Live-in care in Northamptonshire

• West Northamptonshire Council covers the former Daventry, Northampton and South Northamptonshire districts, including Towcester and Brackley. Call adult social care on 0300 126 7000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm), or use its online form to refer yourself or someone else; a family member can call on your relative’s behalf with their consent. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.
• North Northamptonshire Council covers the former Corby, East Northamptonshire, Kettering and Wellingborough districts, including Rushden and Oundle. To ask for an assessment, use its online self-referral form or call 0300 126 3000 and select Option 1, Option 2 and Option 1. Its lines are open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm (closed on bank holidays), and the same number reaches its Out-of-Hours Duty Team.

When you call West Northamptonshire, have your relative’s date of birth, address, GP and next of kin to hand; it may also ask what has changed and who helps.

The needs assessment is free, and anyone can ask for one. A financial assessment follows. With more than £23,250 in savings your relative would usually pay the full cost, and the home is not counted when care is at home.

Carers’ assessments. Both councils say theirs are carried out by Northamptonshire Carers. The assessment is free, and you can have one even if the person you care for gets no help from the council. See our guide to carers’ assessments.

Council tax. Ask your relative’s council about the severe mental impairment disregard or exemption, the carer disregard, and disability reductions. See council tax discounts for care.

• Carers. Northamptonshire Carers, at the Anne Goodman Centre in Wellingborough, offers registration, emotional support, advice and access to carers’ assessments through its Carer Support Line (01933 677907, option 2, weekdays). It also has a carer support team at Northampton and Kettering General Hospitals (option 4).
• Dementia. NHFT’s Memory Assessment Service diagnoses people over 65, on referral from a GP or hospital specialist. Its Admiral Nurse service gives free one-to-one support to people affected by dementia and their families, and accepts self-referrals (07766 780203).
• Equipment. The Integrated Community Equipment Loans Service lends equipment free, from walking sticks and commodes to hoists and bed raisers, through over 1,400 professional prescribers across the county. In North Northamptonshire, ask for an occupational therapy assessment online or on 0300 126 3000 (Option 1, Option 2, Option 2); Millbrook Healthcare repairs or replaces equipment it has supplied (0330 124 1219).
• Getting about. Register with your local scheme and book ahead; each sets its own fares, and car schemes usually charge a yearly membership plus mileage. West: Northampton Door to Door (01604 583553), Northampton Volunteer Car Scheme (01604 628234), Daventry Area Community Transport (01327 701665), Towcester Area Door to Door (01327 810300) and Brackley Area Volunteer Car Service (01280 841099). North: Shireconnect dial-a-ride (01933 223636), the Kettering and Wellingborough volunteer car services (both 01933 272735), Rushden Volunteer Car Scheme (01933 315555) and Oundle Volunteer Car Scheme (01832 275433).
• Hospices. Cynthia Spencer Hospice in Northampton (03000 271270) has an inpatient unit, a Wellbeing Centre and Hospice at Home. Cransley Hospice, a nine-bed NHS unit at St Mary’s Hospital, Kettering, takes referrals from a GP, community nurse, hospital consultant or specialist nurse; admissions enquiries are on 03000 274200 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm). Lakelands Hospice in Corby offers free day services, hospice at home and bereavement support for Corby and the surrounding villages.