Live-in Care in Streatham Hill, SW2

Up on the A23 we provide care by moving a carer in, not by sending one round. The trip from SE13 takes three-quarters of an hour or more, which is fine once at the start of a fortnight and hopeless four times a day. So the question for an SW2 family is about rooms, lifts and stairs.

Room for a carer on Streatham Hill

• The big 1930s blocks on the A23. Flats here are on one level, and many blocks have lifts, though not all do. A two-bedroom flat suits a carer well. In a listed block such as Pullman Court, ask the managing agent before making changes, as adaptations may need consent.
• Converted Victorian and Edwardian houses off the main road. A two-bedroom conversion can work, but an upper flat with its own steep stairs and no lift needs careful thought if mobility is getting worse.
• Family houses in Telford Park and nearby roads usually have the room; a stairlift or a downstairs bedroom often comes up at the assessment.

Without a spare bedroom nobody can live in; a Streatham-based visiting agency is then the practical choice.

Changeover at the bottom of the hill

Carers swapping over usually come through Streatham Hill station, on the corner of Leigham Court Road, where Southern trains from Victoria and London Bridge stop and lifts serve both platforms. Brixton, the end of the Victoria line, is the nearest Tube, a bus ride up the hill. The 57 runs from Streatham Hill towards Tooting, Wimbledon and Kingston.

Where the carer takes a break

• Hillside Gardens Park, on Hillside Road between Streatham Hill and Tulse Hill, with open lawns, wildflower areas and a dog-free picnic area.
• Tooting Common, across the Wandsworth boundary to the west, for a longer walk.
• Streatham High Road's shops and cafés, starting just south of the station.
• On Woodlawns days, the Lambeth Asian Centre or the Make A Difference Afro-Caribbean Senior Citizens Group at 16 Leigham Court Road, both on the council's day care list.

Coming home from King's or St George's

An SW2 admission usually means Denmark Hill; a few go west to Tooting. Wherever the ward is, if council money is involved the social worker will be Lambeth's. Matching a resident carer to someone's needs takes a few days, so a phone call when the doctors first talk about home is worth more than one the evening before.

Husband, wife and a carer in a 1930s flat

Picture a Pullman-era two-bed where he has dementia and she is coping, just. A resident carer helps him wash, dress and settle at night, and she gets to be his wife again, not his nurse. The arithmetic of rooms is the catch: the pair share one bedroom, the carer takes the other. Couples used to separate rooms need a bigger home or a different plan.

Paying for live-in care in Streatham Hill

Lambeth's contribution, if any, follows its Care Act assessment and means test, and can be released as a direct payment to put towards an agency carer. The Lambeth live-in guide goes through council, NHS and private funding; our Streatham Hill home care page covers the help available locally if live-in care is not right.

Dementia support within reach of SW2

The nearest council dementia day centres are Clarence Avenue in Clapham Park, open weekdays and one Saturday a month, and Central Hill Day Services towards Upper Norwood; places follow a Lambeth needs assessment. Age UK Lambeth's free Magnolia Club meets on Wednesday afternoons at Christ Church Gipsy Hill. For a diagnosis, the GP refers to the Southwark and Lambeth Memory Service. A resident carer can travel with someone who no longer manages buses alone, and centre days give the carer their protected break.

Visiting relatives who drive

If the street is in a controlled zone, a relative who helps can apply for Lambeth's personal carer's parking permit, from £24.10 for three months, which needs a GP or social services declaration and allows three hours at a time in that zone.

How live-in care works →