Home care in Reading

Areas we cover in and around Reading

Caversham, Caversham Heights, Emmer Green, Tilehurst, Calcot, Southcote, Coley, Katesgrove, Whitley, Norcot, Redlands, Newtown, Park, Battle, Church, Thames Ward, Green Park Village, and out to Woodley, Earley, Lower Earley, Shinfield, Theale, Pangbourne, Burghfield Common, Sonning and Mortimer.

Which council you deal with, and this one catches people out

If you live in Reading itself, adult social care is Reading Borough Council. You can ask for a care needs assessment online, and anyone can do it, including a son or daughter on a parent's behalf. Look on reading.gov.uk under Adult care, "How to ask for help". If the online form is difficult there is a phone line to help you through it.

Here is the part that trips families up. A Reading postal address does not always mean Reading Borough Council. Woodley, Earley and Lower Earley are Wokingham Borough. Calcot and part of Tilehurst are West Berkshire. People in all three say they live in Reading, and they are right, but if they ring Reading Borough Council about care they will be sent elsewhere.

If you are not sure, check your full postcode on your council's website, or ring us and we will tell you. We deal with all three councils every week.

Out of hours, in the evenings and at weekends, all six Berkshire councils share one Emergency Duty Service on 01344 351 999.

Coming home from hospital

Almost everyone in Reading goes to the Royal Berkshire Hospital on Craven Road, run by Royal Berkshire NHS Foundation Trust.

Reading does not have a rehabilitation ward for the step between hospital and home. Instead, Berkshire Healthcare runs an Intermediate Care Service that comes to you: occupational therapists, physiotherapists and therapy assistants working in your own front room rather than on a ward. It is arranged by a GP or a hospital professional rather than by you directly, so ask the ward about it before discharge.

We work alongside that team regularly. Reablement therapy and home care are not the same thing, and they fit together well. They work on getting movement and confidence back. We cover the day to day so nobody is rushing.

Local support in the area

We would rather you had the whole picture, so here are the organisations we point families towards.

Two different Age charities cover Reading, which confuses almost everybody. Age UK Reading is Reading only, and its office is on Portman Road, the same street as ours. Age UK Berkshire is county wide and sits in Broad Street Mall. Both are real, both are good, and they run different things.

For dementia, the Alzheimer's Society runs a Dementia Care Adviser service for Reading, and there are memory cafes and singing groups across the town, including one at the football stadium. Age UK Reading runs cognitive stimulation groups in central Reading, Caversham and Woodley. For anyone under sixty five with a diagnosis, Younger People With Dementia is a Reading based charity that understands young onset dementia is a completely different experience.

If you are caring for someone yourself, the Reading and West Berkshire Carers Partnership is the way in. It is four charities working together with a single point of contact, and they run a regular carers get together in town.

For getting about, ReadiBus is the door to door dial a ride for people who cannot manage an ordinary bus. If you hold a Reading bus pass and cannot use public transport, those journeys are free once you register.

Care services in Reading

Whatever support your family needs, we provide it across the area, built around outcomes, not the clock.

A note to you, if you're receiving care in Reading

This is your home in Reading, and it stays your home. Our team are here to support you in the way you want, with respect for your routine, your privacy and your choices. We do our best to send the same friendly faces, and we tell you straight if we ever cannot. You can always tell us if something isn't right. We work for you.

Let's talk about care for your loved one

Speak with our team today. There is someone on call outside office hours, so if something happens in the evening or at the weekend you are not left waiting until Monday.