Live-in Care in Wallington

Yes, we provide live-in care in Wallington and across SM6. A trained carer lives in the home with their own room and gives personal care, meals, medication support, housework and company, for one person or for a couple. It starts with a free home assessment by Jackie, our registered manager, and a written care plan.

Should we stay at home or move to Cloverdale Court or Dymond House?

Cloverdale Court on Stanley Park Road and Dymond House on Redford Avenue are council Housing with Care schemes: flats for older people, with lifts, assisted bathing and a care team on site. The council's Housing with Care page says you must be 55 or over and assessed as needing five hours or more of care and support, so the starting point is the council's assessment.

Live-in care is the other way round: the help comes to the house you already have, with its garden, its neighbours and its stairs. It suits people whose house still works for them with some changes, and couples who would otherwise be weighing up a smaller flat together. One carer can support a husband and wife under one care plan, as long as they don't both need two people to move them or help through the night. A scheme flat suits people who want to give up the upkeep of a house and are ready to move. Our live-in care in Sutton page sets out the council route for both.

Counting the bedrooms again

A couple's house that once had a spare room may not have one now. If one partner has moved into a separate room, perhaps with a hospital bed, the carer still needs a third room.

• Edwardian and interwar detached houses and large semis usually have room to spare. The issue is more often a long staircase and a single bathroom upstairs.
• 1930s terraces may have only a box room left once the couple have a room each. It can work if it takes a single bed and some storage.
• Maisonettes on Roundshaw have stairs inside the home, so access is a question even though it is "a flat". A two-bedroom maisonette for one person can work, but a couple needing separate rooms would usually need three bedrooms.
• Flats near the station need two bedrooms and, ideally, a lift for equipment deliveries.

Sutton Council's occupational therapists can advise on rails, stairlifts and bathing equipment, and it is easier to install these before the carer moves in.

Arriving at Wallington station

Wallington has Southern trains to London Victoria and London Bridge, and services through West Croydon, where carers coming from other parts of south London can change. National Rail says both platforms have level access, but through separate entrances, with a walk of more than 400 metres by road between them, and a staff ramp is needed to board. For a carer arriving with a suitcase that is manageable. For a trip out by train with someone in a wheelchair, book assistance in advance.

Parking needs more thought near the station. The council's HB2 (Wallington North) Permit Parking Area operates Monday to Saturday, 8am to 6.30pm, and is the only area on the council's list that also runs on Saturdays. Each household gets 50 free visitor hours a year, which a carer's car parked all day would soon use up, so in HB2 a live-in carer is usually better off arriving by train. Check your street with the council's permit parking area list.

Where the carer can take a break

Beddington Park is the obvious choice: 58 hectares with the River Wandle running through to a lake in the Grange Garden, and the Pavilion Café, which the council says is open every day from 9am to 4.30pm, with accessible toilets. Wallington Library on Shotfield is a quiet place to sit, and the shops on Woodcote Road are close by.

When a couple is involved, the daily break needs planning, because the more independent partner can't always be left in charge. That might mean a relative calling in, a sitting visit, or the break falling while the person who needs care is resting.

Coming home from St Helier or Croydon

Most Wallington residents are treated at St Helier, but people near the Croydon border may be admitted to Croydon University Hospital. For live-in care it makes little practical difference. Let us know the expected discharge date as early as you can, and tell the ward that a live-in carer is being arranged so the discharge plan takes it into account.

How much will live-in care for a couple in Wallington cost?

We don't publish prices. Care for two people usually costs more than for one because the work is greater, and we give you a written quote after the assessment. Sutton Council assesses each partner's needs and finances separately; its guidance says anyone with more than £23,250 in savings usually pays their own care in full. If one partner's needs are mainly health needs, ask about NHS Continuing Healthcare. The London live-in care page and our paying for care guide cover the routes. If you only need short visits, see home care in Wallington.

What we can help with in Wallington

• 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