Live-in Care in Hackney

Yes, we arrange live-in care anywhere in the London Borough of Hackney. A trained carer moves into the home, has their own room, and provides personal care, meals, medication support and company through the day. Jackie, our registered manager, or a member of her team visits first, free of charge, to see the home and write the care plan.

Distance doesn't decide this one

For visiting care, the hour or so between our Lewisham office and the north of Hackney is a real limit. For live-in care it barely matters. The carer travels once, at the start of their placement, and then lives with you. That makes Stamford Hill, Upper Clapton and the far end of Stoke Newington as straightforward for us as Hoxton or Dalston.

What does matter is the house itself, and in Hackney that is usually the first question.

Is there room for a carer in a Hackney flat?

A live-in carer needs a bedroom of their own: a door that closes, a bed, somewhere to keep their things. A sofa in the living room is not enough, for them or for the person they look after.

That rules some homes out. Many older Hackney residents live in one-bedroom estate flats or in the top half of a converted terrace, and spare rooms are uncommon outside family houses. But plenty of homes do have one: the two- and three-bedroom flats on estates like Clapton Park or Kingsmead where children have long since moved out, the larger Victorian and Edwardian houses in Stamford Hill, the villas of De Beauvoir that have stayed whole. If you are not sure whether a box room will do, we can look at it during the assessment.

Equipment is the other practical check. A hospital bed or hoist needs floor space, and getting one up a narrow terrace staircase can decide which room it goes in. Equipment usually comes through an occupational therapist; we plan care around what is installed.

Two people, one carer

Live-in care can support a couple in the home they share. Typically one partner needs most of the personal care and the other needs a lighter hand: meals cooked for two, someone to manage the shopping and the stairs, and another adult in the flat if there is a fall. Two separate care home places would split them up, often into different parts of London. One carer keeps them in the same rooms, with the same neighbours, and is usually far cheaper than two residential fees.

When does the carer rest?

A live-in carer is not on duty for 24 hours. They take a proper break during the day and need an unbroken night's sleep. If the person needs help several times a night, a single live-in carer is the wrong arrangement and we will say so, and discuss adding night support. When the carer takes holiday or their placement rotates, we arrange a replacement in advance, and we try to introduce them before the handover.

Live-in care, Housing with Care or a care home

When a Hackney resident can no longer manage at home, the options the council talks about usually include its own Housing with Care. The council runs 14 Housing with Care schemes for people aged 55 and over with housing and care needs, plus interim care after a hospital stay, and residential or nursing homes for people who need more.

These suit some people well. Live-in care is for the person who wants to stay exactly where they are: their own tenancy or their own house, their own neighbours on the landing, their own kitchen. It involves one carer, not a staff rota, and it does not mean a move. The trade-off is the spare room and the cost, which for one person is often similar to a care home and for a couple usually less.

How much does live-in care cost in Hackney?

We give a written quote after the assessment, because the figure depends on how much care is needed, whether it is for one person or two, and whether any night support is involved.

On funding, three routes are worth checking. Hackney Council may contribute after a needs assessment and a financial assessment; 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. If the council funds care, it can pay it as a direct payment, paid every four weeks onto a prepaid card or into a separate account, which you can use with an agency. And where someone's needs are mainly health needs, for example advanced illness or complex conditions after a stay in Homerton, ask the hospital or GP about an assessment for NHS Continuing Healthcare, which the NHS pays for in full when someone qualifies. Our London funding guide goes through each.

Dementia, and care towards the end of life

For people with dementia, a familiar flat and one consistent carer can make days calmer. In Hackney, diagnosis comes through the NHS Diagnostic Memory Clinic on Felstead Street in Homerton, run by East London NHS Foundation Trust as part of the City & Hackney Dementia Service, with GP referral. A live-in carer can work alongside whatever that service puts in place. See our dementia care page.

Live-in care is also used at the end of life, so someone can die at home. The carer works alongside the GP, district nurses and, where they are involved, St Joseph's Hospice on Mare Street. Read about our palliative care.

What we can help with in Hackney

• 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