Home Care in Streatham Hill, SW2: Care at Home and Local Help

From Lewisham High Street to the top of the A23 is a long haul across south London, so we do not schedule daily rounds in SW2. What we can do is place a resident carer, for whom the journey happens once a placement. If all you need is a call or two a day, this page also points you to help closer to hand.

Where Streatham Hill begins and ends

Streatham Hill is the northern stretch of the A23, climbing from the top of Brixton Hill to Streatham Hill station at the Leigham Court Road junction. South of the station the road becomes Streatham High Road and the town centre, covered on our Streatham page. Addresses are split between SW2 and SW16. To the west, Telford Park was laid out as a spacious estate with its own tennis club, and beyond it the Wandsworth boundary runs close to Tooting Bec Common, so check the council tax bill on that side.

Flats on the A23

Much of Streatham Hill is flats. The A23 is lined with large 1930s blocks, the best known being Pullman Court, a Grade II* listed block of 218 flats designed by Frederick Gibberd. Behind the main road are Victorian and Edwardian houses, many divided, and some council estates. In the big blocks, the lift and the distance from entrance to flat matter; in a listed block, adaptations may need consent, so talk to the managing agent early. In a converted house, it is the shared staircase and the bathroom size. A Lambeth occupational therapist can assess for a shower seat or rails.

Why a resident carer here

A run of short calls through the day needs carers close enough to arrive on time, and we cannot promise that from SE13. One carer living in the flat or house covers the morning, the meals, the tablets and the evening, with a cover carer for breaks. Many Streatham Hill flats have two bedrooms, which is what it needs. See live-in care in Streatham Hill. For a lighter need, search the CQC's register by postcode for agencies with carers living locally; Lambeth's social workers can also say how council-arranged home care works here.

The station, the buses and the parking

The station by the Leigham Court Road junction has lifts down to its Southern platforms, a real help on a trip to Victoria or London Bridge with a frame or wheelchair. There is no Tube; Brixton, on the Victoria line, is the nearest. Buses run the length of the A23 between Brixton and Streatham, and the 57 continues from Streatham Hill to Tooting, Wimbledon and Kingston. Controlled parking is spreading south. Family members who drive over can look at the council's personal carer's permit, which allows three-hour stays in that zone's resident bays once a GP or social worker signs the form.

Council help and paying for care

Lambeth's Adult Social Care team takes requests through its web form and the 020 7926 5555 line. Its assessment looks at need first and money second. If the council agrees to fund care, ask whether the budget can be paid to you directly; that is how families here fund a resident carer through an agency like ours. NHS Continuing Healthcare runs on a separate track for mainly medical needs.

King's or St George's

Most Streatham Hill residents are treated at King's College Hospital at Denmark Hill, though some are taken to St George's in Tooting. Either way the care afterwards goes to Lambeth Adult Social Care. Lining up a resident carer is not a same-day job, so the first mention of discharge is the moment to ring. See discharge support.

If the flat stops working

Some Streatham Hill residents end up weighing up a move instead of more care. Lambeth's sheltered housing is usually for people aged 60 or over, or 55 and over with a disability or mental health problem, who can manage with community support; each flat has an alarm linked to a scheme manager and, out of hours, to the Careline24 service. Extra care housing goes further, with care staff on site day and night, at schemes such as Hillyard House in Brixton and Charleston House by Clapham Common. Both are applied for through the council or a social worker.

Local places and groups

Hillside Gardens Park, between Streatham Hill and Tulse Hill, has open lawns and a dog-free picnic area for a gentle walk. The Grade II listed Streatham Hill Theatre of 1929 still stands on the A23, though no longer used as a theatre. Just past the station on Leigham Court Road, the Woodlawns building houses two groups from the council's day care list, one for older Asian residents and one for Afro-Caribbean elders.

Respite for the family

If a daughter or husband is doing the caring now, a fortnight with one of our carers in the spare room lets them go away properly. Carers' Hub Lambeth on Brixton Road gives advice in the meantime. See Lambeth respite care.

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