Live-in Care in Dalston

Yes, we can arrange live-in care in Dalston. A carer comes to live in the home, with a bedroom to themselves, and supports the person day to day: washing and dressing, medication, cooking, the stairs or the lift, and trips out. The first step is a free assessment at home, after which we write the care plan and choose a carer to suit it.

Coming home to E8 from Homerton

When someone from E8 is on a ward at Homerton University Hospital, Hackney's local hospital, the question on the ward may be whether they can manage at home at all. Live-in care means someone is there between visits too: when the person feels dizzy in the kitchen or forgets whether they took their tablets.

Call us as soon as the ward first mentions discharge. We assess the person, ideally including the home, and tell you honestly whether we can have a carer ready by the time they are well enough to leave. If the ward is planning short-term reablement first, the carer fits in around those visits. Ask the ward whether an NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist has been considered if the person's needs are mainly health needs; the staff at Homerton and Hackney Council make the arrangements on their side.

Which Dalston homes work for a live-in carer?

• Estate flats either side of Kingsland High Street. Two- and three-bedroom flats where the family has grown up and moved out are often the best fit: a spare room, and a carer to deal with the lift, the long corridors and the bins.
• The newer blocks around Dalston Square. Lifts, level floors and wide doors suit a wheelchair or hoist. The catch is space: a two-bedroom flat with one bathroom works, but check the second bedroom is a real room and not a study.
• Houses split into flats. An upper flat reached by an internal stair rarely has a second bedroom and can be hard to bring equipment into. A ground-floor flat with a garden room sometimes can.

We look at the room and the access at the assessment. If there is no space, visits may still be possible: see home care in Dalston.

Will the carer get a proper night's sleep on Kingsland High Street?

It is a fair question here. A live-in carer needs an unbroken night to do the job well the next day. Flats above the shops or close to the bars and clubs along Kingsland High Street and around Dalston Junction can be noisy late into the night, especially at weekends.

Tell us at the assessment which room faces the street. Where there is a choice, the carer's room should be the quieter one. And if the person is up several times a night, whatever the noise, one live-in carer is not enough; we will discuss night support with you.

Changeover day at Dalston Junction

Dalston's two Overground stations help a carer arriving with a suitcase. Dalston Junction is on the Overground Windrush line, which runs without a change from New Cross, Brockley and on to West Croydon. Dalston Kingsland is on the Mildmay line, so a carer can come in from Stratford or change from the Victoria line at Highbury & Islington.

Driving is harder. Zone C (Dalston) is controlled from 8.30am to 6.30pm Monday to Saturday, so a relative dropping off or collecting a carer on those days will need a visitor voucher from the council or an estate visitor voucher if the flat is on an estate with its own parking.

Food, language and Ridley Road

Turkish and Kurdish families have been part of Dalston for a long time, alongside households of many other backgrounds. Whoever the person is, food tends to matter. Tell us what the person eats and how it is cooked, whether halal meat is needed, and what they like from the market. Ridley Road Market, opposite Dalston Kingsland station, trades Monday to Saturday from 9.30am to 4pm, and a carer can shop there with or for the person.

If the person speaks mainly Turkish, Kurdish or another language, say so at the first call. We cannot promise a carer who speaks it, but we take it into account when choosing who to send, and family can help by writing down key words, routines and how the person likes to be addressed.

Where a live-in carer can take a break

Dalston CLR James Library on Dalston Square has lifts to its upper floors and is open seven days a week, with Sunday afternoon hours. The Dalston Eastern Curve Garden on Dalston Lane is a community garden with a café, a calm spot a few minutes from the junction. For relatives who share the caring, the Carers Centre at the Marie Lloyd Centre on Queensbridge Road is a short way south.

Cost and funding

There is no price list: you get a written figure once we have assessed. Funding may come from Hackney Council after its assessments, or from NHS Continuing Healthcare for people whose needs are primarily health needs. The borough route, direct payments and the council's own Housing with Care are compared on live-in care in Hackney, and live-in care in London explains how placements work.

What we can help with in Dalston

• 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