Home Care in Walthamstow, E17

Yes, we provide home care in Walthamstow. Live-in care is available anywhere in E17 where there is a spare bedroom for the carer. Visits are a different matter: Walthamstow Central is about an hour from our Lewisham office, so regular calls depend on having a carer free at your times, and we will tell you honestly what we can staff. Either way, care starts with a free assessment at home and a written care plan.

A town built along one long market

Walthamstow's centre is the High Street, and the market runs along almost all of it, roughly a kilometre from the Hoe Street end to St James Street. At the top sit Walthamstow Central station, the bus station on Selborne Road and the 17&Central shopping centre, which locals still call the Mall. North of the station, Forest Road takes you past the Town Hall and the William Morris Gallery, with Lloyd Park behind it. Walthamstow Wetlands lie on the western edge, towards Blackhorse Road.

For an older person who is still getting out, that is a lot within reach. A companionship visit can be a slow walk down the market with a rollator, a sit in Lloyd Park or a coffee at the gallery.

Warner flats and the staircase problem

Much of Walthamstow is Edwardian terracing, and the streets off Markhouse Road and St James Street have many Warner flats. These were built in pairs, an upper and a lower flat, each with its own front door. The lower flat is usually manageable. The upper flat is a different matter: the front door opens straight onto a full flight of stairs, and the bathroom at the top is small.

If your relative lives upstairs in a Warner flat, the assessment will look hard at that staircase. We check whether they can still manage it with a rail, whether they need someone with them on the way out, and whether a shower seat and grab rails from the council's occupational therapist would make personal care safer in that small bathroom.

Around the town centre there are also newer blocks with lifts, and on the Wood Street side stands Northwood Tower, the last 20-storey block left in the borough. Step-free flats are easier to care in until the lift fails, so we note in the care plan what happens if it does.

How do carers get around Walthamstow?

Mostly by train and on foot. Central Walthamstow is covered by controlled parking zones, and the council's low-traffic schemes have closed many residential streets to through traffic, so driving from one visit to the next is slow. Walthamstow Central has the Victoria line and the Overground Weaver line; St James Street is on the Weaver line, and Blackhorse Road and Walthamstow Queen's Road are on the Suffragette line. From Lewisham the journey is roughly 55 to 65 minutes.

How much does home care in Walthamstow cost?

That depends on who is paying. If Waltham Forest Council arranges or funds care, it first assesses needs and then runs a financial assessment under the national rules in the Care Act statutory guidance. Someone whose needs are mainly health needs may qualify for NHS Continuing Healthcare. Council funding can be paid as a direct payment, which you can spend with an agency you choose. If you are paying privately, we give you a written quote after the assessment, once we know what the visits involve.

Asking the council first

Phone Waltham Forest Adult Social Care on 020 8496 3130 to ask for a needs assessment, or try the council's online self assessment tool first. If your relative is coming home from Whipps Cross, ask about the council's free reablement service, which can run for up to six weeks. Our Waltham Forest home care page sets out the whole council route, carers' support and hospital discharge.

Live-in care in E17

A live-in carer needs their own bedroom. In a two-bedroom Warner flat that is usually possible; in a one-bedroom flat in a newer block it usually is not. Distance from Lewisham makes no difference to live-in care, because the carer lives with your relative.

Time off for family carers

Respite care can be extra visits for a week or a live-in carer while you go away. Carers First, the council's carers' support partner, is based on Russell Road in E10 and takes self-referrals.

Care we offer in Walthamstow

• Personal care
• Medication support
• Companionship
• Home help
• Dementia care
• Live-in care
• Respite care
• Hospital discharge support

What we can help with in Walthamstow

• 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