Live-in Care in Sutton: One Carer, Your Own Home

Yes, we arrange live-in care anywhere in the London Borough of Sutton, from Worcester Park and North Cheam to Hackbridge and Beddington. A carer lives in the home with their own bedroom and helps with personal care, meals, medication, the house and company. It begins with a free home assessment and a written care plan.

Distance stops mattering once the carer has moved in

Sutton is one of the furthest boroughs from our office on Lewisham High Street: an hour or more by train, with no Tube in the borough, and 45 minutes to an hour by car. For a rota of short daily visits that is a real limit, and our home care in Sutton page says so. Live-in care is different. The carer makes the journey once, at the start of a placement, and then lives with you. Worcester Park on the Kingston border is no harder for us to cover this way than Carshalton.

Is there room for a carer in a Sutton home?

Usually, yes. The carer needs a bedroom of their own with a proper bed and somewhere to keep their things, plus use of the kitchen and bathroom. Sutton's housing is mostly suburban, which helps.

• Interwar semis in Cheam, North Cheam, Worcester Park and Wallington: three bedrooms is common, so there is often a spare room or a box room big enough for a single bed. The question is more often the stairs and the single upstairs bathroom.
• The St Helier estate: two-storey cottage terraces with small bedrooms and narrow stairs. A box room can work, but a hospital bed and a hoist may not both fit upstairs, so we sometimes plan for a bedroom downstairs.
• Victorian and Edwardian houses around Sutton town centre, Carshalton village and Wallington: more space, but steeper stairs and older bathrooms.
• Flats in the town centre, Hackbridge and on the Benhill or Roundshaw estates: a two-bedroom flat can work well, especially in newer blocks with lifts. A one-bedroom flat can't take a live-in carer.

We look at all of this at the assessment, including where any equipment would go.

One carer for two people

Couples are where live-in care makes the most sense. If one partner has dementia or Parkinson's, or is recovering from a stroke, and the other is managing but tired, the usual alternatives split them: one into a care home, the other at home alone. A live-in carer supports both, giving full personal care to one and a lighter hand to the other, with shopping, meals for two and help on the stairs. We plan the care around both people from the first visit.

How the carer's breaks and nights work

A live-in carer is entitled to a proper break each day and an unbroken night's sleep. During the break, someone else may need to be with the person, so we plan that at the start: a family member, a sitting visit, or a few hours at a group. Age UK Sutton's Dementia Hub runs dementia cafes and peer groups, and the Sutton Information Hub lists activities by neighbourhood.

If someone needs help several times every night, one carer can't do days and nights safely, and we will tell you that and talk about adding night support. Holidays are covered by a replacement carer we arrange in advance, with a handover.

Live-in care, a care home or Housing with Care?

If you are getting help from Sutton Adult Social Care, the conversation may turn to a care home once needs are high. You can ask the council to consider care at home instead. Its assessment leads to a care plan and a personal budget, and the council lets you take that as a direct payment and choose the provider, which is how some families fund part of a live-in arrangement. Raise it early with the social worker.

Sutton also has a middle option. Its Housing with Care schemes for people aged 55 and over, Belsize Court in Sutton and Cloverdale Court and Dymond House in Wallington, are self-contained flats with lifts, assisted bathing and a community alarm. A place needs a council assessment showing at least five hours of care and support a week. It suits some people well, but it means leaving home, and for a couple who want to stay in the house they own, live-in care is the option that does not involve a move.

How much does live-in care cost in Sutton?

We don't publish prices. The cost depends on how much help is needed, whether it is for one person or two, and whether night support is involved, so we give a written figure after the free assessment.

On public funding, the council says on its paying for care page that if you have more than £23,250 in savings and investments you will usually pay the full cost of your care. Below that, a financial assessment works out what you contribute, and the council says most people pay something. Under the national charging rules, the value of the home you live in is not counted while you receive care there.

If needs are mainly health needs, such as complex nursing needs or a rapidly deteriorating condition, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare. In Sutton this is assessed under NHS South West London Integrated Care Board, usually starting with a checklist completed by a nurse, social worker or hospital team. Our guide to paying for care in London goes through each route.

What we can help with in Sutton

• 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