Live-in Care in Sanderstead

Yes, we arrange live-in care in Sanderstead, CR2. A carer lives in your home with their own bedroom, provides personal care, meals, medicines support and company, and takes a protected break each day. Jackie comes out for a free assessment first, and you get a written care plan before anyone moves in.

Why does the hill matter so much for live-in care in Sanderstead?

Sanderstead station sits at the foot of a dry valley, below the old village around the pond and All Saints' Church, and the roads climb steeply between the two.

• For your relative, the climb can end independent trips to the shops or the bus long before they struggle at home. A live-in carer can walk with them, or arrange a taxi, so they still get out.
• For the carer arriving at changeover, Southern trains on the Oxted line run to Sanderstead from East Croydon, and Riddlesdown station is nearby too. From the station, a lift or a taxi up the hill is sensible with a suitcase. We plan who meets whom before the day.
• For anyone driving, the Sanderstead Permit Zone applies only near the station. Up in the village and on most residential roads, there are no parking controls, and most houses have a drive.

Visiting care is harder to staff here because of the distance from our Lewisham office; our home care in Sanderstead page covers when visits might work.

Two of you, one carer

Sanderstead's interwar and post-war houses were built as family homes. If you and your partner have shared one for years and one of you now needs care, a live-in carer can support the household as a whole: helping one partner wash and dress, cooking for both, and giving the healthier partner time to themselves without worrying about leaving the house.

Agree at the assessment which tasks are for which partner, so the carer's working day is realistic. Keep the carer's bedroom separate from the couple's, ideally not through the same door. And if both partners need help at night, say so: one carer needs their sleep, and we will plan around it.

Equipment in a 1930s house

Many houses of this period have their only bathroom upstairs. Whether a stairlift fits depends on the shape of the staircase, a bath may need a bath lift or replacing with a level-access shower, and a hoist needs enough floor space around the bed. Where there is a dining room or garage on the ground floor, it may be possible to turn it into a downstairs bedroom. In the low-rise flats, such as those on the site of the old Sanderstead Court, a one-bedroom flat has no room for a live-in carer, so visiting care is the option there. Croydon Council's occupational therapists can assess for adaptations as part of a needs assessment.

Langley Oaks, the pond and Kings Wood: filling the carer's break

If your relative cannot be left alone, the daily break needs planning. Sanderstead has good options.

• Langley Oaks Specialist Centre is Croydon Council's dementia day centre in nearby South Croydon (CR2 8DH). A day there gives your relative company and activity, and gives the carer time off. Places are arranged through the council and listed on its dementia services page.
• Age UK Croydon's Memory Tree Café, a free group for people diagnosed with dementia and their carers, has held sessions a short drive away in Selsdon. Ring 020 8686 0066 for the current days.
• Sanderstead Pond and All Saints' Church, the Grade I listed medieval church nearby, make a short outing in the village. Sanderstead Parish lists its services, and a carer can go with your relative if church matters to them.
• Kings Wood and Sanderstead Plantation are on the doorstep for the carer's own walk.

Planning the journey home from hospital

Hospital stays for Sanderstead residents are at Croydon University Hospital in Thornton Heath, on the far side of central Croydon. After a fall or an illness, the steps up to a hillside front door and the upstairs bathroom are the first hurdles. A live-in carer in place for the discharge can help with both, and with prescriptions and follow-up appointments. Call us as soon as the ward mentions a discharge date. More on this is on our hospital discharge support page.

Does Croydon Council fund live-in care for Sanderstead residents?

It can. Sanderstead is in the London Borough of Croydon, not Surrey, so Croydon Council assesses care needs and then finances. If your relative is eligible and staying at home is what they want, ask for live-in care to be considered as an option; it can be funded through a direct payment. Where needs are mainly health needs, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare. Families paying privately come to us directly, and we quote after the assessment. Details of the council route are on live-in care in Croydon, and the service itself is described on live-in care in London.

What we can help with in Sanderstead

• 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