Live-in care in Northampton

How we arrange live-in care in Northampton

Day and Nightcare provides fully managed live-in care in Northampton and the villages 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 West Northamptonshire 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 Northampton

West Northamptonshire Council runs adult social care and collects council tax in Northampton. To ask for a care needs assessment, call 0300 126 7000 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm) or use the council’s online form to refer yourself or someone else; a family member can call on your relative’s behalf with their consent. Have their date of birth, address, GP and next of kin to hand. If someone is in immediate danger, call 999.

Read more: arranging care and funding in Northampton

A financial assessment follows. With savings above £23,250 a person usually pays the full cost, but for care at home their own home is not counted. If the council funds care, a direct payment lets you choose your own provider. See council funding for care.

The council says its carers’ assessments are carried out by Northamptonshire Carers (01933 677907, option 2, weekdays), and you can ask even if the person you look after gets no council help.

On council tax, West Northamptonshire disregards an unpaid carer who gives at least 35 hours of care a week to someone over 18 who is not their spouse or partner, and someone who is severely mentally impaired and receives a qualifying benefit. A home adapted for a disabled resident may qualify for a disability reduction (the bill is worked out one band lower); email counciltax@westnorthants.gov.uk. See council tax discounts for care.

Urgent care and leaving hospital in Northampton

• Urgent care and A&E: Northampton General Hospital, Cliftonville. Its new Emergency Department entrance and Urgent Treatment Centre is now the main way in for all urgent and emergency care; staff assess you on arrival and send you to the right service. A&E is open 24 hours.
• Advice first: call NHS 111. In a life-threatening emergency, call 999.

Ask the medical team early for an approximate discharge date and tell staff about any equipment or carers already in place; with your relative’s permission, staff plan the discharge with you too. Hospital transport home can be arranged if your relative meets the eligibility criteria. West Northamptonshire Council’s Transfer of Care Hub visits the ward to talk about the support needed and lets you know when and what has been arranged. On the day, the council’s checklist includes medicines, a letter for the GP, clothes, keys and transport.

Northamptonshire Carers has carer support workers at Northampton General and a dementia support worker there to help patients through the hospital system (01604 544274).

Back home, the council’s reablement service usually lasts up to six weeks, after a referral from a health or social care professional. Community hospital rehabilitation beds, including Turn Furlong in Kingsthorpe, take referrals from hospitals or specialists only. The Integrated Community Equipment Loans Service lends equipment free, through the professional who assesses your relative.

If needs are mainly health needs, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare: NHS Northamptonshire Integrated Care Board’s All Age Continuing Care service is on 01604 347415 for anyone registered with a Northamptonshire GP.

Local help in Northampton

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

Read more: local help in Northampton

• Memory worries. For people over 65, the GP can refer to the NHS memory clinic at the Watermill Resource Centre, Berrywood Hospital, Upton (03000 271 671, weekdays 9am to 5pm). The trust’s Admiral Nurses give free support to families affected by dementia and take self-referrals (07766 780203). See dementia care at home.
• A dementia group. Alzheimer’s Society’s Memory Matters, for people with dementia, meets at St Crispin Community Centre, St Crispin Drive, on the second Tuesday of every month, 1.30pm to 3.30pm. Ask about any cost on 01832 736670 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm).
• Hospice care. Cynthia Spencer Hospice on the Manfield Health Campus, Kettering Road (03000 271270), has an inpatient unit, a Wellbeing Centre, a Hospice at Home team and the Hummingbird bereavement service. See end-of-life care at home.
• Getting about. Northampton Door to Door dial-a-ride (01604 583553) asks you to register and book ahead. The Northampton Volunteer Car Scheme (01604 628234) uses volunteer drivers; car schemes usually charge a yearly membership plus mileage.
• Bereavement. A free bereavement support group, for adults living in Northamptonshire bereaved in the past 18 months, meets at the Venton Centre, York Road, on the third Wednesday of the month, 2pm to 4pm; register on 01604 215839.