Live-in care in Bath

How we arrange live-in care in Bath

Day and Nightcare provides fully managed live-in care in Bath 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 Bath and North East Somerset 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 Bath

Bath and North East Somerset Council runs adult social care in Bath and also collects council tax. To ask for a care needs assessment, call 01225 394570 (Monday to Thursday 8.30am to 5pm, Friday 8.30am to 4.30pm). The needs assessment is free, and anyone can ask for one. The first call is an initial assessment over the phone, which can take up to 30 minutes. After the call, the council either refers your relative for a full assessment, usually in person, or recommends services that may help. In the evenings, at weekends and on bank holidays, call the Emergency Duty Team on 01454 615165.

Read more: arranging care and funding in Bath

If the council may help to pay, 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. See council funding for care.

After a hospital stay, the council may first offer reablement: short-term help at home for up to six weeks, funded by the NHS and the council. If longer-term needs are identified sooner, an assessed weekly charge can start from the date the Care Act assessment is completed, so ask about timing.

A family carer can ask for a carer’s assessment on the same number, and no financial check is needed. The council suggests the BANES Carers’ Centre as the best place to start.

On council tax, ask about:

• a severe mental impairment discount, or an exemption for someone living alone, with a GP’s certificate and a qualifying benefit such as Attendance Allowance
• a full-time carer who lives with the person is not counted on the bill
• a disabled band reduction where the home has been adapted

See council tax discounts for care.

Urgent care and leaving hospital in Bath

• A&E: The Royal United Hospital (RUH), Combe Park: a 24-hour, seven-day walk-in Emergency Department (enquiries 01225 824391).
• Minor injuries: there is no minor injury unit in Bath; the nearest is at Paulton Memorial Hospital, open every day 8am to 8pm (last entry 7.30pm), with X-ray on weekdays from 8.30am to 4pm. It is not an A&E.

Discharge planning at the RUH starts as soon as someone is admitted, and patients are asked to plan from then too. The RUH asks patients to arrange to leave by 10am; hospital transport is only for clinical need. Anyone waiting for medicines or transport waits in the Discharge Lounge (Building E6). The Community Wellbeing Hub has a team in the RUH Atrium (01225 821019; drop in 10am to 3pm, Monday to Friday) for help at home, carers’ support and money advice. It also supports patients at St Martin’s Hospital on Midford Road and Paulton Memorial Hospital, which have NHS community inpatient units (BSW Community Health, 0300 247 0200, 8am to 8pm every day).

When health needs are the main issue, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare. For Bath it is arranged by NHS Bath and North East Somerset, Swindon and Wiltshire ICB: email bswicb.chcassessreview@nhs.net (no phone number is published).

Local help in Bath

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

Read more: local help in Bath

• Carers. The BANES Carers’ Centre’s freephone support line is 0800 0388 885 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 1pm); it also holds carer cafés at Bath Abbey.
• Memory and dementia. The GP can refer to ReMind UK’s NHS memory clinic at the RUH (01225 476 420). The Alzheimer’s Society’s Dementia Support Bath and North East Somerset helps people with dementia and their carers, face to face or by phone (0117 472 7921, weekdays 9am to 5pm). See live-in care for dementia.
• Help at home. Age UK Bath & North East Somerset (01225 466135) offers up to six weeks of free help at home (Home Response). The council’s Community Equipment Service lends equipment free when a health or social care professional prescribes it.
• Getting about. Dial-a-Ride Bath (01225 395222) is a door-to-door accessible minibus within the city, weekdays 9.30am to 2.30pm; register first; £3 single or £6 return, half price with a Diamond Travel Card.
• Hospice care. Dorothy House covers Bath. All its services are free, including Hospice at Home (care at home in the later stages of life) and community palliative care teams, with a 10-bed inpatient unit at Winsley; you, a family member or a professional can refer through its Clinical Coordination Centre on 0345 0130 555. See end-of-life care at home.
• Your say. Healthwatch Bath and North East Somerset takes feedback on local services (01225 232 401, weekdays 9am to 5pm).