Elm Park · Havering
Home Care in Elm Park, Hornchurch
Care at home in Elm Park's 1930s streets and post-war council homes, around The Broadway, Elm Park Avenue, St Nicholas Avenue and Harrow Lodge Park, RM12.
Yes, we can provide home care in Elm Park. Live-in care, where a carer lives in, is available in any home with a spare bedroom. Visiting care depends on whether we have a carer free for your times, because Elm Park is a long journey from our Lewisham office. Call us for a free home assessment and an honest answer on what we can cover.
A garden city built around a station
Elm Park was farmland until 1933, when the builder Richard Costain bought three farms and planned the Elm Park Garden City around a new District line station. The station and estate were officially opened in May 1935. Costain's estate office stood on the corner of Coronation Drive and Maylands Avenue, and the shops still run along The Broadway, Station Parade and Tadworth Parade, and into parts of Elm Park Avenue and St Nicholas Avenue.
The war stopped Costain's building. Afterwards, Hornchurch Urban District Council took over much of the remaining land for social housing, and by 1964 it had built 1,146 council homes. So Elm Park has two kinds of street: rows of near-identical 1930s semis and terraces, and post-war council houses and low-rise flats, many now privately owned.
What a 1930s Costain semi means for care
Because so many homes share a layout, the same practical questions come up again and again. The stairs are straight and fairly steep, and the only bathroom is usually upstairs. The third bedroom is often a small box room, which can be too tight for a live-in carer to use as a proper bedroom. Common answers are a stairlift, a downstairs commode or a bed brought down to the front room. An occupational therapist from the council can assess for equipment and adaptations.
In the low-rise council flats, the question is usually access: whether there is a lift, how far it is to the door, and whether a wheelchair or walking frame can get through.
Is home care in Elm Park free for people on a low income?
Not automatically, but the council may pay some or all of it. Havering Adult Social Care first assesses needs. Call 01708 432000 or use its online enquiry form. If your relative has eligible needs, a financial assessment works out what they contribute, and people with low savings and income may pay little or nothing. The council can pay its share as a direct payment, which you can use to buy care from a provider such as us. NHS Continuing Healthcare is a separate route, for needs that are mainly health needs. For private care, we quote in writing after our assessment. Our Havering home care page has the wider borough picture.
District line, buses and parking
Elm Park station sits on The Broadway, between Dagenham East and Hornchurch on the District line, and it has step-free access from the platform to the street. Buses 165, 252, 365, 372 and the SL12 Superloop stop at the station. From our office, a carer would take the DLR and Jubilee line to West Ham, then the District line east, well over an hour each way. Away from the station, most residential roads have no parking controls, which helps carers who drive.
Two parks within walking distance. Costain gave part of the land for Harrow Lodge Park, on Elm Park's northern side, and Hornchurch Country Park lies to the east on the old RAF Hornchurch airfield. A walk there with a carer can be written into a companionship plan.
Hospital and NHS appointments
Hospital admissions and discharges for Elm Park mostly go through Queen's Hospital in Romford. Many outpatient, diagnostic and community appointments are now at the St George's Health and Wellbeing Hub on Suttons Lane, Hornchurch, which opened in November 2024 on the old St George's Hospital site. If a discharge date is being set, tell the ward that care at home is being arranged. Our discharge support page explains how we help.
Live-in care in Elm Park
For a live-in carer, the home needs a real spare bedroom. That usually means the second bedroom, not the box room. Live-in care is the most dependable option for full-time support this far from Lewisham.
Respite and carers' support
A live-in carer can cover a week or two of respite while the family carer has a break. Havering's carers' service, run by Imago, holds a drop-in at HOPWA House in Hornchurch on Wednesday mornings and at Rainham Library on Friday mornings. You can also book a carer's assessment through the council's carer support page.
Services in Elm Park
- Personal care
- Live-in care
- Respite care
- Medication support
- Home help
- Companionship
- Sit-in service
- Dementia care
- Complex care
- Palliative care
- Hospital discharge
What we can help with in Elm Park
- 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 Havering
Home care pages for other parts of Havering:
Our services
How we can help in Havering
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Visiting care in Havering
Regular visits for personal care, medication, meals and company.
Read more →Live-in care in Havering
A carer who lives in, for one person or a couple.
Read more →Respite care in Havering
Cover so a family carer can rest, recover or go away.
Read more →Supported living in Havering
Our homes in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge.
Read more →Elm Park FAQs
Elm Park FAQs
Questions families ask us about Elm Park. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionMum's spare room is the small box room. Can a live-in carer sleep there?
Only if it can take a proper bed and space for the carer's belongings. Often it can't. We look at it during the assessment. Sometimes swapping rooms around solves it, and sometimes visiting care is the better fit.
Dad rents his council house. Does that change anything?
Not for the care itself. If he needs adaptations such as a ground-floor shower or grab rails, speak to the council or his landlord about them, as well as to the occupational therapist.
Can a carer help Mum use the District line to get to the shops or appointments?
Yes. Elm Park station has step-free access from the street to the platform, so a carer can travel with her by Tube if that is in her plan.
Is Elm Park part of Hornchurch or Dagenham for council purposes?
Elm Park is in Havering, so Havering Adult Social Care handles needs assessments, even though Dagenham is the next stop on the District line.
Get started
Looking for care in Elm Park?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.