Live-in Care in Kenley

Why a resident carer suits Kenley

Kenley is near the southern edge of Croydon, a long way from our Lewisham office, and with Green Belt on three sides, nothing about it is on the way anywhere. That rules out a daily rota of calls from us. A carer who lives in only travels at changeover: Southern's Caterham line runs from London Bridge through East Croydon and Purley to Kenley station. For the hillside roads, we arrange a taxi or a family lift from the station so nobody hauls a suitcase up the hill.

Big houses on the hill, cottages in the valley

Kenley has more detached houses than any other Croydon ward, 39% of households at the 2021 Census. On the western hillside, where Victorian villas gave way to post-war executive homes, there is nearly always a spare bedroom. The questions are outside: steep drives, steps to the door and a long walk to any bus. In the Roke and along Godstone Road, homes are smaller. A two-bedroom cottage can work if the second room is truly free. A one-bedroom flat cannot, and short visits from a nearer agency would be the alternative (see home care in Kenley).

A carer instead of the car

Only 13% of Kenley households had no car in 2021, so losing the licence hits hard. A carer who lives in changes that. They can take your relative by bus on the 434 to Purley for the library and the shops, go with them to a clinic at Purley War Memorial Hospital, or arrange taxis for longer trips. If your relative wants their own car driven, raise it at the assessment. It depends on insurance and on the carer we match.

Equipment in a hillside house

Bigger houses usually have room for a hospital bed or hoist in a ground-floor room. Getting it there can be the hard part when the front door is up a flight of garden steps. Ask Croydon's occupational therapists early, before a discharge date is fixed. If the house is owned, the Staying Put agency advises on grants for larger adaptations such as a stairlift or a ground-floor shower room.

Time off on the Common

The carer's break is written into the plan, with cover arranged if your relative cannot be left. Kenley Common, managed by the City of London, is about a quarter of an hour's walk from the station, on the edge of the old RAF Kenley airfield. The carer might use their break for a walk there, or take your relative by car to the Hayes Lane parking bays for a gentler outing on the grass. Purley, one stop away, has the library and the shops.

After a stay at Croydon University Hospital

Kenley residents on the Croydon side are treated at Croydon University Hospital in Thornton Heath, a long way north. Family who would otherwise drive up and down the A23 every day can rest knowing someone is in the house. District nurses from Purley handle dressings and injections.

On the Surrey side of the boundary

Whyteleafe, the next station south, is in Surrey, where Surrey County Council runs adult social care. If your relative's council tax goes to Tandridge, any assessment and council funding go through Surrey, not Croydon. For an address on the Surrey side, ring us with the address and we will tell you whether we can place a carer there. On the Croydon side, eligible funding can be paid as a direct payment and spent on our carer. Our Croydon live-in page explains that route. Jackie writes the cost down after her visit.

How live-in care works →