Live-in Care in Ladywell

Can a live-in carer be there when someone comes home from Lewisham Hospital?

Yes, if it is planned while the person is still on the ward. University Hospital Lewisham is beside Ladywell Fields, so many Ladywell residents are discharged home from a ward that is only a few minutes away. The journey is short; the first week back, with new tablets, a walking frame and stairs that felt easy before, is the hard part.

If the council offers enablement, its staff come in for short visits to rebuild confidence and then leave. A live-in carer is the person in the house between those visits, and still there when enablement finishes, so the two can run side by side. The council's leaving hospital page explains its side of the process.

To make it work, tell the ward the family is arranging live-in care the moment a discharge is raised, then ring us. With the hospital this close to our office, Jackie can often see the house before discharge, and we will be honest about when a carer can start.

What we check in a Ladywell house before a carer moves in

Ladywell is mostly late Victorian and Edwardian terraces, many split into flats, plus some post-war council blocks. At the assessment Jackie asks:

• Is there a second bedroom? A whole terraced house usually has one. A ground-floor or upper-floor conversion may not, and live-in care needs a proper room for the carer, not a sofa.
• Where is the bathroom? If it is up a steep flight and the person has just come out of hospital, we plan washing downstairs at first and ask for an occupational therapist's advice on equipment.
• Is there a shared stair or a lift? In a converted upper flat, every trip out goes down a shared stair. In a council block, care depends on the lift working, so we agree a plan for when it breaks down.
• Will equipment fit? A hospital bed or a hoist needs floor space and room to turn. Narrow terraced hallways make that awkward, so we measure first.

If the home cannot take a live-in carer, visiting care in Ladywell is a realistic alternative. We are one stop away.

Getting to Ladywell for a carer changeover

Ladywell's Hayes line trains run through Lewisham to London Bridge and on into central London. National Rail rates the station as partly step-free to both platforms, useful for a carer bringing a week's luggage. The 284 bus also stops at the station on its way between Lewisham and Catford.

A live-in carer who drives leaves the car in the street for the whole rotation. In the Ladywell zone, that means a week's visitor permit, because controls run 9am to 7pm on weekdays and a carers' permit only ever covers four hours of a day. In Ladywell West, the controls last from 10am to noon, so a car can often be moved or covered for those two hours. We work this out with you before the first changeover.

Ladywell Fields, Hilly Fields and the day service

A relative, or a relief visit from us if a carer is free, covers the carer's daily break, and two parks are close by for them. Ladywell Fields runs for about a mile along the Ravensbourne towards Catford, with a café, a bowling green and, if they are lucky, the kingfishers and heron that live by the river. Hilly Fields, up the hill, has its own café and a view across to the City.

The same places work for the person being cared for. A level walk along the river in Ladywell Fields is a good first outing after a hospital stay. For someone living with dementia, the council runs the Ladywell Dementia Day Service at the Ladywell Centre in Dressington Avenue, with places arranged through Adult Social Care. For a live-in carer, centre days are the natural time for their protected break and for errands, and for a couple they give the other partner a few hours of their own.

Who pays for live-in care after a hospital stay?

Once enablement ends, Lewisham Council assesses longer-term needs and then means-tests. If the person's needs are mainly health needs, ask the ward or GP about NHS Continuing Healthcare, which can fund the whole package. Paying privately? We put a figure in writing after we have seen the house. The full council route, including direct payments, is on our Lewisham live-in care page, and our live-in care service page describes what a carer does.

What we can help with in Ladywell

• 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