Support & resources
The organisations we point families towards — the same ones in our welcome pack, gathered in one place.
Care at home is rarely the whole answer. Alongside it sit condition-specific charities, carers’ organisations, benefits you may be entitled to and support from your local council — and most families find out about them far later than they should have.
Everything below is free to contact. None of it requires you to be a Skillcare client, and we get nothing from listing it. If something here helps and you never call us at all, that is a good outcome.
In an emergency
If someone is seriously ill or injured, call 999. For urgent medical help that is not an emergency, call 111 or visit 111.nhs.uk. If you have a safeguarding concern about an adult at risk, contact your local council’s adult social care team — and tell us too, if it concerns someone we support.
Condition-specific support
Specialist helplines staffed by people who know the condition, not a general call centre.
Stroke
Stroke Association — information on recovery, rehabilitation and life after stroke, for survivors and families.
Helpline 0303 3033 100 · Mon–Fri 9am–5pm, Sat 10am–1pm
helpline@stroke.org.uk
Dementia — Alzheimer’s Society
Practical guidance on diagnosis, day-to-day caring and getting social care in place.
Dementia Support Line 0333 150 3456
Mon–Wed 9am–8pm · Thu–Fri 9am–5pm · Sat–Sun 10am–4pm
Dementia — Admiral Nurses
Dementia UK — speak to a dementia specialist nurse. Particularly good for complex situations and for families at breaking point.
Free helpline 0800 888 6678
Mon–Fri 9am–9pm · Sat–Sun and bank holidays 9am–5pm
helpline@dementiauk.org
Parkinson’s
Parkinson’s UK — advisers including specialist Parkinson’s nurses, covering symptoms, medication timing, benefits and local groups.
Free helpline 0808 800 0303 · Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, Sat 10am–1pm
Text relay 18001 0808 800 0303
Multiple sclerosis
MS Society — free, confidential support by phone, email or online chat.
MS Helpline 0808 800 8000 · Mon–Fri 9am–5pm
mssociety.org.ukTerminal illness & end of life
Marie Curie — information and emotional support for anyone facing a terminal illness, and for the people around them.
Free support line 0800 090 2309
Mon–Fri 8am–6pm · Sat–Sun 10am–4pm
Support for family carers
If you look after someone unpaid, you have rights of your own — including to an assessment of your own needs, separate from theirs.
Carers UK
Expert advice on benefits, employment rights, and practical caring. Email advice for anything complicated.
Helpline 0808 808 7777
Mon–Fri 9am–6pm, including bank holidays
Age UK Advice Line
Free, confidential advice for older people and the people who care about them. Open every day of the year.
0800 678 1602 · 8am–7pm, 365 days a year
ageuk.org.ukYour carer’s assessment
If you provide unpaid care you can ask your council for a free carer’s assessment, whatever the person you care for is entitled to. It can lead to respite, equipment or financial help.
nhs.uk — carer’s assessmentsAsk for it in your own name
Family carers routinely turn down a carer’s assessment because they think it takes something away from the person they look after. It does not. It is a separate entitlement under the Care Act 2014, and it is free.
Funding & benefits
Where the money can come from. Our costs & funding page explains how each route works alongside our own charges.
Care needs assessment
The starting point for council-funded care. Free, and your council must carry one out if it looks like you may need support — regardless of your income.
nhs.uk — needs assessmentNHS Continuing Healthcare
Fully NHS-funded care where someone’s needs are primarily health-related rather than social. Worth pursuing and frequently overlooked.
nhs.uk — NHS CHCAttendance Allowance
For people over State Pension age who need help with personal care. Not means-tested, and it does not depend on having a carer.
gov.uk — Attendance AllowanceCarer’s Allowance
For people spending substantial time caring for someone. Check the earnings limit before assuming you do not qualify.
gov.uk — Carer’s AllowanceLocal support
Your council’s adult social care team is the route to a needs assessment and to council funding.
Barnet
Barnet Carers has supported unpaid carers for over thirty years, from Global House on Ballards Lane, and can arrange a carer’s needs assessment.
Barnet Council adult social care
Barnet Carers
Age UK Barnet — advice, befriending, handyperson, dementia day support
Other boroughs
We are adding the same local detail for Haringey, Enfield, Brent, Islington and Camden.
More content coming soon
In the meantime, search your council’s name plus “adult social care”, or call us and we will point you to the right team.
See all the areas we cover →Ask us, even if you never become a client
We spend a good part of every week pointing families towards the right team. There is no charge for that conversation and no obligation attached to it.
