Frequently asked questions

Call us on 020 3640 7722, email [email protected], or use the form on our contact page. We aim to respond the same day.

From there we arrange a free assessment at home, usually within 48 hours. Someone from our care team visits, meets everyone involved, and looks at the whole picture, including health needs, routines, the home environment, cultural and language preferences, and what you actually want the week to look like. There is no obligation and nothing to sign on the day.

If you go ahead, we write the care plan with you and agree a start date and time that suits you, or sooner where care is urgently required.

Cost depends on the type of care, how many hours are involved, and whether any specialist skills or double-up visits are required. We give you a clear written quote after the free assessment, before anything is agreed. We never provide an estimate over the phone that changes later. We will happily talk you through the likely range on a call, but the figure you rely on comes in writing.

What we can tell you now is how we charge, and it is simple: an hourly rate for everything except live-in care, which is charged weekly. The hourly rate is the same through the night as it is during the day, so overnight care is not charged at a separate night rate. There are no registration or assessment fees, and any bank holiday rate is agreed with you and stated in writing before care begins.

Call 020 3640 7722 for an indication of current rates for your situation.

There are four common routes, and many families use more than one:

• Local Authority funding: following a Care Act needs assessment and a financial assessment by your council's adult social care team. When the council might pay for your care on NHS.uk ↗
• Direct Payments: council funding paid to you so you can choose and commission your own provider, including us. Personal budgets & direct payments on NHS.uk ↗
• NHS Continuing Healthcare: fully NHS-funded care where needs are primarily health-related, following a CHC assessment. NHS Continuing Healthcare on NHS.uk ↗
• Private funding: paying directly, either fully or as a top-up alongside council funding. Paying for your own care on NHS.uk ↗

We can talk you through which route is likely to apply and point you at the right team to start it. We do not charge for that conversation.

Matching considers five things: specialist experience for the condition, personality and communication style, cultural and language preferences, geographic proximity, and schedule compatibility.

Proximity and schedule matter more than people expect. A carer who lives twenty minutes away and is free at the right times will be reliable; one who is a perfect match on paper but an hour's travel away will not be, for long.

You will normally have a small named team rather than one individual, so that holidays and sickness do not mean a stranger at the door. If a match is not working, please tell us and we will change it without any awkwardness.

Cover comes from within your existing named team wherever possible, which is one of the reasons we build a small team around each person rather than assigning a single carer.

For planned absence such as annual leave, the covering carer will usually shadow a visit beforehand so they are not arriving cold. For unplanned absence we will call you as soon as we know, tell you who is coming instead, and confirm what time to expect them.

A visit is never simply missed without contact. If you have not heard from us and a carer has not arrived, call us immediately on 020 3640 7722 in office hours, or our 24/7 lines on 07983 163392 or 07399 472345 at any other time.

Our office is open Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm. Care does not keep office hours, so neither do we.

We run two dedicated 24/7 lines so there is always someone to talk to, whatever time it is. Evenings, weekends, bank holidays, and the middle of the night: they are answered by a real person who can reach the on-call team. If the first is engaged, try the second.

Use it for anything that cannot wait until morning, such as a carer who has not arrived, a change in someone's condition, a sudden need for cover, or simply a worry you would rather not sit with overnight.

Yes. Care needs change, and the plan should change with them. Permanent changes to the pattern of visits are agreed with your coordinator and confirmed in writing.

For one-off cancellations we ask for as much notice as you can give, normally 24 hours, so the carer's day can be rearranged. Cancellation terms, including any notice period for ending the service entirely, are set out clearly in your service agreement before you sign it. We do not use long tie-in contracts.

We use a digital care management platform. Carers record each visit at the time, noting what was done, medication given, food and fluids, and any observations or concerns.

With consent, family members can be given access to the family portal and see visit notes, medication records, wellbeing observations and the upcoming schedule in real time, from anywhere. Families who live at a distance tell us this is the single most reassuring thing we offer.

Ask your coordinator about family portal access at the assessment, or any time afterwards.

Every carer holds an enhanced DBS check, has references verified, and has the right to work in the UK confirmed before their first shift.

Training covers all of the required Care Certificate standards and is delivered by our own in-house academy, plus specialist training relevant to the people they support, including dementia, Parkinson's, stroke, medication management, moving and handling, safeguarding, and infection prevention and control among others. Refresher training runs on a rolling annual cycle.

New carers shadow experienced colleagues before working unsupervised, and competency is signed off in practice rather than assumed from a certificate.

Speak to your care coordinator first if you can, as most things are resolved the same day at that level. If you would rather not, or it is not resolved, contact the office directly on 020 3640 7722 or [email protected] and ask for the formal complaints process.

We acknowledge formal complaints within three working days and aim to respond fully within twenty working days, in line with our complaints policy. You will be told who is investigating and what the outcome was.

You can also raise concerns directly with the Care Quality Commission at any time, or with your local authority safeguarding team where the concern relates to someone's safety. We will never discourage that, and we will support you in doing it.

We work across North, East, West and Central London and much of Hertfordshire. The coverage page lists every borough and town, and has a postcode checker.

Standard timescales are an assessment within 48 hours and care beginning within about a week. Where care is urgently required for an unplanned discharge, a collapsed carer arrangement, or a family carer suddenly taken ill, our rapid response service mobilises within two to four hours, at any time of day or night. Outside office hours, call our 24/7 lines on 07983 163392 or 07399 472345.

Our carers come from many different backgrounds, and that breadth is one of the most practical things we can offer. The languages asked for most often are English, Gujarati, Hindi and Romanian, and our team is considerably more diverse than that short list suggests, so it is always worth asking.

If you or your family member have a specific language requirement, tell us at the assessment stage. We will do our best to match you with a carer who communicates in your preferred language, or arrange suitable interpreting support where needed.