Can Cornwall Council fund home care in St. Austell?

It can, where a care needs assessment identifies eligible needs and a financial assessment shows the person qualifies for support. The financial assessment considers income, savings and capital, and anyone with assets above the national threshold is normally expected to pay for their own care. Support may be taken as a direct payment, letting the family choose the agency, or arranged as a package the council commissions. Asking about both routes early is sensible, since they offer quite different amounts of choice.

How do I arrange a care needs assessment in St. Austell?

Contact the adult social care team at Cornwall Council, the authority responsible for assessments in this area. The request can come from the person needing care, from a relative or friend acting for them, or from a professional such as a general practitioner or hospital discharge team. The assessment looks at what someone manages alone and where support is needed, and it is free regardless of income or savings. If a relative provides regular unpaid care, ask for a carer's assessment at the same time.

How far in advance should home care be arranged?

Where support is planned rather than urgent, four to six weeks gives room to request an assessment, speak to agencies and settle a schedule that works. The care needs assessment is often the slowest stage, so putting that request in early tends to be the most useful first move. After a hospital admission, care can usually be arranged within days, though the choice of agency and visit times will be narrower. Starting before the situation becomes pressing almost always produces a better fit.

Which home care providers in St. Austell are listed here?

Seven providers match this search for St. Austell, and they are Home Not Hospital Southwest, Karrek Community, Victoria Community Care in Cornwall, Ourway Care, Promoting Independence South West, Helping Hands Truro and Alexandras Community Care in St. Austell. Each has a profile setting out registration details and its current Care Quality Commission rating where one has been given. Three of the seven are awaiting a first inspection. Capacity to take on new work changes from month to month, so contact your shortlist directly.

What should I ask a home care provider in St. Austell before choosing?

Ask how many different care workers would visit over a fortnight and what happens when a regular worker is away. Find out how visits are recorded, how the family is kept informed and who can be telephoned outside office hours. Where a provider has not yet been inspected, ask how long it has operated and what the manager's previous experience is. It is also worth asking how the care plan is written and how often it is reviewed with the person receiving care.

What is the difference between a care home and a nursing home?

A care home is registered to provide personal care, meaning help with washing, dressing, medication, meals and the routine of the day. A nursing home provides that same personal care with a qualified nurse on duty at all times, which matters where someone has clinical needs such as wound care, a feeding tube or an unstable long term condition. Home care differs from both, because the support travels to the person rather than the person moving. A care needs assessment will help establish which of these arrangements actually fits.

Home Care in St. Austell

St. Austell has 7 CQC registered home care agencies. 4 are rated Good, and 3 have not yet been rated. 4 of the 7 were last inspected more than three years ago.

Source: Care Quality Commission register, kept up to date as ratings change.

St. Austell at a glance

What the local numbers say about home care in St. Austell, to help you judge the options below.

Hourly care visits, South West: £28.75 to £34.94 an hour. Middle half of prices from 10 agencies.
People aged 75 and over: 81,100. Rising to 96,000 by 2035, up 18%
Living with dementia, aged 65 and over (estimate): 10,300. Rising to 13,300 by 2035, up 29%
People aged 85 and over: 20,200. Rising to 32,300 by 2035, up 60%
Dementia diagnosis rate: 60%. The NHS ambition is 67%.
Agencies in the borough, last 12 months: 6 opened, 4 closed. 104 registered today.
Choice of agencies: 21 within 10 miles. In a typical neighbourhood. The nearest is under a mile away (0.9 miles).
Compared with the rest of Cornwall: Fewer agencies. Cornwall has fewer agencies than average for the size of its older population.

Powered by Orrery Intelligence. Market model built 22 October 2026 (ONS 2022 based population projections, CQC register), published care home prices, council planning records.

Planning and paying for care in St. Austell

Starting with the assessment

Funded support opens with a care needs assessment, carried out by Cornwall Council for adults living in this area. A request can be made by the person needing care, by a relative or friend acting on their behalf, or by a professional such as a general practitioner or a hospital discharge team, and there is no charge whatever the household income. The assessment records what someone manages independently and where help would make a difference, and it is the document that establishes how much support is needed each week. Where a relative gives regular unpaid support, ask for a carer's assessment alongside it.

Costs and contributions

Where eligible needs are identified, a financial assessment establishes the council's contribution and the person's own. Savings and capital above the national threshold ordinarily mean paying privately, with the rate agreed directly with the agency. Home care is charged by the hour or by the visit, and visit length matters as much as the hourly figure, since a very short call achieves far less than a half hour one. Ask how travel time is treated, what happens if a visit overruns, and whether evening or weekend calls cost more.

Direct payments

A council contribution can be taken as a direct payment, which lets the family choose the agency rather than accepting one the council commissions. It brings more administration but considerably more say over who visits and when.

Choosing a provider in St. Austell and what to check

Where the published record runs out

Four of the seven providers here are rated Good and three have not yet been inspected. For those with a rating, open the report rather than stopping at the word, paying particular attention to what inspectors recorded about punctuality, missed calls, continuity of staff and whether care plans were followed, since those are the failures a household feels first. For the three without a rating, the absence is not itself a warning, but the evidence has to come from what the manager can tell you: how long they have operated, how rotas are built, and what happens when a worker calls in sick.

