn't work, we'll tell you at the assessment rather than after a placement has started. Surrey's occupational therapists assess for equipment, and a Disabled Facilities Grant from the borough council can pay for bigger adaptations.

Couples, and one partner caring for the other

At the 2021 Census, 25% of residents in the Banstead Village ward were 65 or over, well above the England figure of 19%. Where both partners are older and one is struggling, the same live-in carer can look after both of them, and the care plan sets out each person's needs separately. It also takes some of the weight off a partner who has been coping alone.

If either partner needs two people for a task, such as some hoist transfers, one live-in carer won't be enough on their own. We'll plan for that openly, and it affects the quote.

How carers reach Banstead for a changeover

Changeover days are the only days the carer's journey really matters, which is a handful of times a month. Banstead is better connected than it looks:

• Banstead station is in London fare zone 6. Southern trains run direct to London Victoria via Sutton in just under an hour, according to TfL's journey planner.
• From the Croydon side, the 166 bus runs from West Croydon through Purley and Banstead to Epsom Hospital.
• Woodmansterne station, on the Tattenham Corner line to London Bridge, can be handier for homes on the Woodmansterne side.
• The S1 bus links Banstead High Street with Sutton, which has more frequent trains in several directions.

Some roads in Nork are a long walk from either station with a suitcase, so we plan the first arrival with you. If one carer drives, check whether your road has resident permit bays. Surrey sells visitor permits to each household for those streets.

Working alongside Banstead's GPs and community nurses

A live-in carer handles day-to-day care. Nursing tasks, such as wound dressings or injections, stay with the NHS. In Banstead, district nursing for Tattenham and Banstead is run by Surrey Downs Health and Care, a partnership that includes Epsom and St Helier University Hospitals NHS Trust. The carer works alongside the nurses, keeps notes they can read, and tells the family and the GP when something changes.

When a person is nearing the end of life and wants to be cared for at home until then, the GP or district nurse can tell you which hospice team covers your address. Princess Alice Hospice already runs a monthly Bereavement Café in Banstead with Age Concern Banstead, at the community centre on Bolters Lane. Our palliative care page covers what that looks like with a carer living in.

Paying for live-in care in Banstead

Surrey first assesses what help is needed and then looks at income and savings to decide whether it contributes. If it does, the money can come as a direct payment. Surrey pays this monthly in advance into a prepaid account with a card, and checks the spending about every three months, usually online. Surrey Independent Living Charity (SILC) helps people manage a direct payment and arrange their support.

Two other sources are worth checking. When someone's needs are primarily about their health, the NHS may fund all of it through Continuing Healthcare; our Continuing Healthcare guide explains the checklist. And Attendance Allowance isn't means-tested; see our Attendance Allowance guide. Our prices aren't on the website. You get a written quote once we have met, and it reflects how much help is needed and whether two people share the carer. Our live-in care costs guide explains what drives the price.

The carer's daily break, and getting out together

The care plan fixes a daily break for the carer, and it needs to be a real one. In Banstead the carer can walk on Banstead Downs or in Nork Park, or go up the High Street. When the person being cared for is up to it, the same places make good outings.

The carer can also take them to a weekday lunch at the Banstead Community Centre, or to Age Concern Banstead's Musical Memories group on a Thursday afternoon. Banstead Library, at The Horseshoe, has a Tovertafel games table for people living with dementia, which can be used on a drop-in basis or booked.

How live-in care works →