Live-in care in Berkshire

It depends which of the six councils your relative lives in. Reading: the online care and assessment form, or 0118 937 3747 if the form is difficult. West Berkshire: 01635 503050 (Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm, Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm). Wokingham: the Health and Social Care Hub on 0300 365 1234. Bracknell Forest: 01344 351500. Windsor and Maidenhead: the Adult Social Care Front Door on 01628 683744. Slough: 01753 475111. Out of hours, one Emergency Duty Service covers all six councils on 01344 351 999. In West Berkshire, a carer can ask for a carer's assessment online or on 01635 503050; carers do not pay for their support.

NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board, which has covered Berkshire, Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire since 1 April 2026. It still lists two Berkshire teams. Berkshire West (Reading, Wokingham and West Berkshire) is on 0118 982 2900. East Berkshire (Bracknell Forest, Windsor and Maidenhead, and Slough) is based at King Edward VII Hospital in Windsor, on 0300 304 9200. A health or social care professional completes the first checklist.

Yes, if you ask, but some councils charge for doing it. For 2026/27, Reading charges people who pay in full a £382.15 set-up fee and £314.35 a year, and Windsor and Maidenhead charges £452.55 to set up care and £419.97 a year. West Berkshire charges £383 a year. You can also arrange live-in care directly with a provider. Anyone can ask the council for a needs assessment, whatever their savings.

Yes. Volunteer Centre West Berkshire runs Handybuses in Newbury and Thatcham for people who struggle with public transport (01635 37111, Monday to Thursday 9am to 1pm) and a volunteer car scheme, especially for medical appointments (01635 49004, weekdays 10am to 1pm); no referral is needed. Newbury & District Cancer Care Trust drives people from anywhere in West Berkshire to hospital treatment and appointments (01635 243343, weekdays 10am to 3pm). In the eastern parishes, such as Theale, Pangbourne, Bradfield and Tilehurst, Carebus volunteers drive elderly, disabled and isolated people to medical care, shopping and family (0118 930 4837, 24-hour answering service). In the west, the council also lists Hungerford CHAIN's car scheme (01488 683727, Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 9am to 11am) and Lambourn Volunteer Group (01488 71536, Mondays and Thursdays, 10am to 12 noon).

In the west, Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice in Reading (0118 950 5276) serves Berkshire West, including Reading, Newbury and Wokingham, with an inpatient unit, Hospice at Home and a 24/7 clinical advice line for its patients and their families. In the east, Thames Hospice, near Bray Lake in Maidenhead, cares for people aged 16 and over in East Berkshire, free of charge, after a referral from a healthcare professional. Its 24-hour advice line for East Berkshire patients and families is 01753 848925.

Live-in care with Day and Nightcare costs from £1,550 a week anywhere in Berkshire, the same as everywhere in England, for one person with a carer who rests at night. That includes our care team's management (the assessment, care plan, reviews, supervision and the on-call manager) and the carer's food; break cover and the carer's travel are extra. For a couple it is from £1,800 a week, where one carer can safely meet both partners' needs. You receive a written quote after a free assessment.

Yes, if the person's care needs meet the national eligibility criteria and their savings are below £23,250 (2026/27). Adult social care in Berkshire is arranged by West Berkshire Council, Reading Borough Council, Wokingham Borough Council, Bracknell Forest Council, Royal Borough of Windsor and Maidenhead and Slough Borough Council. Ask for a care needs assessment; if you are eligible, council funding can usually be taken as a direct payment and used for live-in care from us.

It can. Tell us the expected discharge date as early as you can, and we will work with you and the ward's discharge team on when live-in care can start. We can often start within 24 to 48 hours of the assessment, depending on carer availability, and we confirm the start date once a carer is arranged. We have provided Discharge to Assess (D2A) care since 2014.

Our care team supports every live-in placement, wherever it is in England: a free assessment, a written care plan, regular contact and reviews, one main live-in carer, with a relief carer covering holidays and time off, and a manager on call outside office hours. Your carer works alongside the person's own GP, community nurses and any hospice team already involved in their care.