Highgate · Camden
Home Care in Highgate, N6
Live-in care first, with visiting care and respite where we can staff it, for older people on the Camden side of Highgate: Highgate West Hill, Swain's Lane, the Holly Lodge Estate and the western half of the village.
We do provide home care in Highgate, and for most families here we recommend live-in care. Highgate is 45 to 55 minutes from our Lewisham office by public transport, so a live-in carer who moves into the home gives far more dependable cover than a carer crossing London several times a day. Visiting care is possible for some households; ask, and we will check availability before promising anything.
Three councils share Highgate
Highgate is split between Camden (the south and west), Haringey (the north and east) and Islington (a small south-eastern part). The village itself is divided, so the council can change from one side of a street to the next. Our care is the same whichever borough you are in, but the assessment and any council funding are not.
- Camden side: refer through Camden's online adult social care form or call Contact Camden on 020 7974 4444. Our Camden home care page sets out the borough process.
- Haringey side: Haringey Council takes requests for a Care Act assessment online, or by phone on 020 8489 1400.
Hills are the real issue
Distance on a map understates how hard Highgate can be to get around. Swain's Lane climbs steeply from the junction of Highgate Road and Highgate West Hill up to South Grove by Pond Square, with Highgate Cemetery alongside much of it. Highgate West Hill is just as testing. For someone with a walking frame, a wheelchair or a heart condition, the walk to a bus stop or the shops can become impossible well before anything inside the house does.
This affects care planning in practical ways. Outings need a car, a taxi or level ground, appointments need transport arranged, and a person can become isolated in a lovely house without anyone quite noticing. Part of a carer's job here is keeping the world coming to the door: shopping, prescriptions, visitors, and short trips to Waterlow Park or the bottom of the Heath when they are manageable.
The houses, and what they allow
The Camden side of Highgate has many older owner-occupiers in period houses and cottages, often with several floors and a spare bedroom. That spare room is what makes live-in care possible, and a live-in carer can support a couple together as well as one person.
The Holly Lodge Estate is different. It was laid out in the 1920s as a garden suburb, and its half-timbered mansion blocks on Makepeace and Oakeshott Avenues were originally built as rooms for single working women. Camden has looked after those blocks since the 1960s, and many flats are compact. A flat without a second bedroom rules out live-in care, so visiting care, or a sit-in arrangement for set hours, may be the better fit. The Holly Lodge Community Centre at 30 Makepeace Avenue, a separate local charity run by volunteers, holds lunch clubs and other activities.
Nearest hospital: the Whittington at Archway is the closest acute hospital for Highgate, and Royal Free patients come home here too. If a discharge is being discussed, call us as soon as you can; see hospital discharge support.
Live-in, visiting and respite
- Live-in care
- Respite care
- Dementia care
- Palliative care
- Complex care
- Personal care
- Medication support
- Companionship
- Home help
- Sit-in service
- Hospital discharge support
Respite in Highgate usually means a live-in carer for a week or two while the family carer has a break or a hospital stay of their own. Camden residents caring for someone can ask the council for a carers conversation and contact Camden Carers.
What does live-in care cost in Highgate?
We quote after a free home assessment, because the price depends on the level of care and whether one or two people need support; we do not publish rates. Camden's financial assessment looks at income and savings to decide what someone contributes; for care at home, the value of the house they live in is not counted, but people with savings above the government's limits pay for their own care. NHS Continuing Healthcare is assessed separately and is not means-tested. Our guide to paying for care walks through both.
What we can help with in Highgate
- 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 Camden
Home care pages for other parts of Camden:
Our services
How we can help in Camden
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Visiting care in Camden
Regular visits for personal care, medication, meals and company.
Read more →Live-in care in Camden
A carer who lives in, for one person or a couple.
Read more →Respite care in Camden
Cover so a family carer can rest, recover or go away.
Read more →Supported living in Camden
Our homes in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge.
Read more →Highgate FAQs
Highgate questions
Questions families ask us about Highgate. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionHow do I know whether my father's house is in Camden or Haringey?
Check his council tax bill. In Highgate the boundary runs through the village, so the postcode alone (N6) does not tell you.
Mum can no longer manage the hill to the shops. Is that a reason to get care?
It can be. Losing the ability to get out often leads to missed meals and loneliness. A few companionship or home help visits for shopping and outings, or a live-in carer, can keep her independent at home.
Is there anything for Mum to go to during the day near Holly Lodge?
The Holly Lodge Community Centre on Makepeace Avenue runs lunch clubs and other activities. A carer can help her get ready and walk there with her, which on these hills is often what makes going possible at all.
Is a Holly Lodge flat big enough for live-in care?
Only if there is a separate bedroom for the carer. Many of the mansion block flats are small, so we often suggest visiting or sit-in care there.
Why do you recommend live-in care here and not regular visits?
Because our office is in Lewisham, and we would sooner tell you that than promise visit times across London we might not keep. Visits are possible for some households, and we will tell you honestly if we can cover yours.
Get started
Looking for care in Highgate?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.