Live-in Care in Angel

Yes, we can arrange live-in care in Angel. A carer comes to live in your home, in a bedroom of their own, and helps with washing, dressing, meals, medication and getting out, for one person or for a couple. Jackie, our registered manager, starts with a free assessment at the flat, and the care plan is written from what she finds there.

Where would the carer sleep in an Angel flat?

Angel homes vary from street to street. Behind the shops there are three main kinds:

• Converted Georgian and Victorian houses. A floor-through flat off Upper Street or Liverpool Road may have a small back bedroom that works, if it has a door, a window and room for a bed.
• Estate flats. The new Packington flats and the older council blocks nearby include plenty of two-bedroom homes, and a second bedroom used for storage or grandchildren is often the answer.
• Walk-up and mansion blocks towards EC1V. Many are one-bedroom. If that is the case, a carer cannot live in, and we will suggest visiting care in Angel, which is realistic this close to the Northern line.

A hospital bed up four flights

Live-in care often starts at the point where someone needs equipment: a profiling bed, a commode, a wheelchair. In a walk-up block with no lift, every one of those has to be carried up the stairs, and a wheelchair user may not be able to get down to the street at all without two people. A stairlift on a shared staircase needs the landlord's or freeholder's agreement, because the stairs are not part of the flat.

No carer can safely carry someone down four flights. If getting out matters, ask the council's occupational therapists to assess, and council tenants can raise a move to a lower or lift-served flat with their landlord.

Handover day at Angel station

Angel station is on the Bank branch of the Northern line, one stop from King's Cross St Pancras, so a carer arriving by mainline train or from the other side of London has one short hop at the end. From London Bridge it is a direct Northern line ride. The outgoing carer briefs the new one in person, and the handover notes stay in the flat.

If anyone does drive to a changeover, the EC1V side of the junction is inside the Congestion Charge zone, and residents' bays in the streets around are controlled through the day. Residents can buy visitor e-vouchers online, which take effect straight away, so a carer unloading a suitcase can park legally for a set time.

Two hours off around Upper Street

A live-in carer has a protected break every day. In Angel there is plenty within a few minutes' walk:

• Islington Green, at the fork of Upper Street and Essex Road, for a bench and some air.
• The Regent's Canal towpath east of the Islington tunnel, a quiet, level walk.
• South Library, on the corner of Essex Road and Cross Street, and Finsbury Library on St John Street, both run by Islington Council.

The same streets are good for the person being cared for. Chapel Market trades from Tuesday to Sunday, with a farmers' market there on Sunday mornings, and Camden Passage's main antique market days are Wednesday and Saturday, according to the council's market listings. If your relative cannot be left alone, we agree before the carer starts who covers those hours: family, a sit-in visit or a day centre.

Coming home from UCH or Moorfields

For Angel, the hospital may be UCH, a short bus ride west along Euston Road, or the Whittington up the Holloway Road, and Moorfields Eye Hospital is just down City Road. After a long admission, a carer there all day and asleep in the next room makes the first weeks home far safer. Tell the ward early that you are planning live-in care and ring us at the same time, so the assessment and the carer's room are ready before the discharge date. What we will ask you is set out on our hospital discharge page.

Paying for it

Council funding for an Angel address comes through Islington. Our live-in care in Islington page covers the council route, direct payments and the cost of care calculator. Where needs are mainly health needs, ask the hospital team about an NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist. If you pay privately, Jackie sends a written figure once she has seen the flat; live-in care in London explains how the service runs day to day.

What we can help with in Angel

• 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