Live-in Care in Camden

Yes, we arrange live-in care anywhere in Camden. A trained carer moves into the spare room and supports one person, or a couple, through the day, following a care plan written after a free home assessment. Because the carer lives with you, the distance from our Lewisham office makes no practical difference to the care.

Why the journey from Lewisham doesn't matter here

For visiting care, the trip from Lewisham to Hampstead, West Hampstead or Highgate, 45 to 55 minutes each way, is a real limit on what we can staff. For live-in care it hardly counts: the carer travels once at the start of a placement and again at each changeover. That is why live-in care is usually how we cover the north and west of the borough, around Hampstead, Belsize Park, Swiss Cottage, West Hampstead and Kilburn, where a daily round of short visits from south-east London would be hard to sustain.

Is there room for a live-in carer?

In Camden this is the first question, and it is harder to answer than in most of London. Much of the borough is flats: the Chalcots Estate towers at Swiss Cottage, the post-war estates around Lismore Circus in Gospel Oak and either side of Kentish Town Road, and Victorian villas in Belsize Park and terraces in Kilburn split into one- and two-bedroom conversions. A spare bedroom is less common here than in the suburbs.

The carer needs a bedroom of their own, not a sofa bed in the living room, with somewhere to keep their things and use of the kitchen and bathroom. It can be a small room. The larger houses of Hampstead and Highgate usually have one. A two-bedroom Edwardian mansion flat off West End Lane often can, once the second room is cleared. If there is genuinely no room, we will say so at the assessment and talk through visiting care or a sit-in service.

Equipment in a converted flat

Live-in care often comes in at the point where someone needs a hospital bed, a commode or a hoist. In a Belsize Park conversion or a Bloomsbury mansion block, the question is whether the bedroom has space around the bed for a carer to work safely, and whether the doorways and stairs allow equipment in. We look at this at the assessment. Camden Adult Social Care handles requests for occupational therapy assessments and equipment: use the council's Adult Social Care referral form or phone Contact Camden on 020 7974 4444.

Couples who want to stay together

Many older Camden residents have lived in the same flat or house for decades, often as a couple. When one partner needs long-term care, the usual alternative is a care home place for one while the other stays behind alone.

One live-in carer can support both: full personal care for one partner, and lighter help for the other with meals, shopping and the stairs. If both need a lot of help, especially at night, we will tell you honestly whether one carer is enough or whether the plan needs more.

The carer's breaks, and who covers them

A live-in carer needs a break every day and enough sleep to work safely. During the daily break, someone may need cover: a family member, a short visit, or a day at one of Age UK Camden's day centres, Henderson Court in Hampstead or Great Croft near King's Cross. When the carer takes holiday, we arrange a replacement in advance. If someone regularly needs help through the night, that is a different arrangement from standard live-in care, and we will discuss night support separately.

How much does live-in care cost in Camden?

We give a written figure after the assessment, not before. The cost depends on whether the care is for one person or two, how much help is needed and whether nights are disturbed. A number quoted down the phone before anyone has seen the home is a guess.

Families usually weigh live-in care against a care home. For one person the costs can be comparable. For a couple, one carer is normally cheaper than two care home places. The bigger difference is staying put, close to the Heath, the high street and a GP who knows you.

Who pays: Camden Council and the NHS

• Camden Council. If Adult Social Care assesses someone as having eligible needs, it carries out a financial assessment too. The NHS guide to paying for your own care explains that once savings fall below the upper capital limit of £23,250, the council may help with the cost. If residential care is being suggested, it is reasonable to ask whether care at home could meet the same needs.
• Direct payments. If the council agrees to fund care, you can ask for a direct payment and choose your own provider. PeoplePlus runs Camden's Independent Living Service to help people manage them.
• NHS Continuing Healthcare. Where needs are mainly health needs, NHS Continuing Healthcare can fund care in full. For Camden residents it is the responsibility of NHS West and North London Integrated Care Board. It starts with a checklist that a nurse, doctor or social worker can complete, often on the ward at UCH or the Royal Free before discharge.

Our guide to paying for care in London covers each route in more detail.

What we can help with in Camden

• 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