Petts Wood · Bromley
Live-in Care in Petts Wood
Yes. We place live-in carers in homes across Petts Wood, on both sides of the railway, so that an older or disabled person can stay in the house they know with someone living alongside them. The carer has their own room and supports one person or a couple through each day. It begins with a free assessment at home with Jackie.
How would a live-in carer get to and from Petts Wood?
By train, in most cases. Petts Wood station has two useful routes into London. Southeastern trains run through Chislehurst and Grove Park towards the London terminals, and Thameslink trains through Blackfriars call at Bickley, Bromley South and Catford. That matters on changeover day, when the incoming carer arrives with a suitcase and the outgoing one leaves after the handover: either of them can be at the front door within a short walk of the platform from most of the estate.
When the carer, or a relative doing the run, comes by car, the controlled parking zone around the station is the thing to check. Bromley does not issue carers' permits, so a car parked in a permit bay during restricted hours needs one of your visitor vouchers. Further from the station most roads are free of restrictions, and many houses have a drive.
Bedrooms, landings and retirement flats
Petts Wood was built as a family suburb in the 1920s and 1930s, and its mock-Tudor and Arts and Crafts style semis and detached houses mostly have three or more bedrooms. A spare room for the carer is rarely the obstacle. What we look at closely is the layout upstairs: how far the person's bedroom is from the bathroom, whether the landing is wide enough for a walking frame, and whether a turning staircase will take a stairlift. Equipment such as a hoist or profiling bed is normally arranged through the council's occupational therapists or the NHS, and the carer is trained to use what is in the house.
Some people have already downsized into one of the newer retirement flats near the station. A two-bedroom flat can take a live-in carer, but a one-bedroom flat cannot. For a one-bedroom flat, look at visiting home care in Petts Wood, which is more feasible here than in the south of the borough because of the rail and bus links towards Lewisham.
Where the carer spends the daily break
Every live-in carer has time off each day, away from caring duties. Petts Wood has two very different green spaces for it. The National Trust's Petts Wood woodland borders the estate on the side towards Chislehurst, and Jubilee Country Park, a council local nature reserve with wildflower meadows, ancient woodland and a nature trail, is on the estate's other flank. The parades of shops by the station and Petts Wood Library on Frankswood Avenue are there for a quieter hour.
The person being cared for can come too, at other times of day. A short walk along a park path, a coffee by the station, a library visit: put the ones they enjoy into the care plan. For organised day care, the Saxon Day Centre in Orpington, run by Age Concern Orpington & District, is listed on Bromley's day centres page, and a day there can also cover the carer's break.
For couples. A three-bedroom Petts Wood house usually leaves room for a couple to keep their own bedroom and still give the third to a carer. One carer can then take on the personal care for the partner who needs it and the cooking and errands for both, so the other partner goes back to being a husband or wife. Both are covered by one care plan.
The first fortnight after Orpington Hospital or the PRUH
Petts Wood families usually deal with two hospitals, both run by King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust: the Princess Royal University Hospital at Farnborough Common for emergencies, and Orpington Hospital on Sevenoaks Road for rehabilitation and its frailty unit. Live-in care fits the weeks after a stay in either one, while strength comes back and medicines settle. A carer who is in the house can notice a change at three in the afternoon, not just at the next visit. Contact us during the ward stay, not on the day of discharge.
Five things to sort out before the carer arrives
- The room. Clear the spare bedroom, with drawer space and a bedside light. Wi-Fi access is appreciated.
- Visitor vouchers. If you live near the station, order a supply from the council for changeover days.
- Keys. Decide who holds spares, and whether a key safe is needed.
- Break cover. Agree who stays with your relative during the carer's daily break.
- Paperwork. Gather medicine lists, hospital letters and GP details for the care plan.
Funding live-in care in BR5
Our fees are quoted in writing after the assessment. Bromley Council's needs assessment is the starting point for any council help, followed by a financial assessment; begin at the council's care assessment page. NHS Continuing Healthcare is assessed separately where needs are mainly health needs. Our Bromley live-in care page covers direct payments, and live-in care across London explains how placements and carer rotations work.
What we can help with in Petts Wood
- 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
Live-in care elsewhere in Bromley
Live-in care pages for other parts of Bromley:
Our services
How we can help in Bromley
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Visiting care in Bromley
Regular visits for personal care, medication, meals and company.
Read more →Live-in care in Bromley
A carer who lives in, for one person or a couple.
Read more →Respite care in Bromley
Cover so a family carer can rest, recover or go away.
Read more →Supported living in Bromley
Our homes in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge.
Read more →Petts Wood FAQs
Questions from Petts Wood families
Questions families ask us about Petts Wood. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionMum's house is on the far side of the woods from the station. Will changeovers still work?
Yes. Carers can take a bus or taxi for the last stretch, or a relative can meet them. We plan each changeover with the family in advance.
Dad has moved to a retirement flat near the station. Can a live-in carer stay there?
Only if the flat has a second bedroom the carer can use. It is also worth checking the lease or the managing agent's rules on someone living with him. If it is a one-bedroom flat, visiting care is the alternative.
Mum's staircase turns at a half-landing. Can a stairlift still go in?
Usually. Curved stairlifts are made for turning staircases, though they are made to measure and cost more than a straight one. The council's occupational therapy service can advise, and until anything is fitted the carer can help her on the stairs or the bed can come downstairs.
Dad likes his walk to the station parades every morning. Can the carer keep that going?
Yes. Write it into the care plan as part of his day: the carer walks with him to the shops by the station, at his pace, and the route can change if his walking does.
Get started
Looking for care in Petts Wood?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.