Live-in Care in Willesden

We can provide live-in care in Willesden wherever the home has a spare bedroom for the carer. One carer moves in, follows a written care plan and is there through the day and night for personal care, meals, medication and company. Jackie, our registered manager, or a senior colleague visits first for a free assessment of the person and the house.

Four things we look at in a Willesden house

Much of Willesden was built between the 1880s and 1910s, and many of those houses were later divided into flats. Before a carer moves in, we check four things:

1. The spare room. A whole house, or a large ground-floor flat, usually has one. A conversion with two bedrooms can work if the second room is free all the time. A one-bedroom flat cannot take a live-in carer; our home care in Willesden page covers visits instead.
2. Who uses which floor. In a two-storey house it is often simplest for the person to move downstairs into the front room, near the kitchen and garden, while the carer sleeps above.
3. The bathroom. Older houses often have the only bathroom upstairs, or at the back of a long ground floor. A commode, a raised seat or a level-access shower may be needed, and Brent's occupational therapists assess for equipment.
4. Room for equipment. Hallways in Victorian and Edwardian houses are narrow. A profiling bed and a mobile hoist need floor space, so we measure before anything is ordered.

Handovers on the Jubilee line, and parking in a CPZ

A changeover means one carer leaving with a week or more of luggage and another arriving with theirs. In Willesden that is simple: Willesden Green station on Walm Lane is one ride on the Jubilee line from London Bridge, with no change, so the incoming carer can arrive mid-morning and the two can overlap for the handover. For homes nearer Harlesden, Willesden Junction is the other way in.

If a relative drives over to help with the handover, or to bring a bed for the carer's room, check the street against Brent's controlled parking zone map first; inside a zone, the resident pays for the visitor's session through RingGo.

A break between the High Road and Roundwood Park

A live-in carer takes a protected break every day and needs proper sleep at night. Willesden is well placed for it:

• The Library at Willesden Green, at 95 High Road, also houses Brent Museum and Archives on its second floor, with free exhibitions. It is a good outing for someone who has lived in the borough for decades, and a quiet place for the carer to sit.
• Roundwood Park, on Harlesden Road, south-west of the High Road, suits a longer outing because toilets and a café are on site, and its aviary gives someone a reason to go.

During the carer's break, the person can be with family, at a day activity or with a short visit from us if that is in the plan.

Is live-in care a good choice after a hospital stay in Willesden?

Often, yes. Whichever of the three nearby hospitals your relative comes home from, the hard part is the first nights in a tall, narrow house where the bedroom and the only bathroom may be a flight apart. With a carer living in, the person is not alone between visits, and the carer can report changes quickly to the GP or the community nurses. Tell us when the ward first mentions discharge; our hospital discharge page explains what we need.

A couple in the family house

In a Willesden terrace a couple can keep their own bedroom while the carer takes a back bedroom or the box room over the stairs. A single live-in carer can support both: personal care for the partner who needs it most, and cooking, shopping and company for both. Whether it works comes down to the house having that spare room and to neither partner needing two-person help to move.

Funding pointers

Brent Council's care needs assessment is the route to council help, followed by a financial assessment. NHS Continuing Healthcare applies when needs are mainly health needs. We quote in writing after our free assessment and do not publish prices. See live-in care in Brent for direct payments and care home options, and live-in care in London for how live-in care works.

What we can help with in Willesden

• 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