Live-in Care in Cheam

Yes, we arrange live-in care in Cheam, in Cheam Village, South Cheam and the roads between Nonsuch Park and Cheam Park. A carer lives in the house, in their own room, and helps with personal care, meals, medication, the home and getting out. Before anything is agreed, Jackie, our registered manager, visits for a free assessment and we put the care plan in writing.

On your own in a family-sized house

Cheam's detached houses and larger Edwardian homes south of the village were built for families. When one person is left living in one, the rooms that once held children go unused, the stairs get harder, and the days can go by with very little conversation. Visiting care can cover washing, meals and tablets, but it leaves the evenings and nights empty, and those are often when a family starts to worry: a fall at 9pm, the back door left open, a phone call that makes no sense.

A live-in carer changes the shape of the day. There is someone to eat with, to walk to the Broadway with, and to hear if something goes wrong in the night. A carer sleeps at night like anyone else. If the person is up and needing help several times every night, one carer isn't enough, and we will tell you so at the assessment.

Is a big house always easier for a live-in carer?

For the carer's own room, yes: space is rarely the problem in Cheam's detached houses and large semis. Size brings other questions, which we look at room by room.

• Distance between rooms. In a large Edwardian house south of the village, the spare room may be at the far end of a landing. The carer's room should be near enough to hear the person, or we agree on a monitor.
• Stairs and bathrooms. Long or turning staircases don't always take a straight stairlift, and the only bath may be upstairs. A ground-floor room with a shower may become the person's bedroom.
• Equipment. A hoist and hospital bed need clear floor space on both sides of the bed, which is easier in a large house but may mean moving furniture the family is attached to.
• Low-rise flats near the station. A two-bedroom flat can work well. In a one-bedroom flat live-in care isn't possible; see home care in Cheam for visiting care.

Dementia, and the Living Well Centre

For someone with dementia, a live-in carer keeps the same faces and the same routine in the same house, which is often what keeps them settled.

Close by in North Cheam, Age UK Sutton runs its Living Well Centre at 316 Malden Road, behind Cheam Leisure Centre, and its Sutton Dementia Hub offers dementia advisers, peer support groups and dementia cafés. If the person is offered a place at something there, a live-in carer can take them and bring them home, and that time can be when the carer takes their break. Ask Age UK Sutton what is running and who it is for.

A week's outings, and the carer's own time

Each day the carer has a protected break, away from caring. Cheam has good places for that, and the same places work for the person on a good day:

• Whitehall Historic House, the timber-framed house in the village, for a short outing close to home.
• Cheam Park off Tudor Close, about five minutes' walk through the village from the station, with a café, a bowls and croquet club and accessible toilets by the old stable block. The car park off Tudor Drive has disabled bays.
• Nonsuch Park, run jointly by Sutton and Epsom and Ewell councils, with refreshments from the Nonsuch Pantry and disabled parking next to the Mansion House.

Changeover day in Cheam

Carers take time off, so another carer comes in for the handover. Cheam station is on Southern. National Rail notes step-free access to each platform through separate entrances, no step-free route between the two, and a staff ramp to board, which is worth knowing before taking the person out by train.

A carer who drives may find restrictions near the village. The council's Park Lane, Cheam CPZ covers streets close to the centre, and its CH (Peaches Close area) Permit Parking Area operates on weekdays from 8am to 6.30pm. Both give households free visitor hours each year. Elsewhere in Cheam most roads are unrestricted.

Will we have to pay for live-in care ourselves in Cheam?

If savings are above £23,250, Sutton Council's guidance says you will usually pay the full cost of care, so it is sensible to plan for paying privately. Two kinds of help do not depend on savings at all. Attendance Allowance, for people over State Pension age who need help or supervision, is not means-tested, according to gov.uk. NHS Continuing Healthcare is funded by the NHS for people whose needs are mainly health needs, regardless of wealth. Our live-in care in Sutton page covers the council route, and the live-in care page explains what is included. We quote in writing after the assessment.

What we can help with in Cheam

• 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