Home Care in Homerton

Yes. We provide visiting and live-in care in Homerton, including for people still on a ward at Homerton University Hospital, a few streets away, who need care arranged for coming home. Homerton is on the Mildmay line and within realistic reach of our Lewisham office, so regular visits for washing, dressing, meals and medication can work here when we have a carer free at your times. It starts with a free assessment at home and a written care plan.

Living a few streets from the hospital

Homerton is defined by Homerton University Hospital. It opened in 1986 on the site of the old Eastern Fever Hospital, and it is the hospital most Hackney residents are admitted to and discharged from. For a family in E9, outpatient appointments are a short walk or one bus stop away, which a carer can help with. It also means care often comes up in the middle of a hospital stay, with a discharge date being discussed on the ward.

If that is where you are, call us before the date is fixed. Hackney Adult Social Care plans discharges with the hospital, often starting with a few weeks of short-term reablement. We can take over once that ends, or start sooner if you are arranging care privately, as long as we have a carer for the times needed. Our hospital discharge support page explains how the handover works.

Estate flats off the High Street

Homerton High Street was rebuilt in the 1880s, then much of it was cleared for council housing from the late 1930s. That is why so many older Homerton residents live in purpose-built estate flats: low-rise blocks off the High Street, and larger estates towards Hackney Marshes such as Kingsmead. Among them stands Sutton House, the Tudor house built in 1535 and now run by the National Trust.

Estate flats tend to be on one level inside, which helps. The difficulties are the stairs and lifts up to the front door, bathrooms with a bath and no shower, and small kitchens where a perching stool is the most useful thing a carer can bring in. We look at all of this at the assessment and tell you where a council occupational therapist could add a rail, a bath board or a key safe.

Getting a carer to E9

Homerton station is on the Overground Mildmay line between Hackney Central and Hackney Wick. Buses are the other half of it. The 236, 276, 308, 425, 488 and W15 stop at the hospital and at Brooksby's Walk by the station, the 242 runs to the hospital and on to Shoreditch, the 394 stops on Homerton Row, and the 30 runs along Morning Lane.

Who pays for home care after a stay at Homerton Hospital?

Reablement after a hospital stay is usually free for a limited period. After that, ongoing care is either paid for by you or funded by the council after a needs assessment and a means test. To ask, use Hackney Council's request for adult social care support or phone 020 8356 6262. People whose needs are mainly health needs should ask the ward about NHS Continuing Healthcare. If you pay privately, we give a written quote after the assessment. We do not quote prices over the phone. Our Hackney home care page covers the council route in more detail.

What a Homerton care plan can include

• Personal care, getting up, washing and dressing, and help getting ready for bed.
• Medication support, which matters after a discharge with new tablets.
• Home help with meals, laundry and shopping.
• Companionship or a sit-in service so a family member can get out.
• Dementia care. The NHS Diagnostic Memory Clinic for City and Hackney is on Felstead Street, E9, by GP referral.
• Complex care, palliative care and nail care.

Live-in care and breaks for carers

Live-in care needs a spare bedroom, which many one- and two-bedroom estate flats do not have, so ask us early if you are considering it. For a husband, wife or adult child doing the caring, respite care can cover a regular afternoon or a week away. The City & Hackney Carers Centre (020 8533 0951) can help you request a carer's assessment from the council.

What we can help with in Homerton

• 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