Live-in care and home care in Wantage

A Day and Nightcare carer with an older person at home in Wantage

Care at home in Wantage

Live-in care: a carer living in your home, day and night, from £1,550 a week.
Home care visits: from one hour to several hours, at times that suit you.
Night care: waking nights and sleep-ins, and 24-hour care.
Care after hospital, dementia care, end-of-life care and respite.

How we arrange care in Wantage

In Wantage, Grove and the villages around them, Day and Nightcare provides home care visits from one hour, waking nights, sleep-ins, 24-hour care and fully managed live-in care from £1,550 a week. Care starts with a free assessment, a written quote and a written care plan. A relief carer covers a live-in carer’s holidays and time off, and a manager is on call.

Care can be paid for privately, by Oxfordshire County Council (including direct payments) or by NHS Continuing Healthcare. We have provided Discharge to Assess (D2A) care since 2014. If someone is coming home from hospital, tell us the expected discharge date. Our care team is on 01865 715780.

Arranging care and funding in Wantage

Adult social care for Wantage and Grove is run by Oxfordshire County Council. To ask for a care needs assessment, call the Social and Health Care team on 01865 519800 (Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm, Friday 8.30am to 4pm) or use the council’s online form; someone else can ask on your behalf. For urgent emergencies out of hours, the Emergency Duty Team is on 0800 833 408.

Read more: arranging care and funding in Wantage

A free financial assessment follows if you are eligible: above £23,250 in savings and investments you would usually pay the full cost, and your home is not counted for care at home. See council funding for care. Family carers can ask Carers Oxfordshire’s CarersLine (01235 424715, Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) for a carer’s assessment, which is free.

The Vale of White Horse District Council collects council tax. It does not count someone who is severely mentally impaired, or a carer looking after a disabled person who is not their spouse, partner or child under 18. Its reduction for disabilities scheme bills a home one band lower if it has a room, extra bathroom or kitchen, or wheelchair space needed by a disabled resident. You apply for each, online or on a paper form from the council. See council tax discounts for care.

Urgent care and leaving hospital in Wantage

Minor injuries: Wantage has no minor injuries unit. The nearest is at Abingdon Community Hospital, Marcham Road, open every day from 10am to 10.30pm, with no referral needed, for injuries from the last seven days. It is not an A&E.
A&E: the Emergency Department at the John Radcliffe Hospital in Headington, Oxford, is open 24 hours.

Wantage Hospital on Garston Lane has not admitted inpatients since July 2016. Its page now lists clinics only, such as physiotherapy, podiatry, eye and hearing clinics, mental health services and a midwife-led unit.

Oxford University Hospitals starts planning discharge when someone is admitted, and families arrange transport home unless the patient meets strict medical criteria for hospital transport. A community hospital bed for rehabilitation, if needed, is the first one available, so it will be outside Wantage.

Back home, Home First Oxfordshire’s reablement is free short-term help to regain independence, arranged by a professional. If needs are mainly health needs, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare: NHS Thames Valley ICB’s Oxfordshire adults team is on 0118 982 2900.

Local help in Wantage

Carers' services, dementia support, transport, befriending and other local help, with phone numbers.

What may change soon

On 29 October 2026 the Government said it is minded to replace Oxfordshire’s councils with three unitary councils from 1 April 2029, with most of the Vale joining South Oxfordshire and West Berkshire in a new Ridgeway Council. This is proposed, not confirmed. Until then, the county council arranges adult social care and the Vale collects council tax.

Useful contacts in Wantage

Hospitals, local support and council services near Wantage, with links to their official pages. Open any heading for the details.

Hospitals near Wantage

If someone is coming home from hospital, tell us the expected discharge date as early as you can, and we will work with you and the discharge team on when care can start.

Wantage Hospital (Wantage Community Hospital): community hospital
Abingdon Community Hospital (Minor Injuries Unit): community hospital
John Radcliffe Hospital: acute hospital

Local support and charities

Wantage Community Support Service: Day service
October Club: Dementia support
Grove Day Centre for the Elderly: Day opportunities
Vale Community Impact (volunteer drivers): Community transport
Wantage Footcare Clinic (Age UK Oxfordshire): Age UK
Wantage Town Council - care and support page: Town council

Council tax and adult social care

Wantage is in Vale of White Horse District Council, which handles council tax, including discounts for people with a severe mental impairment, for disabled people and for some carers. Adult social care is arranged by Oxfordshire County Council. See live-in care in Oxfordshire for county-wide funding and NHS information.

Villages we visit near Wantage

Grove
East Challow
Letcombe Regis
Letcombe Bassett
East Hendred
West Hendred
Ardington

Questions about care in Wantage

Does Wantage Hospital have beds or a minor injuries unit?

No. Oxford Health has not admitted inpatients at Wantage Hospital since July 2016, and its page today lists clinics only, including physiotherapy, podiatry, eye and hearing clinics, mental health services and a midwife-led unit. It has no minor injuries unit or A&E. The nearest minor injuries unit is at Abingdon Community Hospital, open daily 10am to 10.30pm, and the nearest A&E is the John Radcliffe in Oxford.

Who do I call in Wantage to ask for a care assessment?

Call Oxfordshire County Council's Social and Health Care team on 01865 519800 (Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm, Friday 8.30am to 4pm), or ask for a needs assessment online. The needs assessment is free, and anyone can ask for one. The county council arranges adult social care; the Vale of White Horse District Council deals with council tax. Someone else can ask on your behalf, and a family carer can ask Carers Oxfordshire (01235 424715) for a carer's assessment.

Is there a dementia day centre in Wantage?

Yes. The October Club is a day centre for people living with Alzheimer's and other dementias at 1-3 The Cloisters, Wantage, open Wednesday, Thursday and Friday from 9am to 3pm with a hot lunch. It also gives family carers a break. Call 01235 760428 or email to arrange a visit. Wantage Community Support Service at the Charlton Centre welcomes adults including people with dementia on weekdays, mostly through Adult Social Care.

How do people in Wantage get to hospital in Oxford without a car?

Vale Community Impact, based in Wantage, has volunteer drivers who take older and disadvantaged people without their own transport to medical appointments across the Vale. Book on 01235 765348. Fares are charged: the county directory gives a minimum local fare of £6 return, and £28 return from Wantage to an Oxford hospital. Oxfordshire Comet (01865 323201) is another option on weekdays.

Do you provide live-in care in Wantage?

Yes. Day and Nightcare provides fully managed live-in care in Wantage and across Oxfordshire from £1,550 a week, with a free assessment. A trained carer lives in your home, supporting you through the day and close by at night, with our care team behind them.

Do you provide home care visits in Wantage?

Yes. We offer home care visits in Wantage and the surrounding villages, from one hour to several hours, for personal care, medication support, meals, companionship and getting up or going to bed. Please call 01865 715780 for our current prices.

Do you provide night care in Wantage?

Yes. We provide waking nights and sleep-in nights in Wantage, and 24-hour care with a day carer and a waking night carer working in shifts. Live-in care is another option: the carer lives in the home, rests at night and can help now and then.

Where do I claim a council tax discount in Wantage?

Council tax in Wantage is handled by Vale of White Horse District Council. Someone with a severe mental impairment, which can include dementia, may be disregarded for council tax if they also get a qualifying disability benefit, which can mean a discount or a full exemption. See our guide to council tax discounts for care.

Sources and further information

Show the 19 official sources for this page

Local information checked 31 October 2026.