Living at home, with Parkinson’s.
Parkinson’s changes a household, but it doesn’t have to mean leaving the home that knows you. Our carers help families navigate every stage of the condition — from the first uncertain months to the most demanding ones.
Speak to us0118 334 7474
No two households living with Parkinson’s look the same — and the care has to recognise that.
For some families, the right support is an hour or two a week — help getting dressed in the morning, a steady arm at bath time, someone to share lunch with. For others, it’s several visits a day, an overnight carer, or live-in support through the harder stages. The condition shifts over time, and so does the care.
What stays the same is the principle: your loved one is still the person they were before the diagnosis. Our carers are trained to support what Parkinson’s makes harder — without taking over what it hasn’t. And because most families don’t arrive knowing what they’ll need in two years, we keep things flexible. Hourly visits can grow into overnight cover, then live-in, with the same small team where possible.
We support clients with Parkinson’s disease as well as the related conditions families often arrive with at the same time: PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy), MSA (multiple system atrophy), and Lewy body dementia.
The day-to-day, done with patience and dignity.
Parkinson’s touches the small moments of a day — getting out of bed, fastening a button, lifting a fork, walking to the kitchen. Our carers are trained to support all of them, gently and unobtrusively.
Keeping the medication on time, and watching for what's changing.
- Prompting and administering medication to the minute
- Recognising on / off periods through the day
- Watching for dyskinesia, rigidity and tremor changes
- Spotting early signs that a review may be needed
- Keeping clear notes for the GP and Parkinson's nurse
- Supporting equipment use — sticks, frames, hoists
Getting from one part of the day to the next, safely.
- Help getting up from a chair, bed or the floor
- Steadying through doorways and on stairs
- Cueing techniques for freezing episodes
- Transfers in and out of the bath, car or wheelchair
- Walks indoors and out, at the right pace
- Reducing the risks that lead to falls in the first place
The things that tremor and rigidity make harder.
- Help getting washed, bathed or showered
- Dressing — including fastenings and shoes
- Hair, shaving, oral and denture care
- Toileting and continence support
- Skin care and pressure-area checks
- Done patiently, in the way they prefer
A warm meal, taken at the right pace, and a settled home around it.
- Preparing food in textures that work
- Giving meals the time they deserve
- Watching for changes in swallowing
- Light housework — washing up, hoovering, laundry
- Shopping, prescriptions and small errands
- Company at the kitchen table afterwards
Home care can carry most families with Parkinson’s a long way — often the whole way.
The right model changes as the condition does. Most of our Parkinson’s clients begin with a few hours of help a week and adjust from there. These are the points along the way where home care most often helps.
Home care isn’t right for every situation. Where swallowing has become unsafe, where severe Lewy body dementia or behavioural disturbance can’t be safely managed at home, or where sustained nursing-level needs go beyond what social care can provide, a nursing home or hospice is usually the better answer. We’ll always say so honestly.
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Soon after diagnosis
A few hours of help a week is often enough — someone for the morning routine, an extra pair of hands at the harder moments. Light support that takes the edge off, without taking over.
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As medication regimes get more complex
When tablets need to be taken at multiple precise times through the day, having a carer arrive at the right moments removes a real source of family stress — and keeps the medication actually working.
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After a fall, or a hospital stay
Falls are common in Parkinson’s, and the recovery period after a hospital stay is often when families first reach out. More intensive visits in the first weeks, dialled back as confidence rebuilds.
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Giving a family carer a real break
If a husband, wife, son or daughter is doing most of the caring, regular visits give them the time they need to look after themselves too. For longer breaks, we offer respite care from a few days to a few weeks.
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When the nights become hard
Parkinson’s can disturb sleep — for the person living with it, and for whoever shares the house. Overnight care covers from bedtime to morning, on as many nights a week as you need.
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When more support is needed than visits can give
For later-stage Parkinson’s, or for families who’d rather not move a loved one into residential care, live-in care offers round-the-clock support in the home that already feels familiar.
