Home Care in Barking Riverside

Yes, we provide home care in Barking Riverside. We start with a free assessment at home and a written care plan, then arrange either visits or a live-in carer. We are based in Lewisham, not in the borough, so visiting care depends on whether we have a carer free for the times you need. A live-in carer is the more dependable arrangement here, because once they move in the journey stops mattering.

A new town on old power station land

Barking Riverside is being built on the site of Barking Power Station, which closed in 1981, on land that was tidal marsh before industry arrived. Bellway built the first 900 or so homes between 1995 and 2000; the current development began in 2010, the first of its homes were occupied in 2012, and it has planning permission for more than 10,000 homes. Almost everything is recent, and many older residents are newcomers too, often a parent who has moved into a flat near a son or daughter who is already doing a lot of the caring.

Can we get home care in a new-build flat?

Yes, and new-build flats are among the easier homes to care for someone in. Lifts and level thresholds make wheelchairs and hoists simpler to use than in an older terrace. A few things still come up at the assessment:

• The bathroom. Many flats have a bath with a shower over it. A level-access shower or bath lift may need a council occupational therapy assessment.
• The second bedroom. Spare rooms in new flats can be small. A live-in carer needs a room of their own with a bed, so we look at it before recommending live-in care.
• The building's own rules. Fob access, concierge desks and key safes on communal doors need sorting out before the first visit, not on the morning of it.

Getting carers to you

The Overground runs to Barking Riverside station, which opened in July 2022 at the end of the Suffragette line and is step-free. East London Transit buses EL1 and EL3 stop there too. There is also a river route: Uber Boat by Thames Clippers has served Barking Riverside Pier since April 2022, with RB1 boats calling at Woolwich, North Greenwich and Canary Wharf on the way into central London.

Parking is the awkward part. Much of it is managed estate parking with permit bays, so tell us at the assessment how visitors and carers park at your building. Where a street is in a council controlled parking zone, Barking and Dagenham offers a Community and Healthcare parking permit for residents who receive care at home.

GPs and hospitals

Aurora Medcare, the former Thames View Health Centre on Bastable Avenue, is just to the north, and the EL1 and EL2 buses stop outside it. For hospital care, most admissions go to Queen's Hospital in Romford or King George Hospital in Goodmayes, both run by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust; some people in the west of the borough go to Newham University Hospital. Our hospital discharge support can be planned with the ward.

Who pays for home care at Barking Riverside?

The council may contribute if a needs assessment finds the person eligible; a financial assessment then decides what they pay. The first step is the council's Adult Intake Team on 020 8227 2915, or the online care needs assessment. The council can pay its share as a direct payment, so you can choose your own agency. If the main need is health-related, NHS Continuing Healthcare may pay in full. We give you a written quote after our assessment. There is more on our Barking and Dagenham page and in our paying for care guide.

Live-in care and short breaks

For someone who needs help through the day and night, a live-in carer is usually the answer here, as long as the flat has a bedroom the carer can use. One carer can look after a couple. For a son or daughter who lives nearby and does most of the caring, respite care can be a regular afternoon, a week of visits or live-in cover while you go away.

What we can arrange in Barking Riverside

• Personal care: washing, dressing and help in the bathroom
• Medication support
• Home help: shopping, meals and housework
• Companionship, including trips out to the shops or the river
• Sit-in service while the family is out
• Live-in care for one person or a couple
• Respite care
• Dementia care
• Complex care and palliative care
• Hospital discharge support

Our nail care visits do not currently reach Barking and Dagenham.

What we can help with in Barking Riverside

• 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