Cancer support in Hertfordshire comes from three layers, and families usually meet them in the wrong order. First, the hospital team treats the cancer. Second, a community and hospice layer supports the person at home. Third, a home care provider fills the hours in between. Knowing which layer does what saves weeks of ringing the wrong number.
This guide sets out who covers you, area by area, with the numbers that exist today. We wrote it for the family member who wants to know why the district nurse, the hospice and the chemotherapy unit are three different phone calls. It also shows where a private carer fits alongside them.
Starling Homecare is a family run, CQC registered home care provider. We support people through cancer treatment and beyond it across Hertfordshire, working around the NHS team rather than in place of it.
The hospital layer of cancer support in Hertfordshire
Most Hertfordshire patients have chemotherapy, immunotherapy or radiotherapy through East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust. For example, radiotherapy and the most specialised treatment run at Mount Vernon Cancer Centre in Northwood. Day chemotherapy for the east and north of the county runs at the Lister Macmillan Cancer Centre inside Lister Hospital in Stevenage. It is open Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6pm.
West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust looks after diagnosis and surgery for the west of the county. It works with Mount Vernon for chemotherapy, radiotherapy and immunotherapy. Both trusts run a Macmillan information and support centre. At the Lister it is next to the main entrance, on 01438 284657. At Watford General it is opposite main reception, on 01923 436326.
One thing to know about Mount Vernon. NHS England consulted in early 2026 on moving the centre to a new building beside Watford General, run by University College London Hospitals. The consultation closed in March and commissioners are preparing a decision making business case. As of September 2026 that is a proposal, not a decision, so check the current position with your own team.
Who to call when something goes wrong at home
Everyone having chemotherapy receives a number for their care team, and the NHS is clear about when to use it. Call your care team now for a high temperature or other signs of infection. Call for throbbing or cramping pain and swelling in a limb, and for sudden breathlessness or chest pain. If you are not sure how to contact the team, call NHS 111.
In short, this is the single most useful thing a family can pin to the fridge. In our experience the carer who knows the number and the triggers is calmer than the one who is waiting to see. The hospital would rather hear from you early.
The community layer of cancer support in Hertfordshire: nursing and hospices at home
Support at home splits by geography, because the county's community nursing does. In the east and north, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust runs integrated community teams that include specialist palliative care nurses. They work from 8am to 10pm every day. Referrals go through the East and North Herts Referral Hub on 0300 123 7571. In the west, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust provides community nursing, with a single point of access on 0300 020 0656.
Likewise, the hospices follow the same map, and every one of them supports people at home, not only in a building. Garden House Hospice Care in Letchworth runs Hospice at Home for North Hertfordshire and Stevenage, including Hitchin. Its 24 hour advice line is 01462 416794. Isabel Hospice provides community palliative care across eastern Hertfordshire, including Welwyn Garden City and Hatfield. Its 24 hour clinical advice line is 01707 382575.
In the south and west, Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care provides care at home for people registered with a GP in south and west Hertfordshire. It offers scheduled daytime visits and a night line, through its coordination centre on 01923 60 60 30. The Hospice of St Francis in Berkhamsted runs its own Care at Home team of community nurses and healthcare assistants on 01442 869553. It also hosts the West Hertfordshire 24 hour specialist palliative care advice line on 01923 335356.
Importantly, hospice care is not only for the last weeks. Rennie Grove Peace describes its support as available from diagnosis onwards. Garden House reports that more than half of the people it supports do not have cancer at all. Rennie Grove Peace, St Francis and Isabel all accept a self referral or a referral from a family member. You do not have to wait for a professional to make the call.
Macmillan, and the money side
The Macmillan Cancer Support line is free on 0808 808 00 00, 8am to 8pm, seven days a week. Its money advisers work Monday to Friday, 8am to 6pm. In 2025 they identified £112 million in potential benefits for the people who called. Macmillan's national grant scheme has closed, so the advisers, the Macmillan benefits calculator and Turn2us are the routes now.
Two local practicalities follow from that. Both hospital Macmillan centres offer welfare benefits guidance, and the Lister centre runs a programme for carers called Time and Space. Where the illness is advanced, NHS continuing healthcare fast track can fund care at home quickly. Garden House, for example, provides up to 12 weeks of Hospice at Home through it.
