Upney · Barking and Dagenham
Home Care in Upney, Barking
Visiting care, live-in care and respite for Upney in IG11: Upney Lane, the roads around Mayesbrook Park and the western edge of the Becontree estate.
We provide home care in Upney through visits or a live-in carer, after a free assessment at home and a written care plan. Upney is one stop past Barking on the District line, which makes it one of the more reachable parts of the borough from our Lewisham office, but visits still depend on carer availability, so ask us about your times.
Upney in brief
Upney grew up with the Becontree estate. The London County Council's new cottage estate created the demand for a station, and Upney station opened on Upney Lane in September 1932. Most of the housing nearby is the same interwar Becontree stock found further east: two-storey terraces and semis, many bought under right-to-buy and lived in for decades. Mayesbrook Park, a 43-hectare council park with two large lakes, a local nature reserve at its southern end and access from Lodge Avenue, is the neighbourhood's big open space.
The Becontree house and the staircase
If you are arranging care in Upney, the house will probably set the agenda. Becontree cottages typically have a narrow, steep staircase, one bathroom upstairs and a small box room. In practice that leads to the same conversations again and again at an assessment:
- whether a stairlift fits, or whether it is time to bring a bed downstairs;
- how to manage washing if the only bath is upstairs, which might mean a strip wash, a commode, or an occupational therapist's advice on a bath lift;
- whether the box room is big enough for a live-in carer's bed, which it often is, just;
- whether a hoist can be turned in a small front room.
None of these rules out care at home. They just need deciding before the first visit.
Barking Community Hospital is not an A&E
Upney residents have a hospital on their doorstep: Barking Community Hospital on Upney Lane (IG11 9LX). It has a GP-led urgent treatment centre, which NELFT lists as open 08:00 to 22:00, and it is a base for community services. It does not have a full emergency department. A fall with a suspected fracture, chest pain or a stroke means Queen's Hospital in Romford or King George Hospital in Goodmayes. Our hospital discharge support can be lined up with the ward when someone comes home.
What does home care in Upney cost?
We do not publish prices, because cost depends on the hours and the type of care, which we only know after the free assessment. We then quote in writing. Alongside that, Barking and Dagenham Council can assess both needs and finances: call the Adult Intake Team on 020 8227 2915 or start a needs assessment through GOV.UK. Someone with savings above the government threshold usually pays in full. Below it, the council contributes, and it can pay its share as a direct payment, with help from the commissioned Direct Payment Support Service, Empower. NHS Continuing Healthcare is for people whose needs are primarily health needs. See our paying for care guide and our Barking and Dagenham page.
Reaching Upney
Upney station is on the District line between Barking and Becontree, with step-free access from street to platform, and bus route 62 stops there on its way between Barking, Becontree, Chadwell Heath and Marks Gate. From Lewisham, a carer travels to Barking (around 45 to 55 minutes) and then one stop further. Much of the Becontree estate has no parking controls, but the council has been adding zones near stations and shopping parades. If your street is in one, ask about the Community and Healthcare parking permit for carers' visits.
Use the park. A slow walk to the Mayesbrook Park lakes and back makes a good outing for someone recovering their confidence after a fall or a hospital stay, and it is exactly what a companionship visit is for.
Live-in carers and respite
For full-time support, a live-in carer uses the box room or a second bedroom. For a family carer, respite can be cover for an evening a week or for a fortnight away. Ask the council for a carer's assessment too, as it can open up council-funded short breaks.
Our services in Upney
- Personal care and medication support
- Home help with meals, shopping and cleaning
- Companionship and our sit-in service
- Live-in care and respite care
- Dementia care
- Complex care
- Palliative care at home
- Support after discharge from Queen's or King George
We cannot offer nail care in Upney; our nail care visits cover a smaller area in south and east London.
What we can help with in Upney
- 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 Barking and Dagenham
Home care pages for other parts of Barking and Dagenham:
Our services
How we can help in Barking and Dagenham
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Visiting care in Barking and Dagenham
Regular visits for personal care, medication, meals and company.
Read more →Live-in care in Barking and Dagenham
A carer who lives in, for one person or a couple.
Read more →Respite care in Barking and Dagenham
Cover so a family carer can rest, recover or go away.
Read more →Supported living in Barking and Dagenham
Our homes in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge.
Read more →Upney FAQs
Upney: your questions
Questions families ask us about Upney. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionCan Dad use the urgent treatment centre on Upney Lane if he falls?
For minor injuries, yes, during its opening hours. For anything serious, such as a possible broken hip or a head injury, call 999 or go to an A&E at Queen's or King George. Our carers follow the care plan and call for help when they need to.
Our Becontree house only has an upstairs bathroom. Can you still provide personal care?
Yes. We plan around it, whether that means helping on the stairs, washing downstairs, or working with the equipment the council's occupational therapist recommends.
Can a carer take Dad on the District line from Upney in his wheelchair?
Upney has step-free access between the street and the platform, which is not true of every station on this stretch of the line; Becontree, the next stop east, has none. Check the gap at the train door and whether the station at the other end is step-free before you plan the trip.
Do you cover the streets on the other side of Mayesbrook Park?
Yes. We cover the whole borough, including Becontree and Dagenham to the east. The further east you are, the more likely it is that live-in care is the reliable option.
Get started
Looking for care in Upney?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.