Live-in Care in Archway

Yes. We arrange live-in care across Archway and the rest of N19. A carer moves into your spare bedroom and gives help with personal care, meals, medication and moving about through the day, for one person or a couple. Because the carer lives with you, Archway's distance from our Lewisham office makes no difference. Jackie, our registered manager, carries out a free assessment at home before anything is agreed.

When a few visits a day will not be enough

With the Whittington at the top of the hill, the question of care in Archway can arrive suddenly, when someone is about to leave a ward. Short visits suit a person who can manage safely between them. Live-in care suits the person who cannot: someone unsteady after a hip operation who needs a hand every time they get up, someone recovering from a stroke who tires quickly and needs help with meals, or someone with dementia who became confused in hospital and is not safe alone yet.

A live-in carer is there across the day and sleeps in the next room. If your relative needs help several times every night, that needs a different plan, and we will say so at the assessment.

What needs to be ready before discharge day?

• The carer's room, cleared and with a bed in it.
• Equipment the ward's therapists have asked for, such as a raised toilet seat, a commode, a frame or a hospital bed. This is usually arranged by the hospital or the council, so ask the ward who is ordering it and when it will arrive.
• Medicines to take home, and an up-to-date list, so the carer can support them from the first evening.
• Keys or a key safe, so relief carers can let themselves in.

If needs are high, ask the ward whether an NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist has been done. Let the ward staff and the hospital social worker know at the outset that a private live-in carer is part of the plan, so the discharge date takes it into account. See our hospital discharge page.

Tower, terrace or a flat up the hill

N19 has council towers and estates, Victorian terraces turned into flats, and streets that climb steeply towards Highgate. For live-in care, the tower blocks raise the lift question: a bed, a wheelchair and every changeover depend on it. The terraces raise the stairs question, along with narrow bathrooms where a hoist may not fit. Larger converted flats and the remaining whole houses are the most likely to have a spare bedroom. If there is no room for a carer, visiting care in Archway is the alternative, though it depends on carer availability.

Changeovers on the Northern line

Archway station is on the High Barnet branch of the Northern line, and High Barnet trains running via Bank pass through London Bridge, so a relief carer coming from south London can often make the trip without changing. Upper Holloway, on the Overground Suffragette line, is a short walk down Holloway Road. Archway sits inside Islington's controlled parking zones, so a carer who drives needs a visitor e-voucher from the resident, though a changeover by Tube is simpler.

The carer's time off in N19

Live-in carers take a break every day. Close to the station there is Archway Library at Hamlyn House, on the corner of Highgate Hill and Junction Road (it is closed on some weekdays, so check the hours), and Whittington Park on Holloway Road, with a pond and woodland paths. On Saturdays, Archway Market sets up on Navigator Square with food stalls and a second-hand bookstall, which is also a good, level outing for someone in a wheelchair.

When the person cannot be left, family can take over for the break, or we can arrange a short sit-in visit.

Funding in brief

For a council contribution, Archway residents go through Islington's assessment and means test; our Islington live-in care page explains the steps and direct payments. Self-funders are quoted in writing once Jackie has visited. For how live-in care works across the capital, see live-in care in London.

What we can help with in Archway

• 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