Home Care in Exminster
Do you need home care in Exminster for someone who wants to stay put?
One independent carer, a few minutes down the A379, and the same face at the same time each visit
Exminster is a village that has grown into a small town without quite noticing. The old lanes by the church, the converted hospital buildings at Devington Park and the new estates on the edge all house people who chose it for the same reason. It is quiet, flat and close to everything. Home care here is about keeping people in the house and the village they picked.
Free visit, no obligation, and an honest answer about whether I am the right fit.
- Enhanced DBS checked
- Fully insured
- Free home visit
- Same carer, every visit
Home care in Exminster, and what the village is like
Exminster sits on the west bank of the Exe, on the flat ground between the estuary and the Haldon hills, a few minutes south of Alphington and Marsh Barton along the A379. For most of its history it was a farming village with a very large Victorian hospital on its edge, and the shape of the place still reflects that. The old centre, around St Martin's church and Milbury Lane, is small, close and pretty. The hospital, closed in the eighties, became Devington Park, a set of handsome converted buildings with their own community. And on the edges, newer estates have added several hundred homes over the last decade.
People needing help here come from all three parts. A retired couple in the old village who have been there fifty years. A widow in Devington Park in a flat with high ceilings and a long corridor. A daughter on one of the new estates whose mother has come to live with the family and needs help during the working day.
Flat, and why that matters
Exminster is one of the flattest places in this part of Devon, and for somebody unsteady on their feet that changes what a visit can include. The Exe Estuary Trail runs past the village on a paved, level, traffic-free path. The marshes are a few minutes' walk. The village shop, the post office and the surgery are all on the level. So getting out is easy here. A walk to the shop and back, a sit on a bench by the water, or a slow loop of the recreation ground can all fit into a visit without a car.
Village life and the backup plan
One of the things I like about Exminster is that it still behaves like a village. Neighbours know each other. The shop knows who has not been in this week. That matters for home care, and particularly for care from one person, because the backup plan is part of the arrangement. When I talk a family through what happens if I am ill or away, the answer in a village like Exminster will often include the neighbour who already pops in. I would rather build on that than pretend it is not there.
Getting to Exeter from Exminster
For anyone who has stopped driving, Exminster can suddenly feel a long way from the city. The bus runs, but the walk to the stop and the wait at the other end are hard for somebody with a stick. Part of what I offer is the lift. The Royal Devon and Exeter at Wonford, the outpatients department, the dentist, the optician, the big shop at Marsh Barton. I drive, I park, I wait, and I make sure whatever was worrying you gets said to whoever needs to hear it.
When I am not the right fit
I work alone, and in Exminster the backup plan will often be the neighbours, so that is where the honest limit sits. If somebody needs someone in the house through the night, or two people for every move, I am not the right answer and I will say so at the first visit. I do not offer live-in care and I am not a nurse.
What I can help with in Exminster
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Home Care
Help at home with the things that have become hard, from one carer you know.
About home care -
Visiting Care
Regular visits, morning, midday, afternoon or evening, that last as long as they need to.
About visiting care -
After Hospital Care
Support for the first few weeks back at home after a stay in hospital.
About after hospital care -
Long Term Care
An ongoing arrangement that changes as needs change, with the same face throughout.
About long term care -
Domiciliary Care
What the term means, how it works with a direct payment, and how I differ from an agency.
About domiciliary care -
Personal Care
Washing, dressing and continence support, done with patience and privacy.
About personal care
Why an independent carer works well in Exminster
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A short run down the A379
Exminster is a few minutes from Alphington and Marsh Barton, so it sits naturally inside my patch and visits are not squeezed by travel.
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Old village and new estates
The lanes around the church, the converted hospital at Devington Park and the new housing on the edge of the village all need slightly different things, and I know which is which.
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The flattest walks in Devon
The estuary trail and the marshes are level, paved and right on the doorstep. Getting out is genuinely easy here, even for someone unsteady.
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Village life, still
A shop, a post office, a pub, a surgery and a village hall within walking distance. A visit can include a trip to any of them rather than a drive.
