Live-in Care in Bickley

Which room in a big house?

Bickley is known for large detached houses, and in the 2021 Census nearly half the households in Bickley & Sundridge ward had two or more bedrooms to spare. The question is not whether there is a room but which one. A carer sleeping on the floor above, at the far end of a long landing, may not hear a call in the night. Choosing a room close to the person, or a simple plug-in monitor, usually settles it.

Not everyone in BR1 and BR2 lives in a large house. There are flats and smaller homes on the edges of Bickley too, and a one-bedroom flat cannot take a carer who lives in. Visits are the honest alternative there; our home care in Bickley page covers them.

Curved stairs, half-landings and the conservation area

Older Bickley houses often have staircases that turn on a half-landing, and bathrooms some way from the bedrooms. A carer can help on the stairs at the start and end of the day. If the stairs have become unsafe, the usual answer is to bring daily life downstairs: a ground-floor room becomes the bedroom, with space for a profiling bed and a hoist if needed. A curved stairlift is made to measure and takes longer to arrange than a straight one, so start early.

The Bickley Park conservation area covers the core of the district. Anything that alters the look of the front, a ramp included, may need the planners' agreement. A ramp at the side or back, or a portable ramp, can be simpler, and free-standing equipment inside the house needs no permission at all.

Couples in a house you may have had for decades

When one partner needs personal care and the other is managing the house alone, one carer can support both: full care for one, meals, medication prompts and company for the other. Neither has to leave a home they may have lived in since the children were small. Garden upkeep and heavy cleaning stay with whoever does them now; helping your relative get out into the garden is part of the carer's day.

Changeover days at Bickley station

Swap days usually start at Bickley station, where Victoria and Blackfriars trains call on their way out to Orpington and Sevenoaks. From the station, the 162 runs along Bickley Park Road past St George's Church, and the R7 heads for Petts Wood. For houses on the Southborough Lane side, the 208 comes straight from Lewisham. A carer who drives can usually park on the drive; if not, and the house is in a controlled zone, keep some visitor vouchers aside, because Bromley issues no carers' permits.

Sundridge Park, the other station

The ward is Bickley & Sundridge, and the Sundridge side has its own station on the short Bromley North branch from Grove Park, where Lewisham trains connect. For houses towards Plaistow Lane, that can be the easier way in on swap day, and the 314 links Sundridge Park station with Bromley North and Elmstead Woods. In 2021 more than 600 people in the ward were 85 or older, so plenty of families here are planning exactly this.

Where the carer can take a break

• Jubilee Country Park, 62 acres of grassland and ancient woodland, with entrances on Southborough Lane and Blackbrook Lane.
• Southborough Library on Southborough Lane.
• The cafés and shops of Bromley town centre, a short ride on the 162.

Family, a friend or a short visit can sit with your relative during the break. Many of the same places work for an outing together at a gentler pace.

Memory, hospital and the end of life

Memory clinic appointments are at Bridgeways, off Bromley Common, after a GP referral; from The Avenue the 336 drops you at Turpington Lane. A fall usually means Farnborough, sometimes followed by a spell at Orpington. After a fall or a stroke, the gap between visits in a large house is what worries families most; with someone living in, there is another person in the house through the day and overnight. Mention live-in care to the ward early and we will come and choose the carer's room with you before she is home. Towards the end of life, St Christopher's Hospice supports families from its Orpington site at Caritas House.

Paying for live-in care in Bickley

The council's financial assessment counts savings and income, so many households here pay for themselves at first. Even so, a council needs assessment earns its keep: it unlocks occupational therapy, equipment and, later, funding if savings run down. A Bickley placement is priced only after we have seen which room the carer would have. The rest of the money side is on our borough-wide live-in page.

How live-in care works →