The questions that separate agencies

Ask how many different care workers would visit over a typical fortnight, because continuity affects the experience more than almost anything else. Find out how the family is told if a visit will run late, who can be telephoned outside office hours, and how visits are recorded. Victoria Community Care in Cornwall, Promoting Independence South West, Helping Hands Truro and Alexandras Community Care in St. Austell each carry a profile here with registration details and current rating.

Before agreeing to anything

Check the notice period, how rates are reviewed and what the arrangement is for missed visits. Ask for the name of the person who will supervise the care and how often they visit in person to see how it is going.

7 home care in St. Austell

Home Not Hospital Southwest · Office 27, St. Austell, Cornwall, PL26 8LG
Home care · Run by Home not Hospital Ltd
We at Home Not Hospital Southwest are proud to provide compassionate home care across St. Austell and the wider Cornwall community, supporting individuals who wish to remain in the comfort and familiarity of their own homes rather than...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Younger Adults
Karrek Community · 42 Polkyth Road, St. Austell, Cornwall, PL25 4LW
Home care · Run by Karrek Community CIC
Karrek Community provides care and support to people in their own homes in St Austell and the surrounding part of Cornwall. We work with adults who have learning disabilities, autistic adults and people with physical disabilities. Most of...
Specialisms: Learning Disability / Autism, Physical Disability
Victoria Community Care · Office A205, St. Austell, Cornwall, PL26 8LG
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Victoria Community Care (Cornwall) Limited
We at Victoria Community Care (Cornwall) are proud to offer trusted home care across St. Austell and the surrounding Cornish communities, supporting people to live well and safely in the place they love most: their own home. Based in the...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
Promoting Independence South West · B200/B204, St. Austell, Cornwall, PL26 8LG
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Promoting Independence South West Limited
At Promoting Independence South West, we provide home care to people living in St. Austell and the wider Cornwall area, supporting individuals to remain in their own homes, in familiar surroundings, for as long as they choose to do so. We...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Learning Disability / Autism, Mental Health, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults, Eating Disorders, Alcohol / Drug Misuse
Alexandras Community Care St Austell · Unit 3A, St. Austell, Cornwall, PL25 3HQ
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Westcountry Home Care Limited
Alexandras Community Care St Austell is a home care agency supporting people in their own homes in St. Austell and the surrounding part of Cornwall. Home care is the whole of what we do, and we would rather do that one thing attentively...
Helping Hands Truro · A214 and A219 Victoria Advent House, St. Austell, Cornwall, PL26 8LG
Home care · CQC Good · Run by Midshires Care Limited
We provide care at home in St Austell, Truro and the surrounding parts of Cornwall. Those we visit include older adults, people living with dementia, people with physical disabilities, people living with sight or hearing loss, and younger...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Dementia Care, Physical Disability, Visual / Hearing Impairment, Younger Adults
Ourway Care · Office B109, St. Austell, Cornwall, PL26 8LG
Home care · Run by Ourway Care Ltd
We are a home care agency based in St Austell, supporting people in their own homes across the surrounding part of Cornwall. We work with older people, with younger adults and with people living with physical disabilities, and the aim in...
Specialisms: Older Person Care, Physical Disability, Younger Adults

What home care costs

Type of care	What it costs
Hourly care visits, South West Middle half of prices from 10 agencies. Median £32.96. Shown for South West because too few Cornwall agencies publish a rate.	£28.75 to £34.94 an hour
What Cornwall pays Average hourly rate, October 2026.	£27.34 an hour
Homecare Association minimum price 2026 to 2027. The Association's estimate of the lowest price that covers the cost of delivering care. It is not a legal minimum.	£34.42 an hour
Live in care, England Middle half of prices from 62 agencies. Median £1,455.	£1,250 to £1,668 a week

Published prices come from agencies that publish rates, so treat them as a guide. Ask the agency for its own price. Powered by Orrery Intelligence.

Inspected most recently

Karrek Community, 17 November 2025, Not yet rated
Promoting Independence South West, 16 October 2021, Good
Helping Hands Truro, 4 February 2020, Good

Longest since a report

Victoria Community Care (Cornwall) Limited, 6 June 2018, Good
Alexandras Community Care St Austell, 27 July 2018, Good
Helping Hands Truro, 4 February 2020, Good

Frequently asked questions about home care in St. Austell

How many home care agencies are there in St. Austell?

St. Austell has 7 CQC registered home care agencies: 4 Good, 3 not yet rated. Counts come from the CQC register and are kept up to date as ratings change.

How much does home care cost in St. Austell?

Hourly care visits, South West: £28.75 to £34.94 an hour. Middle half of prices from 10 agencies. Median £32.96. Shown for South West because too few Cornwall agencies publish a rate. Published prices come from agencies that publish rates, so treat them as a guide. Ask the agency for its own price.

Which home care agencies in St. Austell were inspected most recently?

Karrek Community (17 November 2025), Promoting Independence South West (16 October 2021) and Helping Hands Truro (4 February 2020) have the most recent CQC reports.

Local care news in Cornwall

New 34 bed care home registered with CQC in Cornwall: Windmill Court (5 November 2026)

More local care news for Cornwall