Live-in Care in Sidcup

We can provide live-in care in Sidcup, in DA14 and DA15 alike, whether the home is near the High Street, in Lamorbey or out towards Albany Park. One carer moves in with their own room and looks after a single person or a couple, and we plan the handovers and holiday cover so the house is never left without someone. We come out from Lewisham for a free home assessment first, and you get a written care plan before anyone moves in.

How does live-in care start in a Sidcup home?

1. A phone call. Ring 0203 375 4047 or 07446 010486 and tell us what has changed. We will say honestly if live-in care looks like the right fit or if visits might do.
2. The assessment visit. We look at the person's needs, and at the house: which room the carer would have, where the bathroom is, how many flights of stairs there are.
3. Matching. We choose a carer with the right experience, for example dementia care, and introduce them to you.
4. Arrival. The carer comes by train to Sidcup or Albany Park and settles in. The care plan is in the house from day one.

Room to spare, and stairs to match

Sidcup's housing is more varied than most of Bexley, and that changes what the carer's room looks like:

• Edwardian and older houses near the centre and towards Lamorbey Park often have three or four bedrooms, so space is rarely the issue. Height is. A house with a second staircase or an attic room means the carer should not sleep a floor away from the person they look after. We will suggest the room closest to theirs.
• The 1930s semis across Lamorbey, Blackfen's edge and Albany Park usually have a small third bedroom that suits a carer well.
• Post-war flats around the station vary. Two bedrooms can work; a one-bedroom flat cannot take a live-in carer, and visiting care in Sidcup is the alternative.

For hoists, stairlifts, grab rails or a level shower, ask Bexley Council for an occupational therapy assessment. In a tall house it often makes sense to set up one floor for daily living: bedroom, toilet and sitting room on the same level, with the carer's room nearby.

A live-in week that still includes the day centre

Moving to live-in care does not mean giving up things the person already goes to. Age UK Bexley's day care centre is in Hadlow Road, in Sidcup itself, and includes a dementia service. On centre days the carer gets the person up and ready in good time; the hours there can then double as the carer's own break, which works well for couples where the other partner would otherwise be left alone in the house.

On other days, the carer's break can be spent at The Glade in Lamorbey Park, at Foots Cray Meadows along the River Cray, on The Green near the High Street, or at Sidcup Library, which has moved into the Sidcup Storyteller building at 106 Sidcup High Street. All of them are also places to take the person out to, when the weather and their energy allow.

Trains, parking and the handover

Sidcup and Albany Park are both on the Sidcup line, with trains to Charing Cross, some of them via Lewisham, and Dartford the other way. That makes changeovers straightforward for a carer coming from central or south-east London.

If a carer drives, the hours of Sidcup's parking zones vary a lot, so check your road:

• Sidcup Town Centre (zone S): Monday to Saturday, 9am to 5.30pm.
• Sidcup Station (zone B) and West Sidcup (WS): weekdays, 1pm to 3pm.
• Albany Park (zone J): weekdays, 11am to noon.

Residents in a zone can apply for visitor scratch cards through the council. Outside the zones, most roads are unrestricted.

When the hospital is not in Sidcup

Queen Mary's Hospital is close by, but because it has an urgent treatment centre and no full A&E, an emergency admission usually means Queen Elizabeth in Woolwich, Darent Valley in Dartford, or the Princess Royal University Hospital at Farnborough for parts of south Sidcup. The discharge may be planned from a ward some distance away. A live-in carer can be ready when the person comes home and stay through the recovery. Later, the carer can go with them to follow-up outpatient clinics at Queen Mary's, a short trip from most of Sidcup. See our hospital discharge support.

Funding live-in care in Sidcup

The council route runs through Bexley: a needs assessment, a means test, and the option of a direct payment to pay an agency you choose. Our Bexley live-in care page covers it step by step. Where needs are primarily health needs, NHS Continuing Healthcare may pay in full. We quote in writing after the free assessment. More on how live-in care works: live-in care across London.

What we can help with in Sidcup

• 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