Live-in Care in Aldgate

A spare room in an Aldgate flat

Almost everyone near Aldgate lives in a flat, so the number of bedrooms decides whether live-in care can work. The Corporation's Portsoken estate splits into a slim 23-storey tower of 88 flats and a lower square of 146 homes wrapped round a deck. No published list says which of them have two bedrooms, so Jackie checks yours in person. If the second room can be emptied for the carer, we can normally go ahead; if there is no second room, look at visiting care in Aldgate instead.

The newer private blocks around Aldgate and Goodman's Fields are mostly lift-served flats with modern bathrooms, which suits a profiling bed or a hoist. The same rule applies there: no spare bedroom, no live-in carer.

Twenty-three floors and one lift

A tower flat depends on its lifts. For a resident who has stopped using the stairs, having a carer in the flat turns a lift fault from a crisis into an inconvenience: meals still get made, medicines still get given, and the person is not alone until it is fixed. Around Petticoat Square, the thing to check is the route between the podium and the street, with a frame or a chair. We walk it at the assessment and write the route the person can manage into the care plan.

Keep two numbers on the fridge for the carer: the estate office downstairs in Artizan Street Library, and 020 7256 6583, the Middlesex Street duty line for urgent non-repair problems at night and weekends.

One hospice for both sides of the boundary

Families near Aldgate are often unsure which services apply on which side of the line. End of life care is simpler than most. St Joseph's Hospice, up in Mare Street, sends the same community palliative care team to City and Tower Hamlets addresses, as well as Hackney and Newham. Those nurses and doctors manage symptoms such as pain and breathlessness in the flat. A family can refer as well as a GP; details are on the hospice team's page. A live-in carer gives the personal care and company between nurse visits and is there overnight, within their rest hours, so someone who wants to stay in their flat can.

Changeover day at Aldgate

Carers change over by public transport. Aldgate station (Circle and Metropolitan lines) is about 300 metres from the Middlesex Street Estate, and Aldgate East (District and Hammersmith & City lines) about 500 metres; Liverpool Street is a short walk north. From our Lewisham office, TfL's planner gives roughly 47 minutes at 8am, either by DLR (changing for Tower Gateway) or by Southeastern into Cannon Street and a bus along to Aldgate.

Family arriving by car will find no accessible bay on the estate itself yet. A relative with a Blue Badge gets a four-hour weekday limit in the City's disabled bays, unlimited at weekends, while Tower Hamlets, a few yards east, applies its own rules.

If a relative wants to stay close while a new carer settles in, the Middlesex Street Estate has guest rooms that residents can book for visitors, for up to 14 days. The Corporation's estate page explains how to book.

The carer's break, and the person's week

Every day the resident carer has time off duty, and we write down who keeps the person company while they are out. Aldgate Square, beside St Botolph's Aldgate, is a minute away, and Artizan Street Library is on the estate itself. The person's own week can carry on, with the carer alongside: the Mansell Street Women's Group's Monday Zumba at Portsoken Community Centre, prayers at St Botolph's, or Shabbat at Bevis Marks, the oldest synagogue in Britain still in continuous use.

Money: the boundary decides who assesses

Look at whose name is on the council tax bill, then:

• City side, including the Middlesex Street Estate: the City of London Corporation assesses needs and finances. Our City of London live-in care page explains the route and direct payments.
• Tower Hamlets side, round Aldgate East and Goodman's Fields: Tower Hamlets stopped charging for home care in April 2025, but what it arranges depends on assessed needs. See live-in care in Tower Hamlets.

Whichever side Mum's front door is on, a nurse or GP can screen her for NHS Continuing Healthcare if her needs are mostly clinical; if she qualifies, the NHS meets the whole cost. Families funding it themselves get our figures in writing after Jackie's visit, and the general picture of a placement is on our London live-in page.

How live-in care works →