Arranging adult social care in Oxfordshire
Oxfordshire County Council is the upper tier authority for a large and varied part of the South East, covering the city of Oxford alongside market towns such as Banbury, Abingdon, Didcot, Witney, Bicester, Chipping Norton and Faringdon. Because it is a county council, adult social care sits with Oxfordshire rather than with the district councils, so families looking for support for an older or disabled relative should contact Oxfordshire County Council's adult social care team as the first step.
The starting point is a free needs assessment. A social worker or assessor from Oxfordshire will look at how your relative is managing day to day, what they find difficult, and what outcomes matter to them, whether that is staying independent at home in a village near Witney or moving into a supported setting closer to family in Oxford. If eligible needs are identified, a financial assessment follows to work out how much, if anything, the council will contribute towards care.
Local care choices and typical costs
The county has a broad care market, with 314 CQC registered care homes across Oxfordshire, so families usually have a genuine choice between residential care homes, nursing homes and home care providers in their local town. Options range from small family run homes in the Cotswold villages to larger nursing homes in Oxford, Banbury and Bicester.
Funding usually comes from one or a mix of sources: full self funding, a council contribution following the financial assessment, NHS Continuing Healthcare where needs are primarily health related, or NHS funded nursing care contributions towards the nursing element in nursing homes. National capital thresholds apply when Oxfordshire works out what someone must pay themselves.
As a general guide in Oxfordshire, home care tends to sit at a weekly cost broadly in line with the number of visiting hours booked, residential care homes typically run into four figures per week, and nursing homes are usually higher again to reflect registered nursing on site. Always ask individual providers for a written fee breakdown, as rates vary noticeably between Oxford and the surrounding market towns.
