Live-in Care in Upper Holloway

Yes, we provide live-in care in Upper Holloway. A trained carer moves into the home, has their own bedroom and supports your relative through the day with washing, dressing, meals, medication and getting out. Before anyone moves in, Jackie, our registered manager, carries out a free assessment at home and we agree a written care plan with you.

N19 is a long way from our Lewisham office for daily visits, which can make those hard to staff. A live-in carer only makes that journey at changeover, so distance stops being the problem.

Leaving the Whittington with a carer already at home

For most people in N19, hospital means the Whittington on Magdala Avenue, a short bus ride up from Upper Holloway station. Whittington Health also runs Islington's community health services, including district nursing and the Rapid Response and virtual ward team, so someone discharged to an Upper Holloway flat may still have NHS staff visiting for a while.

A live-in carer fits around that team. The nurses and therapists stay responsible for clinical care; the carer covers the hours between their visits, with meals, washing, medicines as the plan sets out, and a note of anything the team should hear about when they next call. Let the ward and the hospital social work team know live-in care is your plan, then ring us before the date is fixed, so the assessment can happen before discharge.

Will a live-in carer fit in an Upper Holloway flat?

It comes down to whether there is a second bedroom. The housing here is mostly post-war council and housing association estates, low-rise blocks and Victorian terraces cut into flats. Some estate flats have two bedrooms, and an older tenant may still have a second room from when children lived at home. That room, cleared enough for a single bed, a wardrobe and a door that closes, is what live-in care needs.

In a one-bedroom flat, live-in care is not an option, and we will say so at the first call. The alternatives are visiting care in Upper Holloway if we can staff your times, a spell with a live-in carer at a relative's home if they have the room, or asking the council about extra care sheltered housing.

A walk-up block and a carer on the stairs

Many of the low-rise blocks have no lift. A live-in carer can walk beside your relative on every trip down and up, carry the bags, and plan outings for the times of day they have the most energy. What a carer cannot do is carry someone. If the stairs are no longer safe, a hoist or wheelchair cannot solve it in a walk-up, and the honest conversation is with the council's occupational therapists and the housing team about equipment, adaptations or a move to a ground-floor or lift-served flat. Inside the flat, check there is floor space beside the bed if a hoist is likely after discharge; we look at this at the assessment.

Changeover day at Upper Holloway

The Suffragette line on the Overground stops at Upper Holloway, and Archway, on the Northern line's High Barnet branch, is a walk up the road, so an incoming carer with a suitcase can reach the door without a car. Changeovers are planned in advance, with a handover between the two carers so routines, medication and anything new are passed on in person.

If a family member drives over to help on changeover day, Islington's parking zones each have their own hours, shown on the controlled parking zone page. A relative who regularly covers the carer's break by car can ask about an Islington carer permit, which is for unpaid carers of an Islington resident and follows a carer's needs assessment.

The carer's break, a few streets away

Every live-in carer has a daily break, and someone needs to be with your relative during it if they cannot be left. Upper Holloway gives the carer somewhere to go: Whittington Park for a walk, or North Library on Manor Gardens, off Holloway Road, which has free public computers and internet access. Archway Library, in Hamlyn House by Archway station, is fully wheelchair accessible, so it also works for a trip together.

Manor Gardens is worth knowing for the family too. Age UK Islington and the Islington Carers Hub share a building there, and the Hub carries out carers' assessments and helps family carers get a break of their own.

What we can help with in Upper Holloway

• 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