Home care in Caversham, where we started.
Gardiner’s has been arranging care from a small office on Church Street since 1968. Hourly visits and live‑in care, for families across Caversham, Caversham Heights, Lower Caversham, Caversham Park Village and Emmer Green.
Speak to the Caversham team0118 334 7474Caversham is the village where Gardiner’s started.
Dorothy Gardiner founded the business in Caversham in 1968 — not as a care agency, but as a nursing agency, supplying qualified nurses to local families and the surrounding community. She lived locally, knew the families on her street, and built a small register of nurses she trusted.
Over the decades the work shifted. Demand moved from clinical nursing in the home toward longer‑term, day‑to‑day support for older people who wanted to stay in their own houses, and the agency grew into the home care provider it is today. The name stayed. The principle — that the people sent into someone’s home should be carefully chosen and properly trained — stayed too.
The office is still on Church Street, a few minutes’ walk from the bridge, the river, and the parade of shops most Caversham residents know well. The business remains family‑run today, and the structure Dorothy built — small, local, employee‑led — is still the structure now.
Most of our Caversham carers live within a few miles of the homes they visit. Some have been with us for fifteen years or more. It’s why families here often hear about us through a neighbour rather than a Google ad.
Every street in Caversham, and the streets around it.
The Caversham office covers the whole RG4 postcode and most of the neighbourhoods on the north bank of the Thames. If you’re unsure whether your road is in our area, give us a call — we usually are.
- RG4Caversham, Caversham Heights, Lower Caversham, Caversham Park Village, Emmer Green, Sonning Common
- RG1Central Reading and the streets immediately south of the river
- RG31Tilehurst, Calcot and the western edge of Reading
Neighbourhoods we know well
Caversham isn’t one place — it’s several. The terraces of central Caversham around Church Street and Prospect Street. The larger family homes climbing into Caversham Heights and Highmoor Road. The newer developments around Caversham Park Village. The village character of Emmer Green at the top of the hill, and the river‑side roads of Lower Caversham.
Each has its own practicalities. Parking on Hemdean Road is awkward in the morning. Some of the older houses in central Caversham have steep stairs and need a careful assessment. Caversham Park Village often involves a longer walk from the road. Our care managers will have visited streets like yours hundreds of times before.
For families further afield — Mapledurham, Goring Heath, Kidmore End — we usually still cover you. Live‑in care, in particular, has a much wider catchment.
Hospital discharge
Most Caversham clients are discharged from the Royal Berkshire Hospital, a ten‑minute drive from our office. We can usually arrange a same‑day or next‑day start when discharge is imminent.
Funding routes
We work primarily with privately‑funded clients. We’re not a contracted provider to Reading Borough Council, but if you’ve been assessed for council-funded care you can use a direct payment towards our fees. Because our rates sit above the standard council allowance, a top‑up from private funds is usually needed. We’re happy to talk through the numbers.
Same-team continuity
Every Caversham client has a small, regular team — usually two or three carers — rather than a different agency face each visit. Cover comes from within that team where possible.
Two main ways to bring care home.
We’re a CQC‑regulated provider for both hourly and live‑in care. The right fit depends on what your family needs.
From an hour a week to several visits a day. Minimum visit one hour — long enough to do the job properly. Specialist support for dementia, Parkinson’s, post‑operative recovery and end‑of‑life care.
About hourly careA trained carer living with you, around the clock. An alternative to a care home that lets a loved one stay in their own house, with familiar surroundings, neighbours and routines intact.
About live‑in careClear pricing, no surprises.
Our rates are the same across our whole catchment — Caversham included. No hidden travel charges, no postcode loading, no setup fees.
Hourly visits
Live‑in care
What people ask us about local care.
Do you cover my road?
If your address is in RG4, almost certainly yes — that includes central Caversham, Caversham Heights, Lower Caversham, Caversham Park Village and Emmer Green. We also cover most of RG1 north of the Thames and a number of villages further out.
The simplest thing is to call: 0118 334 7474. We’ll know in seconds whether we cover your street, and what the timings look like.
How quickly can care start in Caversham?
From your first call to a carer at the door, we typically need a minimum of 48 hours. We’ll come to your home for a free assessment, agree a care plan, and introduce you to the small team who’ll be visiting.
We usually operate with a waiting list, we will let you know how long the wait may be when we do the assessment. If the situation is urgent — a sudden hospital discharge from the Royal Berkshire, for example — we’ll do everything we can to start sooner.
Are your Caversham carers actually local?
Most live within a few miles of the homes they visit — in Caversham, Lower Caversham, Emmer Green, Sonning Common, or just over the bridge in central Reading. Local carers mean shorter travel, more reliable visits, and the kind of familiarity that matters in a long‑term care relationship.
Every carer is directly employed by Gardiner’s — not on a zero‑hours contract. Our team has been with us for an average of eight years.
Can I use a Reading Borough Council direct payment towards your fees?
Yes. We’re not on Reading Borough Council’s contracted provider list, but if you’ve been assessed as eligible for council-funded care and choose to take it as a direct payment, you can put that payment towards our fees. Most of our clients fund their care privately.
One thing to be aware of: our rates sit above the standard hourly allowance most councils pay, so direct payments usually need to be supplemented with a private top‑up to cover the difference. We can talk you through the numbers honestly — including, where it makes sense, pointing you toward providers whose rates match the council allowance more closely.
Can I visit the Caversham office?
Yes, by appointment. We’re at 10 Church Street, in the centre of Caversham, just off the bridge. There’s short‑stay parking on Church Street and Bridge Street, or longer stays in the Waitrose car park a few minutes’ walk away.
That said, almost everyone we work with would rather we came to them — the assessment is much more useful in the home where the care will actually happen.
What if we're just outside Caversham — Sonning Common, Mapledurham, Pangbourne?
We probably cover you. Our hourly carers reach Sonning Common, Tilehurst, Pangbourne, Goring, Henley and the villages between. Live‑in care has a much wider catchment again — we provide it across Berkshire, Oxfordshire and Hampshire.
Have a look at our full locations list, or just call.
Our office on Church Street.
We’ve been at 10 Church Street since the early 1970s — in the parade of shops between the bridge and the library, opposite the war memorial. If you’d rather have a conversation in person than over the phone, you’re welcome to drop in.
For most enquiries, the phone is faster — we’ll usually pick up within a few rings.
A quick chat with someone in Caversham.
Five or ten minutes on the phone. No script, no pressure — just an honest conversation about what you're navigating and whether we can help.
Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm · Out of hours, leave a message and we’ll call back.
