Biggin Hill · Bromley
Live-in and Home Care in Biggin Hill
Care at home on the North Downs, in TN16: Biggin Hill village, Biggin Hill Valley, Aperfield and the roads around the airport.
Yes, we provide care in Biggin Hill, and here the option we can most reliably staff is live-in care: a carer who moves into the home and is there through the day. Biggin Hill is more than an hour from our Lewisham office by public transport, so regular visiting care is only possible if we have a carer who can reach you at the right times. Call and ask, and we will tell you honestly what we can cover after a free home assessment.
Why Biggin Hill is mostly live-in care territory
Biggin Hill sits on the North Downs, rising to over 210 metres, in the green belt at the far southern edge of the borough. It is closer to Westerham in Kent than to Bromley town centre, and it has no railway station. The nearest is Hayes, about five miles away.
Two London bus routes do most of the work. The 246 runs from Bromley North through Hayes, Coney Hall and Keston, past the airport and the Memorial Museum, and on to Westerham. The 320 runs from Biggin Hill Valley through Keston and Bromley Common to Bromley South and on to Catford Bridge. But a carer making three or four short visits a day here from south-east London would spend most of the shift travelling. A live-in carer avoids that, because they are already in the house.
How does live-in care work in a Biggin Hill bungalow?
Biggin Hill has many bungalows and chalet bungalows, often on hilly roads, alongside post-war and newer estates. A true bungalow is one of the best homes to receive care in. Bedroom, bathroom and kitchen are all on one level, so there are no stairs to plan around for hoisting or bathing.
A chalet bungalow is different: the extra bedrooms are usually up in the roof. That often suits live-in care well, because the person needing care sleeps downstairs and the carer has their own room upstairs. A live-in carer needs a private bedroom, somewhere to keep their things, and proper breaks each day. We agree those with you in writing before the carer arrives.
On unmade or steep roads, getting a wheelchair out of the front door can be the hardest part of the day, so mention it at the assessment.
Couples. A single live-in carer can give full personal care to one partner and lighter support to the other. In a Biggin Hill bungalow that can mean a couple staying together at home when the alternative would be separate placements.
Activities in Biggin Hill for older people
The Biggin Hill Community Care Association, set up in 1985, runs a day centre two days a week for people over 50, a weekly lunch club, an art group and an assisted shopping scheme. Bromley Council lists it among the borough's day centres for older people.
Closer to home, the St George's RAF Chapel of Remembrance and the Biggin Hill Memorial Museum beside it make a short outing with a carer, and the 246 runs along the main road past the airport.
Who pays for care in Biggin Hill?
Biggin Hill has a Kent-style TN16 postcode, but it is part of the London Borough of Bromley, so Bromley Council handles social care here. Ask for a needs assessment on 020 8461 7777 or through the council's care assessment page. If the council agrees to fund care, it may offer a direct payment so you can choose your provider. After that there is a financial assessment. NHS Continuing Healthcare is for people whose needs are primarily health needs. We quote for live-in or visiting care in writing after we have assessed. See also our Bromley home care page.
Hospital stays and respite
Admissions from Biggin Hill usually go to the Princess Royal University Hospital at Farnborough, run by King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust. If a parent is coming home and will need more help than before, we can arrange a live-in carer to support the return from hospital while things settle. For family carers, a live-in carer can also provide respite for a week or two while you take a break. Bromley Well offers carers advice and groups, and Bromley Council carries out carer's assessments.
Services available in Biggin Hill
Live-in care can cover personal care, medication support, home help and companionship, as well as dementia care, complex care and palliative care at the end of life. Ask us about a sit-in service or nail care visits, which depend on carer availability this far south.
What we can help with in Biggin Hill
- 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 Bromley
Home care pages for other parts of Bromley:
Our services
How we can help in Bromley
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Visiting care in Bromley
Regular visits for personal care, medication, meals and company.
Read more →Live-in care in Bromley
A carer who lives in, for one person or a couple.
Read more →Respite care in Bromley
Cover so a family carer can rest, recover or go away.
Read more →Supported living in Bromley
Our homes in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge.
Read more →Biggin Hill FAQs
Biggin Hill questions
Questions families ask us about Biggin Hill. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionOur address says Westerham, Kent. Is that still Bromley?
If you are in Biggin Hill, yes. TN16 is a Westerham postcode, but Biggin Hill is in the London Borough of Bromley, and your council for social care, carers' support and any funding is Bromley. If you are unsure, check who your council tax goes to.
Can you send someone for a morning and evening visit every day?
Only if we have a carer who can reliably reach Biggin Hill at those times, which is often not the case this far from Lewisham. Ask us. If we cannot cover the visits, we will say so straight away, and live-in care is the alternative we can usually arrange.
Mum's spare room is up in the roof of her chalet bungalow. Is that suitable for a live-in carer?
Usually, yes, as long as it is a proper bedroom the carer can use privately. We check the room at the assessment, along with how the carer will hear your mother at night.
Can the live-in carer take Dad to the Community Care Association day centre?
The carer can get him ready and, if it is agreed in the care plan, go with him. His place at the day centre is booked through the association itself.
Get started
Looking for care in Biggin Hill?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.