Live-in care in Reading, Berkshire

Our care, where you live

Our live-in care in Reading

Live-in care means one-to-one support in your own home: personal care, medication support, meals, help around the house, getting out and about, and someone close by at night. Whether it suits the person, and whether one carer can support a couple, is worked out at the free assessment. Read more in live-in care explained and how it works day to day.

How we arrange live-in care in Reading

Day and Nightcare provides fully managed live-in care in Reading and the areas around it, from £1,550 a week. One main carer lives in the home; a relief carer covers their holidays and time off, and a manager is on call. Care starts with a free assessment, a written quote and a written care plan.

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

Arranging care and funding in Reading

Reading Borough Council runs adult social care and collects council tax in the borough. To ask for a care needs assessment, use its online care and assessment form, one form per person. If the form is difficult, phone 0118 937 3747. Out of hours, the Emergency Duty Service is on 01344 351 999.

Read more: arranging care and funding in Reading

If you help a relative, ask for a carer’s assessment. In Reading these are carried out for the council by the Reading and West Berkshire Carers Partnership: call 0118 926 3941 or email carers@communicare.org.uk. If help is recommended and you hear nothing within four weeks, the council asks you to get in touch.

Arrangement fees. If you pay the full cost of your care and ask the council to arrange it, Reading charges a £382.15 set-up fee and £314.35 a year (2026-2027). You can also arrange live-in care directly with a provider; see the cost of live-in care.
Council tax. Someone who is severely mentally impaired (medically certified, and entitled to a qualifying benefit) is not counted, and neither are certain carers and care workers. The Disabled Band Reduction Scheme helps where a home has been permanently adapted. See council tax discounts for care.

Urgent care and leaving hospital in Reading

Urgent care: Reading Urgent Care Centre at the Royal Berkshire Hospital (Craven Road entrance) is open 10am to 9.30pm every day, including public holidays, for minor illnesses; it sees walk-ins and people referred by NHS 111 or a GP. Muscle and joint injuries go to the Minor Injuries Unit opposite the Emergency Department. Neither is an A&E.
A&E: the Emergency Department at the Royal Berkshire, level 1, Centre Block, open 24 hours.

On the day of discharge, most patients wait in the Discharge Lounge on level 1 of the Battle Block (Monday to Friday, 7.30am to 8pm, not bank holidays), where a nurse explains medicines and the discharge letter. Relatives collecting someone can use the Redlands Road entrance and free drop-off parking.

Back home, Reading Borough Council’s reablement service, a limited period of intensive support and therapy, is free for Reading adults assessed as likely to benefit. Berkshire Healthcare’s Intermediate Care Service gives therapy at home to housebound adults referred by a GP or health professional (Reading team 0118 904 3820, Monday to Saturday, 8am to 4pm). Some people recover first on Oakwood ward at Prospect Park Hospital, an inpatient rehabilitation ward.

If health needs are the main issue, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare. NHS Thames Valley ICB’s Berkshire West team is on 0118 982 2900.

Local help in Reading

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

Useful contacts in Reading

The council, NHS teams, hospitals and local services you are most likely to need in Reading, with links to their official pages. Open any heading for the details.

Council and care assessments

Adult social care in Reading is arranged by Reading Borough Council. Anyone who appears to need care can ask for a free care needs assessment, whatever their savings. If the council funds care, you can usually take it as a direct payment and use it for live-in care from us.

Reading Borough Council: ask for a care needs assessment (telephone 0118 937 3747); carer's assessment.

NHS Continuing Healthcare

When someone's main need is a health need, the NHS pays for all of their care through NHS Continuing Healthcare, and it is not means-tested. For Reading it is arranged by NHS Thames Valley Integrated Care Board (Continuing Healthcare information). See our NHS Continuing Healthcare guide.

Hospitals near Reading

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

Royal Berkshire Hospital: Emergency Department (A&E) on level 1, Centre Block, Craven Road, open 24 hours; Discharge Lounge Monday to Friday 7.30am to 8pm (leaving hospital information)
Reading Urgent Care Centre: At the Royal Berkshire Hospital (Craven Road entrance), 10am to 9.30pm every day including public holidays; walk-ins seen, or referred by NHS 111 or a GP; minor illnesses (muscle and joint injuries go to the Minor Injuries Unit opposite the Emergency Department). Not an A&E.
Prospect Park Hospital (Oakwood ward): Honey End Lane: Oakwood ward gives inpatient physical rehabilitation; also the Reading Memory Service
Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice: 22 Liebenrood Road; inpatient unit, Hospice at Home and a 24/7 clinical advice line for its patients and their families, on 0118 950 5276

Local support and charities

Reading & West Berkshire Carers Partnership: Carers' support (0118 926 3941)
Reading Memory Service (Berkshire Healthcare): Dementia support (0118 960 5959)
Age UK Reading: Age UK (0118 950 2480)
ReadiBus: Community transport (0118 931 0000)
Age UK Berkshire: Home from Hospital (Reading Borough): Community support (0118 959 4242)
Age UK Berkshire: Befriending: Befriending (0118 959 4242)
Sue Ryder Duchess of Kent Hospice: Hospice (0118 950 5276)
Healthwatch Reading: Healthwatch: your independent voice on health and care

Council tax

Council tax in Reading, including discounts for people with a severe mental impairment, for disabled people and for some carers, is handled by Reading Borough Council. See council tax discounts for care.

Villages around Reading

Caversham
Tilehurst
Calcot
Purley on Thames
Theale
Earley
Woodley

Your questions

Questions about live-in care in Reading

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

Reading Borough Council runs adult social care in the borough. It asks people to use its online care and assessment form, one form per person. If the form is difficult, call 0118 937 3747. The needs assessment is free, and anyone can ask for one. Out of hours, the Emergency Duty Service is on 01344 351 999. A family member who helps can ask for a carer's assessment through the Reading and West Berkshire Carers Partnership on 0118 926 3941.

Where can we get urgent help in Reading if it is not an emergency?

Reading Urgent Care Centre at the Royal Berkshire Hospital (use the Craven Road entrance) is open 10am to 9.30pm every day, including public holidays, and sees walk-in patients as well as people referred by NHS 111 or a GP. Sprains and other muscle or joint injuries go to the Minor Injuries Unit opposite the Emergency Department. In a life-threatening emergency, call 999.

Where are memory problems assessed for people in Reading?

Start with the GP, who can refer to Berkshire Healthcare's Reading Memory Service at Hazelwood, Prospect Park Hospital, Honey End Lane (0118 960 5959). The first memory assessment takes around one to two hours, in the clinic or as a home visit, and a family member or friend is welcome to join. Alongside it, Age UK Reading (0118 950 2480) runs weekly cognitive stimulation groups for people with mild to moderate dementia in central Reading, Caversham and Woodley.

We have a Reading address. Is Reading Borough Council always the right council?

Not always. Earley and Woodley are in Wokingham Borough, and Calcot, Purley on Thames, Theale and part of Tilehurst are in West Berkshire. Each council runs its own adult social care and its own council tax discounts. The quickest check is the council tax bill: the council that sends it is the one to call about care.

How much does live-in care cost in Reading?

Live-in care with Day and Nightcare costs from £1,550 a week in Reading, 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.

Can the council help pay for live-in care in Reading?

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 Reading is arranged by Reading 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.

Can live-in care start when someone leaves Royal Berkshire Hospital?

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.

Sources and further information

Show the 27 official sources for this page

Local information checked 31 October 2026. Links go to the official council, NHS and charity pages.

Live-in care in Reading