Live-in Care in Newham

Yes, we arrange live-in care anywhere in Newham, from Forest Gate and Manor Park in the north to Silvertown and North Woolwich by the river. A trained carer lives in the home, with their own bedroom, and supports one person or a couple with personal care, meals, medication and company. It starts with a free home assessment, usually with Jackie, our registered manager, and a written care plan.

Why the trip from Lewisham stops mattering

For hourly visits, distance from our Lewisham office matters, and parts of Newham such as Manor Park and East Ham are close to the limit of what we can staff reliably. Live-in care works differently. The carer arrives once, settles in and stays for their rota, so nobody has to cross the river every morning. That makes live-in care the dependable option in the north-east of the borough, where visiting care depends on carer availability.

Is there a spare room?

This is the practical question in Newham, which has some of the worst household overcrowding in England. Many of the bay-fronted terraces in East Ham, Upton Park and Forest Gate are shared by two or three generations or divided into flats, and every bedroom is already in use. A live-in carer needs a room of their own, with a bed and somewhere to keep their things, and access to the kitchen and bathroom. It does not need to be large, but it needs to be theirs.

Where the room exists, the housing tends to fall into three types:

• Victorian and Edwardian terraces in Forest Gate, Manor Park and Plaistow, including the larger villas on the Woodgrange Estate. There is often room, but the stairs are steep and the bathroom small, so we look at a downstairs bed, a commode or a stairlift early.
• 1980s houses in Beckton, low-rise and often with a front garden and parking, and usually easier to adapt for living on one floor.
• New-build flats at Stratford, East Village, Canning Town and the Royal Docks, with lifts and level access. A two-bedroom flat here can work well for live-in care.

If there is no spare room, live-in care is not possible, and we will say so at the assessment. Visiting care or extra care housing may then be the better fit.

A couple at home, with one carer

Live-in care often makes most sense for couples. When one partner needs a lot of help, a care-home place can separate two people who have shared a house for fifty years, and the one left at home is often struggling too. One live-in carer can give full personal care to one partner and lighter help to the other: cooking for both, help with the stairs, a hand getting to the GP or to Queen's Market. You pay for one carer, and the two of them stay in their own home together.

When the carer rests, and who covers the holidays

A live-in carer is entitled to a proper break during the day and an unbroken night's sleep. We plan both in the care plan. The daytime break can be covered by family, a sit-in carer, or a session the person already attends, such as the council's day service at The Resource Centre on Chargeable Lane or one of the free memory cafes at Rathbone Market and East Ham Library. If someone needs help several times a night, one live-in carer cannot do that safely, and we will plan night support separately. When the carer goes on holiday, we arrange a replacement in advance and introduce them before the handover.

Live-in care, extra care housing or a care home?

Newham has five extra care housing schemes with care staff on site day and night, mostly for people over 55 (Amber Court takes adults from 18). You cannot apply to the landlord directly: a place depends on a Care Act assessment from the council. The flats are let unfurnished, residents hold their own tenancy, and moving means leaving the family home.

A care home also usually means a move, sometimes out of the borough. Live-in care keeps someone in the house they know, near their GP, their place of worship and the shops on Green Street or East Ham High Street they have used for decades. It suits people who want to stay put and have the room for a carer. Extra care suits people who are ready to move to a smaller, step-free flat. Some people need the round-the-clock nursing only a nursing home provides, and we will tell you if we think that is the case.

How much does live-in care cost in Newham?

We quote in writing after the assessment, because the cost depends on whether it is for one person or a couple and how much help is needed, including at night. We do not give figures over the phone. There are three funding routes to check:

• Newham Council. After a needs assessment from the Access to Adult Social Care Team (020 8430 2000, option 2), the council carries out a financial assessment. Its assessment page says people with savings over £23,250 may have to pay in full. An eligible person can take a direct payment and use it to pay an agency they choose.
• NHS Continuing Healthcare. If the needs are mainly health needs, the NHS can fund the whole package. NHS Continuing Healthcare in Newham is the responsibility of NHS North East London. Ask the GP, or the ward if the person is in hospital, for the checklist assessment.
• Private funding, sometimes alongside Attendance Allowance, which is not means-tested.

Our guide to paying for care in London goes through each route.

Care towards the end of life at home

For many families, the reason for live-in care is that someone wants to die at home. St Joseph's Hospice in Hackney counts Newham among its core boroughs, and its specialist team, the GP and district nurses lead on symptom control. A live-in carer handles the personal care, the meals and the nights in between, and keeps the family informed. See our palliative care and dementia care pages for how we work alongside the NHS.

What we can help with in Newham

• 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