Home Care in Cockfosters, EN4

Yes, we provide home care in Cockfosters. What we can offer most reliably here is a live-in carer who moves into the house. Cockfosters sits at the far end of the Piccadilly line, a long way from our only office in Lewisham, so regular visits depend on a carer who lives nearby being free. Every arrangement starts with a free assessment at home by Jackie, our registered manager, and a written care plan.

Is Cockfosters in Enfield or Barnet?

Both. Cockfosters lies partly in the London Borough of Enfield and partly in the London Borough of Barnet, and the boundary runs through the area, so you cannot tell from the name alone which council you are under. The quickest way to check is a council tax bill. It decides who carries out the needs assessment, which carers' centre supports the family carer and which council issues any carer parking permit.

• Enfield side: Enfield Adult Social Care, through the Single Point of Access on 020 8379 1001 (Monday to Friday) or the online referral form linked from the gov.uk page for Enfield. More on our Enfield home care page.
• Barnet side: Barnet Council's Social Care Direct on 020 8359 5000. See home care in Barnet.

Postcodes do not settle the question. EN4 has the post town Barnet on its letters, but much of it, including Hadley Wood and the Trent Park side of Cockfosters, is in Enfield.

A suburb the Tube built

Cockfosters grew very little until the Piccadilly line reached it in July 1933. Charles Holden's terminus station, now Grade II listed, and the Grade II* station at Oakwood one stop back came first, and the houses followed. So much of the area is 1930s semis and detached houses with front drives and back gardens, on roads such as Heddon Court Avenue, Mount Pleasant and the streets off Bramley Road, with low-rise flats nearer Cockfosters Road. Newer homes have also gone up around the Trent Park mansion.

For care, two things follow. A three-bedroom house nearly always has the spare room a live-in carer needs. And the bedroom and bathroom are almost always upstairs, so the stairs, the bath and getting in and out of bed are usually where the care plan starts.

The buses that matter for appointments

Useful routes if a carer is helping with appointments:

• The 307 stops at Oakwood station, runs along Cockfosters Road past Heddon Court Avenue, where Cockfosters Medical Centre is, and continues through East Barnet and High Barnet to Barnet Hospital. In the other direction it goes via Enfield Chase station to Enfield Town.
• The 384 starts at Cockfosters station and also serves Barnet Hospital on its way to Edgware.
• The 298 and 299 link Cockfosters station with Southgate.

Coming home from Barnet Hospital

Barnet Hospital on Wellhouse Lane is the nearest A&E for Cockfosters, so it is usually where people from EN4 are admitted and discharged. It is run by the Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, which also runs district nursing on the Enfield side. If your relative will need care at home afterwards, ring us while the ward is still planning the discharge. We will not agree a start date we cannot keep. Read more about our hospital discharge support.

How much does home care cost in Cockfosters?

We give a written quote after the assessment and do not quote figures over the phone. The council may pay some or all of it if its needs assessment finds an eligible need, and a financial assessment then sets the person's contribution. A council personal budget can be taken as a direct payment and used with us. On the Enfield side it is paid onto a prepaid Enfield E-Card. Where the needs are mainly health needs, ask the GP or the hospital team about NHS Continuing Healthcare. Our paying for care guide explains the means test.

Respite for the family carer

On the Enfield side, Enfield Carers Centre carries out carers' assessments on the council's behalf (020 8366 3677). That assessment is the way into breaks and possibly a carer's direct payment. With us, respite care in Cockfosters usually means a live-in carer staying for a week or two in the spare room while the family carer has a break.

Care we can arrange in Cockfosters

• Live-in care
• Respite care
• Personal care
• Dementia care
• Companionship
• Palliative care

What we can help with in Cockfosters

• 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