Archway · Islington
Home Care in Archway, N19
Care at home after a stay at the Whittington and for the long term, around Archway station, Junction Road, Highgate Hill and the estates and terraces running down towards Upper Holloway.
Yes, we can arrange home care in Archway, including care for someone coming home from the Whittington Hospital. Live-in care is the most dependable option, because Archway is 45 to 55 minutes from our Lewisham office and a live-in carer is already there. Visiting care depends on which carers are free at the times you need, so call and ask; we start with a free home assessment by Jackie, our registered manager.
Can I arrange care before Mum leaves the Whittington?
Yes, and it is the best time to do it. The Whittington Hospital, on Magdala Avenue at the top of Highgate Hill, is Islington's local hospital, and Archway sits directly below it. Discharge home is planned between the ward, Whittington Health's social work team and the council's Integrated Health and Care Front Door, which takes discharge referrals. Some people go home with the Islington Rapid Response team, an NHS service that can treat people at home and support early discharge, or with a short period of council reablement.
None of those is private home care, and they are time-limited. If you expect your mother to need help beyond them, or you want to choose who provides it, tell the ward that you are arranging care privately and ring us while she is still in hospital. We can do the assessment around the discharge date, and our hospital discharge page lists what we need from you.
Hills, steps and walking frames
Archway is where the Holloway Road meets Highgate Hill and Junction Road, below the Archway bridge on Hornsey Lane. Much of N19 slopes, and the streets up towards Highgate are hard going for anyone on a walking frame. The housing is council estates and tower blocks next to Victorian terraces divided into flats, so a typical home has either a lift that has to work or a long flight of stairs.
After a hospital stay this matters more than usual. Someone who walked to the shops on Junction Road before a fall may not manage the hill afterwards. A carer can steady them on the way out, carry the shopping, or go for them while they rebuild strength, and we write into the care plan what is safe and what is not yet.
Buses to the hospital. The Whittington / Magdala Avenue stop is served by the W5, 143, 210, 263 and 310, and the 4 and C11 use the Whittington Hospital stop on Dartmouth Park Hill. Archway station is on the Northern line (High Barnet branch), with Upper Holloway on the Overground Suffragette line a walk away.
Does Islington Council pay for care after a hospital stay?
Short-term reablement after discharge is free for up to six weeks under national rules. Longer-term care follows a needs assessment and a financial assessment. You can ask for an assessment through the council's online form or on 020 7527 2299; out of hours, urgent adult social care concerns go to the Emergency Duty Team on 020 7226 0992. We quote privately after our assessment and do not publish prices. Our Islington home care page explains the funding route.
For the relative who drives in to help
If you drive over to help a parent in Archway, parking is the daily headache. Islington Council sells a carer permit for unpaid carers of Islington residents. You do not need to live in Islington, but you need a carer's needs assessment first, and the permit costs the same as a resident's permit. That assessment is worth having anyway: it is the route to breaks, and the Islington Carers Hub can help with it.
Dementia support in N19
Alzheimer's Society runs Singing for the Brain and the Cecelia Cafe at Hargrave Hall, N19 5SP, both on Age UK Islington's dementia-friendly activities list. A carer can help someone get ready and, if it is in the care plan, go with them. See dementia care.
Live-in and respite
If the flat or house has a spare bedroom, a live-in carer covers the whole day, which suits someone whose recovery from hospital is slow. The same arrangement for a week or two gives a family carer a break; see respite care.
Services in Archway
- Hospital discharge
- Live-in care
- Personal care
- Medication support
- Dementia care
- Palliative care
- Complex care
- Home help
- Companionship
- Sit-in service
- Respite care
- Nail care
What we can help with in Archway
- Personal care, washing and dressing
- Medication prompting and support
- Meals, laundry and home help
- Companionship and getting out
- Dementia care at home
- Support after a hospital stay
- Short breaks for family carers
- Live-in care when needs grow
Elsewhere in Islington
Home care pages for other parts of Islington:
Our services
How we can help in Islington
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Visiting care in Islington
Regular visits for personal care, medication, meals and company.
Read more →Live-in care in Islington
A carer who lives in, for one person or a couple.
Read more →Respite care in Islington
Cover so a family carer can rest, recover or go away.
Read more →Supported living in Islington
Our homes in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge.
Read more →Archway FAQs
Your Archway questions
Questions families ask us about Archway. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionIs the Rapid Response team the same thing as your service?
No. Islington Rapid Response is an NHS community health team run by Whittington Health, mainly for urgent clinical needs and early discharge. We are a private homecare agency providing personal care and support at home, for as long as it is needed.
Our address is N19 but near Tufnell Park. Is that Islington or Camden?
N19 is split: most of Archway is in Islington, but parts towards Tufnell Park and Dartmouth Park are in Camden, and the top of Highgate Hill borders Haringey. Check the postcode on the council's website before requesting an assessment. We cover all of it.
Dad cannot manage the hill since his fall. Can a carer take him out?
Yes, if it is safe and agreed in the care plan. A carer can walk with him at his pace, push a wheelchair if he has one, or do the shopping for him on the days he is not up to it.
Can you provide end-of-life care at home after the Whittington?
Yes. Our palliative care works alongside the district nurses and the GP, covering personal care and comfort, so someone can be at home in their final weeks if that is their wish.
Get started
Looking for care in Archway?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.