Help at Home

How much does it cost?

The service is free for three weeks, after your illness or hospital stay. It is also free if you are referred for help by a health or social care professional. If you don't fall into either of those categories we still want you to access Help at Home but we do ask for a donation to help cover the overheads of co-ordinating the scheme. As a guide, we suggest £2 for a short or simple task, or £5 for a longer job.

Who comes to help and when?

Before the first visit, a member of staff will visit your home to assess your needs. After this visits are arranged by Care Network's Help at Home co-ordinator, at a time to suit you and your helper. The help arranged is given by volunteers, who offer their time freely. 

All staff and volunteers are fully trained by Care Network Cambridgeshire and police (CRB) checked. They carry an ID badge and they visit at the time arranged, not unannounced, to protect your safety.

As a general rule help is offered on a short-term basis. However regular help may sometimes be offered if there are volunteers free and, in those cases, we will try to arrange for the same volunteer to visit each time.

If your circumstances change and you need more help or different tasks carried out, you must contact the Help at Home co-ordinator first, and don't just ask your volunteer.

How can I access the service? 

The service is open to all adults in Cambridgeshire and anyone can ask for help. All you need to do is contact your local Help at Home office:

• East Cambridgeshire: 01353 772169 or hah@care-network.org.uk
• Huntingdonshire and Fenland: 01354 694413 or whfh.fenland@care-network.org.uk or whfh.hunts@care-network.org.uk
• South Cambridgeshire and Cambridge City: 01223 714433 or whfh.south@care-network.org.uk
• Alternatively visit www.care-network.org.uk and click on Help at Home for more information.