Live-in Care in Abbey Wood

Yes, we arrange live-in care on the Greenwich side of Abbey Wood, SE2, from the Bostall Estate up by the heath to the flats near the station. A trained carer lives in the home and supports one person, or a couple, and we plan their arrival on the Elizabeth line, their daily break and holiday cover. It starts with a free assessment at the house by Jackie, who manages the service, and a written care plan.

Can a live-in carer fit into a Bostall Estate cottage?

Sometimes, and the answer turns on one room. The Royal Arsenal Co-operative Society built these cottages for working families, and some have only two bedrooms. If the second one is used as a store room or a study, clearing it usually makes live-in care possible. If a husband or wife already sleeps there, it does not, because the carer needs a room with a door they can close.

Before the assessment, it helps to measure the second bedroom and think about what could go: a single bed, a chest of drawers and somewhere to hang clothes is what a carer needs. We will also look at where the bathroom is. In a cottage with the bathroom upstairs, a carer in the house means someone is on the stairs with the person every time.

When there is no spare room

The post-war flats and maisonettes around Eynsham Drive vary from one bedroom to family-sized homes. If the home has one bedroom, a live-in carer is not an option there, and we will say so plainly. The realistic choices are then:

• Visiting care at set times of day, described on our home care in Abbey Wood page.
• A housing transfer to a two-bedroom, lift-served or ground-floor home, if the person rents from the council or a housing association. Tell the landlord that a live-in carer is the reason; it can take time, so raise it early.
• Live-in care at a relative's home, if a son or daughter elsewhere has the space and the person is willing to move.

In a two-bedroom maisonette, live-in care works if the person can manage the internal stairs with help.

Changeover day at Abbey Wood station

Live-in carers usually work a run of weeks and then hand over to a colleague. In Abbey Wood that handover is easier than in most of the borough, because Abbey Wood is the south-eastern end of the Elizabeth line, with Southeastern trains on the same platforms. A carer coming from central or west London, or from Canary Wharf, can travel without changing, then walk or take a short bus ride to the house.

A carer who drives needs to know about parking. Royal Greenwich runs two controlled zones here, the outer one added in September 2023: Abbey Wood, operating Monday to Friday 11am to 1pm, and Abbey Wood Outer, Monday to Friday 9am to 11am. Permits for one do not work in the other. Residents in a zone can buy virtual visitor vouchers for the morning of a changeover, so the outgoing and incoming carers have time to go through the care plan together.

Two hours off, without going far

A live-in carer needs a proper break every day, away from the house. Abbey Wood has good places for it within a few minutes' walk:

• Bostall Heath and Bostall Woods, the heath and woodland on the hill above the Co-op cottages.
• Lesnes Abbey Woods, just over the boundary in Bexley, with the abbey ruins close to the station.
• Abbey Wood Library on Eynsham Drive, run by Royal Greenwich, for a quiet hour or a phone call home.

While the carer is out, someone else needs to be with the person if they cannot be left. A relative, a neighbour or a short visit from us can cover it, and we agree this at the assessment. On other days the carer can take the person to the library or along the Bostall paths as part of their working time, and Age UK Bromley & Greenwich runs services for older Greenwich residents.

Coming home from Woolwich

Abbey Wood patients are usually treated at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Woolwich. After a fall or a stroke, the first fortnight at home is when a narrow cottage staircase or a maisonette's internal stairs feel steepest. With a live-in carer there from the first evening, the ward can be told that someone will be in the house overnight, which can make a home discharge easier to agree. Call us when a discharge date is first mentioned; our hospital discharge page explains how we work with the ward.

Funding, and the boundary question

If your council tax goes to Royal Greenwich, the council's needs and financial assessments apply, and its share can be paid as a direct payment to spend on live-in care; our Greenwich live-in care page sets out the steps and what the council counts. Streets on the Lesnes Abbey side are in Bexley, which has its own route. Where needs are mainly health needs, NHS Continuing Healthcare may fund the care. Self-funding families get a written quote after the free assessment. For how live-in care works across the city, see live-in care in London.

What we can help with in Abbey Wood

• A carer living in, with their own room
• Care for one person or a couple
• Personal care through the day
• Medication support
• Cooking, housekeeping and laundry
• Dementia support at home
• Company, outings and appointments
• Cover arranged for the carer's breaks