The right people, for the long road.
Parkinson’s is a condition you live with for years. The carers who support you should be people you’d want around for years.
Carers who stay.
Our team has been with us for an average of eight years. With a progressive condition, that continuity is a real clinical asset — the carer who notices a subtle change has known your loved one for years, not weeks.
Trained in-house.
Every carer goes through our own training programme, which covers Parkinson’s alongside the other conditions we see most often. We don’t outsource it, and we don’t treat it as a one-off — the team revisits the material as standards evolve.
Care that flexes.
You don’t need to commit to one model now. Most of our Parkinson’s clients start with a few visits and end up with something quite different. Hourly, overnight, live-in — we do all of it, and adjust as the condition does.
Standard rates, no specialist surcharge.
Parkinson’s care is priced as standard hourly, overnight or live-in care. We don’t add a surcharge for the condition. Whichever model you start with, the rates on our pricing page are the rates you’ll pay.
- A regular, named carer or live-in team
- Free home assessment and care plan
- No setup fee
- Plan adjusts as the condition does, at the same rates
Mum was diagnosed with PSP, a rare form of Parkinson’s, several years ago. Her ability to look after herself has gotten significantly worse over the last two years and Gardiner’s have stepped up to the mark every time.
What families ask us about Parkinson’s care.
Are your carers trained in Parkinson's specifically?
Yes. Parkinson’s is one of the conditions we cover in our in-house training programme, alongside dementia, stroke and the others we see most often. Carers go through it as part of their induction and revisit the material as standards change.
We’re honest about what training is and isn’t: it doesn’t make a carer a clinician. It does mean they recognise the patterns of the condition, know the techniques that help, and know when to escalate.
How do you handle medication timing?
Punctually. Parkinson’s medication only works when it’s taken on schedule, and a missed or late dose can mean hours of unnecessary difficulty. Visit times are scheduled around the dosing pattern, not the other way round.
For more complex regimes, we work with the family, the GP and the Parkinson’s nurse to make sure everyone is following the same plan.
Can you support someone with later-stage Parkinson's at home?
In most cases, yes — whether through several visits a day, overnight care, or live-in support. Many of our long-standing clients with Parkinson’s remain at home through the later stages.
There are situations where home care isn’t the right answer — we’ve set those out honestly above. If we don’t think we can keep someone safe at home, we’ll say so.
What about PSP, MSA or Lewy body dementia?
The atypical parkinsonian syndromes — progressive supranuclear palsy (PSP) and multiple system atrophy (MSA) — along with the related condition Lewy body dementia, each have their own patterns and tend to progress faster than typical Parkinson’s. We support clients with all of them, though earlier escalation to overnight or live-in care is often appropriate.
The honest framing in the ‘when home care isn’t the right answer’ box above applies particularly to severe Lewy body dementia, where a specialist setting is sometimes the safer choice.
Can hourly care become live-in if needs progress?
Yes — and it often does. Many of our Parkinson’s clients begin with a few visits a week and move through more frequent visits, then overnight, then live-in. We do all four ourselves, so the transition doesn’t mean changing provider.
Where possible, we keep the same carers across the move — familiar faces, even when the level of support changes.
How quickly can care start?
From your first call to a carer at the door, we typically need a minimum of 48 hours. That gives us time to come for a free assessment, agree a care plan with you, and introduce you to the 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 after a fall, for example — we’ll do everything we can to start sooner.
Are you regulated, and how can I check?
Yes. Gardiner’s Homecare is registered and regulated by the Care Quality Commission — the body that inspects all home care providers in England. Both our branches are rated Good.
Wondering if hourly care is the right fit?
Five or ten minutes on the phone is often enough to work out whether visiting care, live-in care, or something else is what your situation calls for. No script, no pressure — just an honest conversation.
Mon–Fri 7:30am–5pm · Out of hours, leave a message and we’ll call back.
