Respite Care in the City of London

You are one of about 500 carers in the Square Mile

The 2021 Census found 496 City residents giving unpaid care to someone, and 79 of them caring 50 or more hours each week. Those 79 are, in effect, doing a full-time job with no days off. The numbers are so small that the City is exempt from the national survey of carers, and services are built to match: a commissioned carers' service, a council team that handles both assessments and breaks, and some support shared with Hackney. Knowing exactly where each piece sits saves weeks.

Step one: a carer's assessment from the Corporation

Any adult caring for someone who lives in the City can ask the Corporation to assess them as a carer, even if they live in Kent or Hackney themselves. One Corporation team does both jobs: the Adult Social Care duty desk that assesses the person you look after also assesses you (020 7332 1224, weekdays, or adultsduty@cityoflondon.gov.uk). The Corporation's carer's assessment page sets out who qualifies. Parent carers and young carers use the children's team on 020 7332 3621 instead.

The assessment looks at whether the care you give is necessary and at what it is doing to your own health, work and wellbeing. If you are eligible for support of your own, ask whether it can be given as a direct payment.

Who pays for the break itself?

This is the part most carers have backwards. The Corporation's support for carers page calls respite "replacement care" and explains that, under the Care Act, it counts as a service for the person cared for, not the carer. So you, the carer, do not pay for it. The person you look after may be charged, depending on their own financial assessment.

In most cases the Corporation provides replacement care as extra home care for the person, in their own home. Sometimes it is day care or a short residential stay. You can ask Adult Social Care at any time; you do not have to wait for the next review. Once extra home care is agreed, ask whether it can be paid as a direct payment if you would rather choose the provider. If you are paying privately, you can book directly with us, and you will get our figure in writing once we have met you both.

Imago: the City's carers' service

The Corporation pays Imago to support unpaid carers aged 16 and over who live in the City (0300 011 1965, carers@imago.community). It does not carry out the carer's assessment, but it can support you before and after one. Its leaflet lists:

• information and advice, and help to reach specialist advice on money, debt, grants and benefits;
• contingency planning and crisis support, so there is a plan if you are suddenly ill;
• weekly drop-in sessions, and carer groups online and in person;
• free training, such as the Caring with Confidence programme.

The Corporation's carers page also points to the national Carers Card. Ask Imago for current drop-in times and venues.

More support around you

• The Neaman Practice's Carers Care Coordinator, for carers registered with the City's only GP surgery. Book on 020 7600 9740.
• City and Hackney Carers Centre, which offers counselling and a Listening Ear service. Check its website to see whether referrals are open.
• City Carers Community, peer support with regular Share and Learn sessions.
• NHS Talking Therapies, which you can refer yourself to, and the Carers UK helpline on 0808 808 7777 (Monday to Friday, 9am to 6pm).
• The Forget Me Not Memory Cafe at Golden Lane Community Centre on Tuesdays, 2pm to 4pm, which welcomes carers alongside the people they look after.

When the person you look after has dementia

Caring for someone with dementia is the situation where breaks are most often put off, because handing over feels risky. Two City and Hackney services make it easier. East London NHS Foundation Trust's dementia service gives each family a named professional after diagnosis, and once someone has a diagnosis, anyone can refer them back in, including you, on 020 3222 8500 (weekdays, 9am to 5pm). That named worker is a good person to help write down the routines a stand-in carer needs. And the Tuesday memory cafe at Golden Lane gives you both two hours out together each week, which some carers use as a gentle first step before a sitter comes to the flat on their own.

If you are suddenly ill or admitted

Call the Adult Social Care Team during office hours. Outside them, the City and Hackney Emergency Duty Team covers the City on 020 8356 8855 or 020 8356 2300. Ring us as well. Same-day cover is sometimes possible and sometimes not, depending on the rota, and we will not pretend otherwise. A contingency plan made with Imago in advance, listing medicines, routines and who has a key, makes any emergency cover far safer.

Cover from us: an afternoon a week or a fortnight away

• Regular sitting. A carer comes on a set day so you can work, see friends or leave the flat. Our sit-in service suits someone who cannot safely be alone, such as a person with advanced dementia.
• A resident carer while you travel. Someone from our team lives in for the fortnight you are at your sister's or on holiday. They need a spare bedroom. Only around a third of City households have one, so check first: many Barbican flats do, most Golden Lane studios and one-bedroom flats do not.
• Cover while you go into hospital yourself, planned with you before a known admission.

Our carers come by rail, which suits the City's parking rules. If the Corporation is funding the break, we can work to its support plan. More on how we do this is on our respite care page.

How respite care works →