Live-in Care in Hackney Central

For people in Hackney Central who need someone there through the day, we arrange a carer who lives in. They have a bedroom of their own in the home, and they handle the personal care, the cooking, the medicines and the company that make staying at home possible. Our first visit to the home costs nothing, and the plan is agreed in writing before anyone moves in.

Which homes around Mare Street can take a carer?

Hackney Central ward's housing is tight. The 2021 Census recorded 35% of homes with a single bedroom and 30% of households with a spare room, below the Hackney figure of 36%. Social renting was common: 48% of households.

The homes that suit a resident carer here are usually the bigger flats and maisonettes on the estates, such as the 1960s maisonettes on the Pembury, where children have left home, and the occasional whole Victorian house off Amhurst Road or near St John-at-Hackney. Upper flats in split terraces are less likely to have a second bedroom, and the internal stairs can make nights difficult. On our first visit we look at where the carer would sleep and whether they would hear the person.

If the home is a council or Peabody tenancy, write to the landlord about the carer's role before the start date.

Live-in care or Appleton Court and Benabo Court?

Hackney Council lists two Housing with Care schemes inside Hackney Central ward: Appleton Court on Marcon Place and Benabo Court on Ferncliff Road, both run with Anchor Hanover. Neither is a 24-hour scheme, so they suit people who need some help at set times, not someone who needs a person nearby all day. For higher needs, the council's 24-hour schemes are elsewhere in the borough, such as Leander Court on Balcorne Street, E9.

A live-in carer is, in effect, the 24-hour option without the move. That is often the deciding point for someone who has lived in the same street for decades.

One carer, a couple, a shared flat

Where both partners are frail, a resident carer can support the pair: personal care for the one who needs it most, and meals, errands and a watchful eye for the other. We assess both people and agree one plan. When both would need two people to lift or move them, or nights are constantly broken, one carer alone would not be safe, and that is a conversation we have early.

Hospital, nurses and the hospice

From the Town Hall, the W15 runs to Homerton Hospital, as do the 236, 242 and 276. After an admission, the hospital's independence team may provide a few weeks of rehab at home, and a resident carer can carry the routine on once it finishes. Homerton Healthcare district nurses visit for clinical care; ours is personal care, not nursing.

If someone is dying at home, St Joseph's Hospice, a short way down Mare Street towards Cambridge Heath, can be involved, and its First Contact line (0300 30 30 400) answers at any hour. The resident carer is there between the hospice's visits. Read about end-of-life care at home.

Dementia: the GP, Felstead Street and the Carers Centre

For a diagnosis, the GP makes a referral to the ELFT and Homerton memory clinic on Felstead Street, E9. A familiar carer living in can steady someone who is easily confused by new faces. Relatives can get counselling and advice for themselves from the City & Hackney Carers Centre on Queensbridge Road. See dementia care.

Funding in a ward of tenants

With most households renting, the person's own savings and income usually decide what Hackney pays. The national threshold is £23,250; below it, the council may contribute after its assessment and can pay that as a direct payment, usable for a resident carer if the support plan says so. A Continuing Healthcare check is worth asking for when needs are mainly medical. We write our price down after seeing the home.

Arrivals, parking and the carer's time off

Hackney Central station is step-free, which helps a carer arriving with a suitcase. Zone D parking runs until 11pm on weekdays and Saturdays, so a car changeover costs money whenever it happens; Sunday is easiest. For the carer's daily break, Hackney Central Library on Reading Lane, the gardens of St John-at-Hackney and Hackney Downs park are all close.

How live-in care works →