Where Starling Homecare fits in cancer support in Hertfordshire
The NHS and hospice teams visit. They do not stay. A community nurse comes for a dressing or a syringe driver. A hospice nurse comes for a symptom review. Then the household is on its own for the remaining hours. That gap is where home care sits.
What we provide is the ordinary day. That means washing and dressing on the days it is too much, meals that change with appetite, and medication prompts. It can also mean a carer in the house on the night after treatment, and live-in care where someone should not be alone. We work to the plan the hospital and hospice set. We know the call the team triggers, and we ring them when the triggers are met.
Some hospices offer short term personal care, such as the Rapid Personalised Care Service that Rennie Grove Peace and St Francis run for people whose health is deteriorating quickly. In that case, we step around it rather than duplicate it. The aim is one plan with several teams in it, not three plans that compete.
Our guide to caring for someone with cancer at home covers the treatment weeks day by day. Meanwhile, the piece on getting to cancer treatment in Hertfordshire covers the journeys. Finally, the cancer care at home page describes the service itself.
Where we provide cancer care at home
Our carers provide cancer care at home across all ten of the areas we cover. Each has its own local team and its own number.
- St Albans: 01727 324 127
- Harpenden: 01582 824 830
- Welwyn Hatfield: 01707 714 000
- Potters Bar: 01707 714 000
- Radlett and Shenley: 01923 988 550
- Hemel Hempstead: 01442 954 137
- Berkhamsted: 01442 954 137
- Tring: 01442 954 137
- Hitchin: 01462 534739
- Hertford: 01920 746779
Common questions about cancer support in Hertfordshire
Does Starling Homecare provide cancer care at home in Hertfordshire?
Yes. We provide visiting, overnight and live-in care at home for people during and after cancer treatment across all ten of the areas we cover. We work alongside the hospital, community nursing and hospice teams. Visiting care starts from £34 an hour and is VAT exempt, with the rate agreed after an assessment.
Which hospice covers my area in Hertfordshire?
Garden House Hospice Care covers North Hertfordshire and Stevenage. Isabel Hospice covers eastern Hertfordshire. Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care and the Hospice of St Francis cover the south and west, including St Albans, Harpenden, Hemel Hempstead, Berkhamsted and Tring. Each also has a 24 hour advice line, listed above.
Can we get cancer support at home before the end of life?
Yes. The hospices describe their support as available from diagnosis. Community nursing covers treatment side effects and symptom control at home, and the Macmillan support line is open to anyone affected by cancer. In short, none of these require someone to be near the end of life.
Starting with the right call
If you are unsure where to begin, start with the care team number on the treatment paperwork. Then try the Macmillan centre at the hospital where treatment happens. In turn, they will know which community team and which hospice cover the postcode. If the gap you are trying to fill is the hours in between, our St Albans office is on 01727 324 127. The local numbers above reach each of our teams directly.
Services, hours and telephone numbers were checked on 17 September 2026 against East and North Hertfordshire Teaching NHS Trust, West Hertfordshire Teaching Hospitals NHS Trust, NHS England, the NHS chemotherapy page, Hertfordshire Community NHS Trust, Central London Community Healthcare NHS Trust, Garden House Hospice Care, Isabel Hospice, Rennie Grove Peace Hospice Care, the Hospice of St Francis and Macmillan Cancer Support. Some trust pages are several years old, so confirm hours by phone before travelling. This article is general information, not clinical advice.
Arranging Care Is Simple
Starting care can feel like a big step. We keep it calm and straightforward, and we are here to guide you from your very first call.
1. Talk to us
Get in touch by phone or request a callback. We will listen, answer your questions and help you understand the options, so you can decide what feels right in your own time.
2. A home visit and initial consultation
We arrange a visit to understand your routines, your home and what matters most to you. Together we agree an initial consultation and shape the support that feels right.
3. Your care begins
A small, familiar team starts your care, arriving at the agreed times and staying involved as your needs change. We remain your trusted adviser throughout.
Whenever you are ready, we are here to help.