Live-in Care in Camberwell

Yes, we provide live-in care in Camberwell. A carer moves into the home with their own bedroom and supports one person or a couple around the clock with personal care, medication, meals and company, while a cover carer takes over for their breaks and holidays. It begins with a free home assessment, usually with Jackie, our registered manager, and a written care plan.

The first fortnight after Denmark Hill

In Camberwell the hospital is on the doorstep. King's College Hospital and the Maudsley both stand on Denmark Hill, so a stay often ends with a five-minute journey home, and the hard part starts at the front door. Someone who was helped to the toilet by a nurse at night on the ward now has nobody. A live-in carer closes that gap: they are there on the first evening, sleep in the next room, and notice if something is not right the next morning.

Call us once the ward starts talking about a discharge date. If Jackie can assess on the ward, with the ward's agreement, the care plan can be ready before the person leaves. Where the person is under the Maudsley or a community mental health team, we work alongside their care coordinator. We are not a mental health service. See how hospital discharge support works.

Can a live-in carer work in a tall Camberwell house?

Usually, yes, and the larger Georgian and Victorian houses are where a spare bedroom is most likely. The questions are about distance and stairs:

• Where the carer sleeps. In a house over four or five floors, the spare room may be two flights from the person's bedroom. A carer will not hear a call from there, so we may suggest a monitor or a call bell, or moving the carer's room closer.
• Converted flats in the Grove. Many houses on Camberwell Grove and Grove Lane are now split into flats. A garden or top-floor flat may have two bedrooms but a shared front staircase where a stairlift needs the freeholder's agreement.
• Estates off Camberwell Road and Wyndham Road. On an upper floor the lift decides it: a second bedroom is no use if the person cannot get down to the street for appointments at King's, so we ask how often it breaks down. In a maisonette, we check that a hospital bed will go up the inside stairs.

In a one-bedroom flat there is nowhere for a carer to live. Our visiting home care in Camberwell may suit better.

Changeovers in an area with no station

Camberwell has no station of its own, so incoming carers plan the last stretch. Denmark Hill station, opposite King's, has London Overground Windrush line, Southeastern and Thameslink trains; from there it is a walk down the hill. A carer coming by Tube gets off at Oval or Elephant & Castle and finishes by bus, as the routes into Camberwell Green are frequent.

The streets around the hospital are tightly controlled for parking. If the household is in a controlled parking zone, a resident can buy Southwark visitor's permits for a carer's car, pre-booked against its registration.

Where the carer goes on their break

Camberwell Green is the obvious base for the carer's daily break, with green space either side of it.

• Camberwell Library, 48 Camberwell Green, is open every day of the week, with level access and a lift to all floors. Its Tuesday afternoon knitting and crochet club is also worth a look for the person.
• Ruskin Park, just over the Lambeth border on Denmark Hill, and Burgess Park, the largest park in Southwark, which reaches Camberwell Road by Addington Square.

For the person, the Southwark Pensioners Centre on Camberwell Road runs activities and trips for over-50s, and a carer can take them there.

Who pays for live-in care in SE5?

First, check the council. The western edge of Camberwell is in Lambeth, so look at the council tax bill. If it says Southwark, a needs assessment and any council funding come through Southwark Adult Social Care, explained on our Southwark live-in care page; if it says Lambeth, see live-in care in Lambeth. Either way, council support is means-tested, NHS Continuing Healthcare may pay where needs are mainly health needs, and we quote in writing after the free assessment. Our London live-in care page covers how placements work.

What we can help with in Camberwell

• 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