Live-in Care in Barking and Dagenham

Why the journey from Lewisham stops mattering

We have no office in this borough. Our base is on Lewisham High Street, about an hour by public transport from Dagenham Heathway or Chadwell Heath, with the Blackwall Tunnel in between by car. That makes daily visiting care hard to staff reliably here, and we say so on our home care page for the borough.

Live-in care does not have that problem. The carer travels once, at the start of their placement, and then lives in the home. We come out to do the free home assessment wherever in the borough you are.

The box room question

A live-in carer needs a bedroom of their own, with a bed, somewhere to put their things, and use of the kitchen and bathroom. How easy that is depends on which part of the borough you live in.

• Becontree, Dagenham, Upney, Chadwell Heath and Rush Green: many of the interwar cottage terraces and semis have a small box room upstairs. It is often just big enough for a single bed and a chest of drawers, and that is sufficient. The harder question in these houses is the steep staircase and the single upstairs bathroom. If the person being cared for has moved down to the front room, the carer can still use the bedroom upstairs.
• Barking town centre and Gascoigne: flats in older towers and new high-rise blocks are more often one or two bedrooms. With one bedroom, live-in care is not possible. With two, it usually is. A reliable lift matters for hoists and wheelchairs.
• Barking Riverside: new lift-served flats and townhouses with level access suit wheelchairs and hoists well. Second bedrooms can be small, so we will look at the room itself.
• Thames View and Marks Gate: post-war houses, maisonettes and low-rise flats. It varies from home to home, so we check at the assessment.

Two people, one carer

Dagenham grew up around the Ford works and the Becontree estate, and many couples here have lived in the same house since they raised their family in it. When one of them needs a lot of care, the usual choices are hard ones: a care home for one partner, with the other left alone in the house, or the healthier partner taking on care they cannot keep up.

A live-in carer can support both. That might mean full personal care for one partner and lighter help for the other: cooking for two, the shopping on the Heathway or at East Street market, a steadying hand on the stairs, and someone in the house overnight in case of a fall. For a couple, one carer usually costs less than two residential placements. We quote after the assessment, as we do for every package.

The carer's daily break, and who covers it

A live-in carer is entitled to a proper break each day and to a full night's sleep. If someone needs help through the night as well, that is a different arrangement, and we will say so plainly before care starts.

Family or neighbours can cover the daily break if they live nearby. Where they cannot, there are local options. Age UK Redbridge, Barking & Havering runs seniors' activities with St Chad's Church on Eric Road in Chadwell Heath. Carers of Barking and Dagenham, on the Heathway, runs a dementia service called Memory Lane. If the carer is away on holiday, we arrange a replacement in advance.

Live-in care or Kallar Lodge?

If someone here is assessed as needing residential dementia care, one of the options the council may raise is Kallar Lodge. It is the council's own residential dementia care home and respite centre, with 44 en-suite rooms and gardens overlooking a lake. For some people, such as those who need two carers at once, it will be the right choice.

Live-in care is the alternative for people who want to stay in their own house with one familiar carer, and for couples who do not want to be separated. If you would prefer care at home, say so during the council's needs assessment. The council has to consider your wishes when it draws up the care and support plan. Live-in care works alongside our dementia care and complex care services when the needs are more involved.

How much does live-in care cost in Barking and Dagenham?

We cannot give you a figure before we have seen the situation. The cost depends on the level of need, whether it is for one person or a couple, and whether night support is needed. We put a written quote in front of you after the free home assessment. Three funding routes are worth checking:

• The council. Ask the Adult Intake Team (020 8227 2915) for a needs assessment. If the person is eligible, a financial assessment works out how much the council pays and how much they pay themselves.
• A direct payment. Council funding can be paid as a direct payment and used to pay us. The borough's Direct Payment Support Service is run by Empower (020 8059 3635). The social worker normally makes the referral.
• NHS Continuing Healthcare. If the main need is a health need, ask the ward or GP for a CHC checklist. In this borough CHC is funded through NHS North East London Integrated Care Board. The NHS explains how Continuing Healthcare works.

What we can help with in Barking and Dagenham

• 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