Live-in Care in Redbridge

Why the journey from Lewisham stops mattering

For visiting care, distance is everything. Woodford, Barkingside, Clayhall and Hainault are 60 to 75 minutes from our SE13 office by public transport, and we are honest on our Redbridge home care page that regular visits there depend on carer availability. Live-in care works differently. The carer makes the journey once, at the start of their placement, and then lives in the house. Hainault is as straightforward as Ilford.

That is why the northern half of the borough is, in practice, live-in territory for us. The same goes for anyone in Wanstead, South Woodford or Gants Hill who needs more than a few visits a day can give: help at night as well as in the day, someone in the house when they get up at 3am, or a partner who should not be left alone.

Is there a room for the carer?

The carer sleeps in the house for weeks at a time, so they need a room that is theirs for the placement, not a sofa bed in the lounge. Whether a Redbridge home has one tends to follow when and where it was built:

• Woodford Green and South Woodford: many homes are 1920s and 1930s three- and four-bedroom semis or larger detached houses, so a spare room is usually there already.
• Gants Hill, Clayhall, Barkingside and Newbury Park: mostly interwar semis, often with a third bedroom that has become a box room or study. It may need clearing, but it usually works.
• Ilford, Seven Kings and Goodmayes: Edwardian terraces vary. Some have a third bedroom, and some have been converted into flats with no room to spare.
• Hainault: the post-war London County Council houses were family homes, so many have more than one bedroom.

We will not assume. The local NHS lists housing and overcrowding as a priority for the borough, and plenty of households here already have every room in use. If there is no space, we will say live-in care is not the right fit and talk about what else could work.

One carer for a husband and wife

Couples are where live-in care makes the most sense. When one partner needs a great deal of help, the usual alternative is a care home place for one of them, or two places, after a lifetime in the same house. A live-in carer supports both: full personal care for one, perhaps lighter help with meals, shopping and getting to appointments for the other. We agree how the support is split in the care plan, and we review it as either person's needs change.

Who covers the breaks and the holidays?

We do. The daily break is planned into the routine, often at a quiet point in the afternoon when a family member can be there or the person can safely be on their own. Holidays and changeovers are arranged in advance with a replacement carer who has been briefed on the care plan. If the match between your relative and a carer is not right, tell us and we will change it.

Live-in care or a care home in Redbridge?

When someone needs care day and night, this is usually the choice to be made. The council's Adult Care site has a directory of care providers that lists care homes as well as home care agencies, so you can see both routes side by side. A care home gives a building full of staff. Live-in care gives one carer who knows the person, in their own home with their own routine. For someone with dementia, staying in familiar surroundings can make a real difference, and our dementia care page explains how we approach it.

For a diagnosis or memory assessment, the GP can refer to the NHS Redbridge Memory Service in Newbury Park. Near the end of life, live-in care can sit alongside palliative care and the community support of Saint Francis Hospice, which serves Redbridge as well as Havering and Barking and Dagenham.

How much does live-in care cost in Redbridge?

We do not quote a figure until we have done the assessment. The cost depends on the level of care, whether it is for one person or two, and what is needed at night. After the assessment you get a written quote.

Who pays depends on the route:

• Redbridge Council may contribute after a needs assessment and a means-tested financial assessment. Ask for an assessment through the online referral on the council's Adult Care contact page or on 020 8708 7333. Its paying for care pages explain how charges are worked out.
• Direct payments. Redbridge pays these into a bank account, sometimes a separate one, and they can go on an agency; if the person cannot manage the money, someone else can be nominated or a managed account used.
• NHS Continuing Healthcare. Where the main need is a health need, the NHS may fund the whole package. The NHS explains how CHC works. In Redbridge it comes under NHS North East London.
• Paying privately, from savings or income. If the council is involved, the home the person lives in is not counted as capital while they receive care there.

For the national rules behind each route, see our guide to paying for care in London.

What we can help with in Redbridge

• 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