Live-in Care in White City

Yes, we provide live-in care in White City, W12, and it is the most dependable way we can care for someone this far from our Lewisham office. One carer moves in, with their own bedroom, and covers personal care, meals, medication and company, with a relief carer arranged ahead for their time off. Jackie, our registered manager, assesses at home for free first, and the care plan is agreed in writing.

Coming home from Hammersmith Hospital

Hammersmith Hospital on Du Cane Road sits on the edge of White City. It is a specialist hospital, with the West London Renal and Transplant Centre, cancer services and a heart attack centre, so a stay there is often long and the recovery afterwards slow. That is where live-in care fits: someone is in the home from the first evening, to manage new medicines, watch for warning signs the ward has explained, and help with washing while strength returns.

Tell the ward as soon as live-in care is the plan. The council's community and hospital assessment service covers Hammersmith Hospital, and the ward can ask whether an NHS Continuing Healthcare checklist is due. Call us at the same time, so our assessment can be done before the discharge date. Our hospital discharge page explains how we work with wards.

Will a live-in carer fit in a White City Estate flat?

The estate's 1930s-50s blocks vary from flat to flat, so it comes down to two things:

• The stairs. In a block without a lift, a carer living in means the person is never stranded upstairs alone, but getting them down to the street still needs a safe method. A wheelchair, a hospital bed or a hoist also has to come up those stairs. We look at the stairwell at the assessment and will say if equipment won't get in.
• The bedroom. It must be the carer's own, with a bed and a door. A one-bedroom flat can't work, and visiting care, covered on our home care in White City page, is the alternative.

In the new blocks by Television Centre and Wood Lane, getting a hoist or wheelchair in is rarely the issue. The bedroom count is: plenty of these flats are studios or one-bedroom, and a carer can't live in either. If the tenancy or lease restricts who can stay, check that with the managing agent too.

Changeovers at Wood Lane

Of the stations nearby, TfL lists Wood Lane on the Hammersmith & City and Circle lines as step-free; White City on the Central line has stairs. So a relief carer arriving with luggage is better off at Wood Lane. East Acton, on the Central line, is the stop for streets near Du Cane Road. White City is a longer journey from south-east London than most of the borough, so we plan changeovers in advance and avoid QPR home match days, when streets around Loftus Road fill up. A carer who drives needs you to book visitor parking through RingGo with a virtual visitor permit.

Open space for the carer's break

White City sits beside the borough's biggest open space. Wormwood Scrubs, off Scrubs Lane, has meadow, woodland trails and a local nature reserve. Hammersmith Park on South Africa Road has a Japanese garden with a pond, and Wormholt Park on Sawley Road is smaller and quiet. On wet days, Shepherds Bush Library at 6 Wood Lane in Westfield is open every day. During the carer's break, someone else needs to be with the person if they can't be left, such as a relative or a sit-in visit.

For outings together, Westfield's lifts and level floors help when someone is newly using a wheelchair.

Who pays for live-in care in White City after a hospital stay?

After a hospital stay, check NHS funding first. If the person's needs are mainly health needs, NHS Continuing Healthcare can fund care in full; the assessment is arranged through the ward or the GP. Otherwise, Hammersmith & Fulham Adult Social Care (0800 145 6095) assesses for council support, and the council doesn't charge for home care it arranges. If you pay us privately, we quote in writing after our own assessment. The funding routes are covered in more detail on our Hammersmith and Fulham live-in care page; live-in care in London explains the service.

What we can help with in White City

• 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