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Neighbours who notice
Exminster still has the sort of street where people know each other. I work with that, not around it, and neighbours can be part of the backup plan.
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Somebody the family can ring
Adult children in Exeter, Plymouth or further away want one number and one person. That is what I am.
How care in Exminster gets started
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Step 1: A phone call
Tell me what is going on. No script and no sales pitch. If it is not something I can safely take on, I will say so on that call.
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Step 2: A visit, free of charge
I come to you. We sit down, talk through what would actually help, and you decide whether I am the right fit. No charge and no obligation.
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Step 3: A written agreement
Days, times, what I will do and what it costs, in plain English. Yours to keep, and nothing in it changes without asking you first.
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Step 4: We start
Same carer, every visit. After a few weeks I know the routine, the neighbours, and which mug is the right one.
Getting out and about in Exminster
Not being indoors all day is one of the things families ask for most, and one of the first things a rushed visit drops. These are the sort of places a visit in Exminster might include, depending on the weather and how someone is feeling that day.
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The Exe Estuary Trail
The flat, traffic-free path along the river towards the Turf Lock in one direction and the city in the other. Benches at intervals, level all the way, and a different view every week as the tide changes.
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Exminster and Powderham Marshes
The RSPB reserve on the village edge. Wide skies, birds in every season, and a quiet place to sit for someone who does not want to walk far.
Exminster and Powderham Marshes website (opens in a new tab) -
Powderham Castle
A few minutes down the A379 at Kenton. Gardens, a cafe and deer in the park. A proper afternoon out for someone who is up to it, with easy parking and level ground near the house.
Powderham Castle website (opens in a new tab)
Where Exminster sits
Exminster is EX6. The map shows the area rather than an office, because there is no office. I come to you.
The map comes from Google and only loads if you ask for it, so Google sets no cookies until you do.
Or open Exminster in Google Maps (opens in a new tab)What it costs
Hourly rate
£20 to £40 per hour
Where in that range depends on what is needed. I give you one fixed figure at the free first visit, in writing, before anything is agreed.
- The rate is all in. Mileage is included, there is no VAT to add, and there is no registration fee or charge for the first visit.
- Minimum visit one hour. Usual minimum term three months, paid in advance, open for discussion at the first visit.
- A visit I miss, or cannot complete because I am ill, is not charged. The time is carried over to another visit or refunded, whichever you prefer.
- A visit you cancel with 48 hours notice is carried over. With less notice it is charged.
- 14 days to change your mind after signing the agreement. Visits you asked me in writing to start in that time are paid for.
- Two weeks notice to end the arrangement, from either of us. If it ends early you pay for the visits made and the notice period, and the rest is returned.
Questions from families in Exminster
Do you cover all of Exminster?
Yes. The old village around the church and Milbury Lane, Devington Park, the estates off Main Road and the newer housing towards the bypass. Exminster is EX6 and it is well inside my patch.
What about Kenton, Kennford and Ide?
Kenton and Kennford are EX6 and close by, so usually yes. Ide is on the other side of the A30 but only minutes away, so also yes in most cases. Anything further towards Dawlish or the Teign valley I would want to think about, because a tight patch is what keeps my visits on time. Ask and I will give you an honest answer.
My father was in the old Exminster hospital as a nurse. Does that sort of history matter to how you work?
It matters a great deal. Half of good care is knowing who somebody was before they needed help. If your father spent his working life on the wards there, I want to hear about it, and I will treat him as the professional he was rather than a patient. That is one of the things the same carer every visit gives you.
Can you help someone in Exminster get to appointments in Exeter?
Yes. The Royal Devon and Exeter at Wonford, the surgery, the dentist, the hairdresser. I drive, I wait, and I make sure the questions get asked. For someone who no longer drives themselves, that can be the single most useful thing a visit includes.
Care at home in Exminster
A phone call to start, then a free visit to the house. Tell me what has become difficult and I will tell you honestly whether I can help.