Havering · East London
Home Care in Havering
We can provide care at home in Havering, but be clear on how. Live-in care works anywhere in the borough, from Collier Row to Rainham, because the carer moves in. Visiting care, where a carer calls in for set visits, is something we can only agree case by case, because our office is in Lewisham and Havering is London's easternmost borough. Call us and we will tell you straight whether we can staff it.
Can a carer from Lewisham really visit you in Havering?
Sometimes. Romford is roughly 50 to 60 minutes from our office on Lewisham High Street by public transport, on the DLR to Stratford and then the Elizabeth line. Hornchurch, Upminster, Harold Hill and Rainham are more like 65 to 90 minutes. By car it is usually 40 minutes to an hour through the Blackwall Tunnel and along the A13 or A12, depending on traffic.
A carer travelling that far for several short visits a day is not a sound arrangement, so visiting care in Havering depends on whether we have a carer who can reliably reach that address at those times. Addresses near Romford and the Elizabeth line stations are the most realistic. Harold Hill and Collier Row have no station of their own, which makes them harder. For most Havering addresses the more dependable arrangement is live-in care, which does not depend on travel at all once the carer has arrived.
What our carers do on a Havering visit
Where we can cover visits, they are built around the written care plan we draw up after a free home assessment. That can include:
- Personal care: washing, dressing, shaving, continence care and help on and off the toilet.
- Medication support, from prompting to administering, recorded on a chart.
- Home help: meals, laundry, light cleaning and shopping.
- Companionship, and a sit-in service for someone who should not be left alone.
- Dementia care, built around a settled routine.
1930s semis, Harold Hill terraces and the stairs question
Havering has more owner-occupied homes than most of London, and much of it was built between the wars: the Costain semis of Elm Park, the long streets of Collier Row and Cranham, and much of Hornchurch and Upminster. These houses usually have a steep, straight staircase and the only bathroom upstairs. When someone can no longer manage those stairs safely, the practical options are a stairlift, a commode and strip-wash downstairs, or moving a bed into the front room. We look at this with you at the assessment.
Harold Hill is different again. The London County Council built it after the war as an overspill estate of about 7,600 homes, mainly brick terraces and low-rise flats. In Gidea Park's conservation area, ramps or extensions may need the council's approval before they go in, so check first. Around Romford town centre there are council blocks where the lift is the only way in and out; the council is upgrading lifts in its communal blocks, but tell us at the assessment if a lift is unreliable so the care plan can allow for it.
Will a carer find somewhere to park?
Most residential streets in Havering have no parking restrictions. Controlled parking zones are mainly around stations and Romford town centre. The council issues a Health and Home Care virtual permit to care workers employed by a council- or NHS-recognised organisation. If you live in a CPZ and have an unpaid relative or friend coming to help, ask the council about its Domestic Carer permit as well.
How do I ask Havering Council for a care assessment?
Havering Adult Social Care deals with this. The council suggests that people first talk to a Local Area Coordinator, community-based workers who help you find local support that is not formal care. If formal care looks likely, you can ask for a Care Act needs assessment:
- Use the online Adult Social Care enquiry form, linked from the council's contact page, or ring 01708 432000 (9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday). Out of hours, the emergency number is 01708 433999.
- A relative can make the first contact. A practitioner usually visits to carry out the assessment.
- If the person has eligible needs, a financial assessment works out what the council pays and what they pay. Council funding can be taken as a direct payment, which Havering pays onto a pre-paid card.
You do not have to wait for the council if you are paying privately. Our guide to paying for care in London explains the means test and NHS Continuing Healthcare, and we quote in writing after the assessment.
Coming home from Queen's Hospital? Most Havering discharges come from Queen's Hospital on Rom Valley Way, Romford, run by Barking, Havering and Redbridge University Hospitals NHS Trust. Some people from western Romford and Collier Row are treated at King George Hospital in Goodmayes. Call us while discharge is still being planned, not on the day, and tell us which ward. Given the distance, a live-in carer is often the most dependable way to cover the first weeks at home. See how our hospital discharge support works.
Where in Havering we cover
We cover the whole borough for live-in care, and we look at visiting care address by address. That includes Romford and Rush Green (RM1, RM7), Gidea Park (RM2), Harold Hill and Harold Wood (RM3), Havering-atte-Bower (RM4), Collier Row (RM5), Hornchurch and Emerson Park (RM11), Elm Park and South Hornchurch (RM12), Rainham (RM13), and Upminster and Cranham (RM14). More than half the borough is Green Belt, so a few addresses north of Collier Row and Harold Hill are genuinely rural. Mention that when you call, because it affects how a carer gets there.
Many follow-up appointments are now at the St George's Health and Wellbeing Hub on Suttons Lane, Hornchurch, which opened in 2024 and has outpatient clinics and diagnostics but no A&E. A carer can go with someone to an appointment if it is in the care plan.
What we can help with in Havering
- 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
Areas of Havering we cover
Care across the borough, including these neighbourhoods. Each has its own page with local detail.
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.
Havering FAQs
Home care in Havering: questions we're asked
Questions families ask us about Havering. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionMy mum lives in Upminster and needs a morning and evening call. Can you do it?
Possibly, but we will not promise it until we have checked we have a carer who can reach Upminster reliably at both times. Upminster is near the end of the District line, so it is one of the longer journeys for us. If we cannot staff the visits properly, we will tell you, and we can talk through live-in care or point you to the council's Adult Social Care team.
Do you have an office or a team based in Romford?
No. Our only office is in Lewisham, SE13. We cover Havering mainly through live-in carers who move into the home, and through visiting care where a carer's availability allows.
Dad's in a 1930s semi in Elm Park and can't manage the stairs any more. What are the options?
The usual choices are a stairlift, a commode and washing downstairs, or setting up a bedroom in the front room. At the assessment we look at what is safe now and what will be needed later, and we can suggest asking the council for an occupational therapy assessment for equipment.
Will our carer be able to park in Hornchurch?
On most residential streets, yes, because they are unrestricted. Near Hornchurch station and other controlled zones, care workers from recognised organisations can apply for the council's Health and Home Care virtual permit.
The council suggested a Local Area Coordinator. Does that stop us getting paid care?
No. Local Area Coordinators help you find community support first, but you can still ask for a formal Care Act needs assessment on 01708 432000. You can also arrange private care with us at any point.
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Looking for care in Havering?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.