Live-in Care in Mortlake

Yes, we provide live-in care anywhere in Mortlake. One carer moves into the home, sleeps in their own room and helps with washing, dressing, meals, medication and getting out, and a relief carer covers their time off. Jackie, our registered manager, starts with a free assessment at the house and then writes the care plan with you.

Will a live-in carer fit in a Mortlake cottage or riverside flat?

The carer needs a bedroom to themselves. Flats are a large share of homes here: at the 2011 census the old Mortlake and Barnes Common ward had more flats than terraced houses. A two-bedroom flat with a lift suits live-in care well. A one-bedroom flat cannot take a live-in carer, so we would talk you through visiting care on our home care in Mortlake page, or a short stay elsewhere.

The Victorian terraces and workers' cottages between the High Street and the railway often have two or three bedrooms, but the box room may be tiny and the bathroom is usually upstairs. A small room is fine if it holds a proper bed and somewhere for clothes. Before the carer moves in, we check:

• whether the person can still get up the stairs safely, or whether a bed downstairs is the safer plan for now;
• whether a hoist or profiling bed will fit, and get round the turn of the stairs;
• whether the council's occupational therapy team should assess for rails, a stairlift or bathroom changes.

Changeover day at Mortlake station

Carers usually arrive by train. Mortlake is on South Western Railway's line from Waterloo through Putney and Barnes, so an incoming carer has a simple journey with a suitcase. National Rail lists the station as step-free to both platforms by way of the street, with no lifts, which in practice means crossing at the Sheen Lane level crossing. The barriers can hold people up, so we build slack into the handover. The outgoing carer stays until the new one has arrived and the two have gone through the care plan together.

If a carer or relief carer drives, the parking matters. The council's zone times page lists Zone M (Mortlake) as controlled Monday to Friday, 9am to 11am only, while Zone ES (East Sheen), on the other side of the railway, runs from 10am to noon. A changeover arranged for late morning or the afternoon often avoids the restricted hours altogether. Where it can't, a carer who has to park in a particular zone for their duties can apply for the council's operational parking permit.

Coming home to SW14 after a hospital stay

Depending on where the ambulance went, someone from Mortlake may be discharged from West Middlesex in Isleworth, Kingston Hospital, or a hospital across the river. Rehabilitation afterwards is often run from the Richmond Rehab Unit on Evelyn Road, which is the base for stroke early supported discharge, falls services and cardiac and respiratory rehab.

In a Mortlake cottage with the only toilet upstairs, the first nights home are when a trip along the landing in the dark is most likely to end in a fall. A carer sleeping in the next room changes that. They can also notice when a new medicine leaves your relative dizzy, and keep the therapists' exercises going between visits. Call us while the ward is still planning discharge. See hospital discharge support.

Where the carer takes their break

The carer's daily break is protected, and cover for it is agreed before they start. From a Mortlake front door, the options are:

• The riverside. The pedestrianised promenade and the Thames Path towards Barnes or Kew make an easy walk to clear the head.
• East Sheen Library on Sheen Lane (council page) has free Wi-Fi, a quiet place to sit, and regular events.
• Richmond Park, through Sheen Gate at the top of Sheen Lane, for a longer walk.

The carer can also keep up your relative's own life. That might be a Sunday service at St Mary the Virgin on the High Street, Mass at St Mary Magdalen (whose churchyard has Sir Richard Burton's tent-shaped tomb), a coffee on the green, or a place at the council's Sheen Lane Day Centre, where a day-centre session can sometimes cover part of the carer's break if the care plan says so.

How do families in Mortlake pay for live-in care?

There are three routes. Richmond Council can assess needs and then means-test. NHS Continuing Healthcare pays the full cost when needs are mainly health needs. Otherwise you pay privately. We quote in writing after the free assessment and never over the phone. The detail on each route, including direct payments, is on our live-in care in Richmond upon Thames page, and live-in care in London explains how the service works day to day.

What we can help with in Mortlake

• 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