Live-in Care in Harlington

Yes, we provide live-in care in Harlington. A carer moves into the house, has a bedroom of their own, and supports you or your parents through the day to a written care plan. Jackie starts with a free home assessment, and because the carer lives in, our Lewisham office being at the other end of the Elizabeth line has no effect on the care itself.

Is there room for a live-in carer in a Harlington house?

In most of the village, yes. The bulk of Harlington's housing is interwar: semis and short terraces with two or three bedrooms, where a grown-up child's old room or the box room over the stairs can become the carer's room. The older cottages near the church are smaller, so measure the second bedroom first: it needs a proper bed, space for clothes and a door that closes. With the northern runway so close, it is also worth asking which bedroom is quietest, because the carer needs proper sleep to work safely.

The harder case is a one-bedroom flat, which some of Harlington's council and housing association homes are. A carer cannot sleep on a sofa for weeks at a time, so there the options are visiting care in Harlington or asking the landlord about a two-bedroom home.

Stairs, the upstairs bathroom and equipment

A typical Harlington semi has one bathroom, at the top of a straight, fairly narrow staircase. A carer is there for every trip, but that does not make an unsafe stair safe. At the assessment we look at:

• Bathing. Whether a shower conversion or downstairs wet room is needed, ideally before a fall forces the decision.
• Getting upstairs at all. A straight staircase usually takes a standard stairlift. Otherwise the bed comes down to the front room and the carer keeps the upstairs bedroom.
• Hoists. A mobile hoist needs floor space round the bed and wide enough doorways. If a transfer needs two people, one live-in carer cannot do it alone.

Ask Hillingdon Social Care Direct for an occupational therapy assessment for equipment and adaptations.

Changeover day: the station, the buses and parking

When carers rotate, one arrives with a suitcase and the other leaves after a handover. Harlington is one of the easier parts of Hillingdon to reach:

• Hayes and Harlington station is on the Elizabeth line and Great Western Railway. From there the 90, 278 and H98 buses run south down Station Road to the stop at Harlington High Street / Sipson Lane.
• From Heathrow, the 278 runs from Heathrow Central bus station up through the village, handy for a carer coming off the Piccadilly line.

Most Harlington roads are free to park on, but some streets have permit bays to keep airport and commuter parking out. If a carer arrives by car, check the signs in your road for the zone and its hours. Visitor vouchers and carers' permits come through the council's parking permits service (01895 250633).

Where can a live-in carer take their break in Harlington?

Every live-in carer has a protected daily break, agreed in the care plan. The obvious place to go is Cranford Country Park, the council's 144-acre park along the River Crane on the village's eastern side, with woodland, meadows and a walled garden. The council says its toilets are temporarily unavailable and its café is still being worked on.

There is no council library in Harlington itself; for a quiet hour or borrowing books, the nearest is Botwell Green Library on East Avenue in Hayes.

The person being cared for can keep their week going too:

• Services at St Peter and St Paul, or another place of worship.
• Age UK Hillingdon, Harrow and Brent's clubs at Townfield Community Centre in Hayes, with chair yoga, knitting and a community café.
• For someone with a dementia diagnosis, the council-run Dementia Resource Centre at Grassy Meadow Court in Hayes. Places are agreed by a social worker.

Coming home from Hillingdon Hospital

Most Harlington patients are discharged from Hillingdon Hospital on Pield Heath Road, which is at least two buses away (to Hayes and Harlington, then the U5). A spouse who does not drive cannot easily go back and forth, and the first nights home after a fall or a stroke are when help is needed in the house.

Call us as soon as the ward mentions a discharge date, so the assessment and care plan are in place before the carer arrives. More on our hospital discharge support page.

A couple in the same house

One carer can look after a husband and wife together, if their combined needs are manageable for one person. Towards the end of life, that can mean one partner being cared for at home with Harlington Hospice's Hospice at Home service and the district nurses involved, while the other partner is supported too. The hospice began in Harlington and now runs its inpatient unit, Michael Sobell House, on the Mount Vernon Hospital site. See our palliative care page.

How is live-in care in Harlington paid for?

We quote in writing after the free assessment, once we know what each person needs. Before paying privately, ask Hillingdon Council for a needs assessment and financial assessment; if it funds care, it can pay a direct payment that you use with a provider you choose. Where needs are mainly medical, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare. The council route and means test are on our live-in care in Hillingdon page; how live-in care works with us is on live-in care across London. We are registered with the CQC but not yet inspected, so we have no rating.

What we can help with in Harlington

• 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