Raynes Park · Merton
Live-in Care in Raynes Park
A carer living in the spare room of an SW20 semi, for families on the Kingston side of Merton who need someone in the house at night as well as through the day.
Yes, we arrange live-in care in Raynes Park and West Barnes. A trained carer moves in with their own bedroom and helps one person, or a couple, with washing, dressing, meals, medicines, the house and company, following a written plan that Jackie, our registered manager, or one of her team draws up after a free assessment at home. Raynes Park is one of the hardest parts of Merton for us to reach for daily visits, so live-in care is usually the arrangement we can offer here with the most confidence.
Is there room for a live-in carer in a Raynes Park semi?
Usually, yes. The streets either side of the railway are mostly Edwardian and interwar terraces and semis, and a three-bedroom house where one or two people now live on their own nearly always has a room that can be cleared. The carer's room needs a single bed, somewhere to hang clothes, a window and a door that closes. In these houses the small front bedroom over the hall, next to the bathroom, often works best, because the carer can hear if they are needed in the night without sleeping in the same room.
If the home is a one-bedroom flat, a live-in carer cannot move in. The options then are visiting care in Raynes Park, which depends on whether we have a carer living close enough, or a short stay elsewhere while you plan.
Stairs, the one bathroom and equipment
The catch in many SW20 houses is a single bathroom upstairs, reached by a narrow, often turning staircase. A live-in carer can help someone up and down the stairs each day, but cannot carry them. Before care starts, ask Merton Council's adult social care team for an occupational therapy assessment, early, because a stairlift on a turning staircase has to be made to measure. If a hoist is needed and the plan says two people must operate it, one live-in carer cannot do that alone, and we will tell you before anything is agreed.
Coming home from Kingston Hospital. Because Raynes Park borders Kingston upon Thames, many residents are treated at Kingston Hospital as well as at St George's in Tooting. Wherever the ward is, your social care still comes from Merton. The council's Hospital to Home Team takes discharge referrals (duty worker 020 8545 3801). For a discharge to Raynes Park, a live-in carer is often the only way to have help in place from the first evening, since several short visits a day are difficult for us to guarantee this far west. Call us as soon as a date is being discussed.
Changeover day at Raynes Park station
Live-in carers work in rotations, so every so often one carer leaves and another arrives. We agree the day and time of each changeover with you in advance. Coming by train is simple: Raynes Park is on South Western Railway's lines out of Waterloo, the stop after Wimbledon, which is also where the Thameslink, District line and tram connections are.
If a carer is driving, the time of day matters. According to the council's Raynes Park zone list, zones RP, RPE, RPN and RPS are controlled Monday to Friday, 8.30am to 6.30pm, while RPC, RPC1 and RPW are controlled for only an hour or a few hours in the middle of the day. A weekend changeover avoids the controls entirely. On a weekday, a resident in a controlled zone can buy visitor e-permits online and book them against the carer's registration number. You first apply for a free qualifier with proof that you live in the zone, so do that before the first changeover.
Where the carer spends their daily break
A live-in carer has a protected break every day, agreed in the care plan. Raynes Park has good places to spend it close to home: Cottenham Park on the West Wimbledon side, Cannon Hill Common to the south-east, and Raynes Park Library on Approach Road, by the station.
We also agree who covers the person while the carer is off. Some people are fine alone for a couple of hours with a phone or alarm in reach. Others need a relative or neighbour to look in, and that goes in the plan.
When you need a back-up plan
If the regular carer is on holiday, we plan replacement cover in advance. If you are the family member who usually shares the caring, Carers First (0300 303 1555) handles carers' assessments for Merton. Raynes Park is also the nearest part of Merton to our home in Kingston upon Thames, which takes respite stays; see supported living for what it offers.
Who pays for live-in care in Raynes Park?
We give you a written figure after the assessment and don't publish prices. Being treated at Kingston Hospital doesn't change who funds care: for a Raynes Park address it is still Merton Council for social care, and NHS South West London for health funding. If the council may contribute, our live-in care in Merton page sets out the First Response Team route, the means test and direct payments. Where someone's needs are mainly health needs, ask the GP or ward about NHS Continuing Healthcare. For how live-in care works day to day, see live-in care across London.
What we can help with in Raynes Park
- 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 Merton
Live-in care pages for other parts of Merton:
Our services
How we can help in Merton
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Visiting care in Merton
Regular visits for personal care, medication, meals and company.
Read more →Live-in care in Merton
A carer who lives in, for one person or a couple.
Read more →Respite care in Merton
Cover so a family carer can rest, recover or go away.
Read more →Supported living in Merton
Our homes in Whitton, Kingston and Uxbridge.
Read more →Raynes Park FAQs
Live-in care in Raynes Park: your questions
Questions families ask us about Raynes Park. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionOur house has one bathroom. Will we be sharing it with the carer?
Yes, in most Raynes Park houses that is how it works, and it is fine. We agree times in the care plan so the person's morning wash comes first, and the carer keeps their own toiletries in their room.
Mum is still on a ward at Kingston Hospital. Can the assessment happen before she comes home?
Partly. We can look at the house with you while she is in hospital, check the bedrooms, stairs and bathroom, and talk to her and the ward about what she needs. That way the plan is ready when the discharge date is set, and we finish the assessment with her once she is home.
Dad's bedroom is on the top floor of a big house towards West Wimbledon. Where should the carer sleep?
Ideally on the same floor, or one floor down with a baby monitor or call bell. If that isn't possible, moving his bedroom to a lower floor may be safer for him anyway. We'll walk the house with you and suggest an arrangement.
Do we need to meet the carer at Raynes Park station on changeover day?
No. The carer makes their own way to the house at the time we've agreed with you. It helps to give us clear directions from the station, including which side of the railway the house is on, so a carer who doesn't know SW20 can find you easily.
Nearby
Other areas near Raynes Park
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