Live-in Care in Highbury

Yes, we provide live-in care in Highbury. A carer moves into your spare room to help with washing, dressing, cooking, tablets and getting out, and a single carer can look after a husband and wife together. It begins with a free assessment at home with Jackie, our registered manager, followed by a written care plan.

Two people, one carer, the same house

Highbury is one of the few parts of Islington where some older couples still live in a whole Victorian house, often one they bought decades ago. That changes what is possible. When one partner needs help with washing, dressing and moving about, and the other is managing but tiring, one person living in can care for the pair of them: full personal care for one, cooking, shopping and a steady arm for the other. Nobody has to move, and the couple stay together.

We ask about each partner's needs separately at the assessment, because they are rarely the same. One may be living with dementia while the other is physically frail; the care plan sets out what the carer does for each of them, and what each would like to keep doing for themselves.

Four floors and a kitchen in the basement

A whole house solves the bedroom question but brings its own problem: stairs. Many Highbury houses run over three or four storeys, with the kitchen at garden level and the bedrooms at the top. A carer can help someone up and down, but if every trip to the bathroom is a staircase, falls become likely.

Families usually do one of three things. They fit a stairlift (a straight flight is simpler and cheaper than a curved one), they move the bedroom to the main floor so that life happens on one level, or they set up the carer's room near the person who needs help at night. Before buying anything, request a council occupational therapy assessment; the OT can advise on rails, bathing equipment and whether a hoist will fit.

Is a Highbury flat big enough for live-in care?

Sometimes. Most of the big houses have been split into flats, and a one-bedroom conversion above a steep shared staircase cannot take a live-in carer. The mansion blocks and the flats on the Highbury Quadrant estate and off Highbury New Park are more varied, and a two-bedroom flat usually works. If there is no spare room, visiting care in Highbury is the realistic alternative.

Changeovers when Arsenal are at home

Changeovers are easiest by train. The Victoria line at Highbury & Islington connects with the main stations at King's Cross, Euston and Victoria, plus the Overground and Great Northern services; Arsenal (Piccadilly line) and Drayton Park are close by. On a match or event day the stations are crowded and there are extra parking controls around the Emirates, so we check the fixture list before booking a changeover.

If a relative or carer has to come by car, buy the council's visitor e-vouchers. They work during match-day controls; the paper visitor vouchers do not.

A break on Highbury Fields

Every live-in carer has a daily break, and Highbury is a pleasant place to spend it. Highbury Fields is Islington's largest park, with the Oasis Café and Highbury Pool, and the shops and cafés at Highbury Barn are at its northern end. Central Library, on Fieldway Crescent off Holloway Road, is a short walk from Highbury Corner and opens on Sunday afternoons as well as through the week.

If your relative cannot be left alone during that break, a day centre session can cover it. Highbury New Park has both a council day centre, reached through a social care assessment, and a private dementia day centre run by Care UK. Otherwise, family or a short sit-in visit can step in.

Funding and the council

For council help, Highbury is covered by Islington's needs and financial assessments; our Islington live-in care page sets out that route and direct payments. A place at the council's New Park Day Centre is also arranged through that assessment, so raise it at the same time if day-centre sessions would help cover the carer's break. Where needs are mainly clinical, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare. Self-funders get a written quote once the free assessment is done; live-in care in London explains the service.

What we can help with in Highbury

• 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