Home Care in East Dulwich, SE22

Yes, we provide home care in East Dulwich: carers who visit for washing, dressing, medication, meals and company, starting with a free home assessment. The 185 bus runs direct from Lewisham along Lordship Lane, so East Dulwich is one of the more reachable parts of Southwark for our carers, although visits always depend on carer availability, so ask us.

Upstairs flats and narrow bathrooms

East Dulwich was built fast. More than 5,000 houses went up between 1871 and 1881, and the long terraced streets off Lordship Lane, Crystal Palace Road and Melbourne Grove still look much as they did. Many have since been split into an upper and a lower flat.

For care, which flat matters a great deal. An upper flat usually means a steep internal staircase straight from the front door, and a small bathroom at the back where a bath, not a shower, takes up most of the room. A hoist may not fit, and a walk-in shower may need a council adaptation. A ground-floor flat is easier but often has a step down to the garden and little space to turn a wheelchair. We look at all of this before the first visit and write the plan around what the flat allows.

What visiting care covers

Visits can include personal care, medication support, home help with shopping and laundry, companionship and a sit-in service so a family carer can go out. We also provide dementia care, complex care, palliative care at the end of life, hospital discharge support and nail care at home.

A companionship visit here can mean a walk to Goose Green, a coffee on Lordship Lane, or a look round the small market on North Cross Road. For someone with a rollator, a carer alongside makes those trips possible again.

Coming home from King's College Hospital

East Dulwich residents are usually treated at King's on Denmark Hill. The 176 and 185 both run between Lordship Lane, East Dulwich station and the King's College Hospital stop, which makes outpatient appointments simple with a carer. When someone is being discharged, the hospital plans the discharge and Southwark's reablement service may give short-term help at home first. Call us while the discharge is still being discussed if you want care to follow on.

How do I get a care assessment from Southwark Council?

Use the council's online referral form for the Older People and Physical Disabilities team, or phone 020 7525 3324 on weekdays if you can't use the form or the need is urgent. The council may suggest community services first, or arrange care itself, and council-arranged care is means-tested. You can also arrange care privately with us at any point. Our Southwark page explains the wider council route.

Will we have to pay for care in East Dulwich?

It depends. If the council assesses and arranges care, a financial assessment decides what you contribute; the council's online calculator gives an estimate. If you arrange it with us privately, we quote in writing after the assessment, and we don't give prices over the phone. NHS Continuing Healthcare is a separate route for mainly health needs. See paying for care.

Live-in care in a terraced flat

Live-in care needs a spare bedroom for the carer. A one-bedroom flat can't take it, but whole houses and larger maisonettes often work. We'll tell you honestly at the assessment.

Time off for family carers

If a son, daughter or partner is doing most of the caring, respite care, from a regular sit-in to a short live-in stay, gives that carer a break. Southwark's free carer's assessment is open to anyone caring regularly, even if they don't live with the person.

What we can help with in East Dulwich

• 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