Croydon · South and south-west London
Respite Care in Croydon for Family Carers
Cover at home so a Croydon carer can step away, for a regular afternoon, a week's holiday or a hospital stay of your own.
Yes, we provide respite care in Croydon. We step in at home while the family carer takes a break, with visits or sit-in hours in the north and centre of the borough, or with a live-in carer for a short stay anywhere in Croydon. A free home assessment comes first, so the stand-in carer knows the routine before you hand over.
How do I get respite care in Croydon?
Paying for a break yourself, you can simply call us. If you want help from the council towards the cost, the starting point is a carer's assessment. In Croydon, anyone aged 7 or over who looks after someone is entitled to one, and the council lists respite support among its possible outcomes. Which door you knock on depends on the person you look after:
- If they already have a care package from Croydon Adult Social Care, ask their allocated social worker for a carer's assessment. It is separate from theirs and will not affect their package.
- If they do not, contact Carers First, which supports adult carers in Croydon on the council's behalf: 0300 303 1555 or hello@carersfirst.org.uk.
- If you are aged 5 to 25, Croydon's young carers service is run by Off the Record (020 8649 9339, option 2).
The council's carer's assessment page sets this out. Carers First also has a carers support centre at 24 George Street, CR0 1PB, a few minutes' walk from East Croydon station. The council lists its carers café and advice desk as open on Monday, Wednesday and Friday mornings and closed on Tuesdays and Thursdays; check the hours before you go.
Can Croydon Council pay for my break?
It can, if your assessment, or the cared-for person's, finds eligible needs. Croydon's direct payment rules allow the money to be spent on support "to give them a break from caring, if they are a carer", which can include respite cover from an agency like ours. The person being cared for may be asked to contribute after a financial assessment. Help with running a direct payment is provided for Croydon by Kingston Centre for Independent Living, on 020 8546 9603. We do not quote prices before an assessment; our guide to paying for care in London explains the means test.
Three kinds of cover at home
- Visits at the usual times. A carer comes for the morning wash, lunch or bedtime, the parts of the day you would normally do. This is most realistic in the north and centre: Thornton Heath, Norbury, South Norwood, Selhurst, Addiscombe and the town centre, which are about 40 to 50 minutes from our Lewisham office. In Purley, Coulsdon, Sanderstead, Selsdon and New Addington it depends on carer availability, so ask.
- A sit-in stretch. A carer stays for a block of hours so you can go to your own appointments, see friends or sleep. See our sit-in service.
- A short live-in stay. A carer moves in while you are away, anywhere in the borough, including the far south. They need a bedroom; if you share the home, that can be yours while you are gone. Read about live-in care in Croydon.
If you suddenly can't carry on
Sometimes the break is not planned: the carer is admitted to Croydon University Hospital, or simply cannot go on. If the person you look after cannot be left alone, phone Croydon Council Adult Social Care on 020 8726 6500 and explain that their carer is unable to care. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999. You can call us too, on 0203 375 4047 or 07446 010486 (also WhatsApp). Whether we can cover at short notice depends on which carers are free, and we will tell you straight away if we cannot.
Make an emergency plan while things are calm. One page with medications, the daily routine, the GP, key contacts and where the keys are makes any handover safer. Carers First can help you think it through, and a copy should live somewhere obvious in the house.
Breaks away from the house
Respite does not all have to happen at home. Croydon Council runs dementia day services at Langley Oaks in South Croydon and at the Heavers Resource Centre on Selhurst Road, South Norwood, booked through 020 8726 6500 and charged after a financial assessment. A regular day place gives a carer predictable time off, and we can cover the days in between. Age UK Croydon runs the Memory Tree Café for people living with dementia and the people who look after them. If caring is affecting your own mental health, Mind in Croydon runs carers' support and counselling, and the Croydon Memory Service, part of South London and Maudsley, is the NHS route for assessment and diagnosis.
A short stay at our Kingston home
For some adults, particularly younger adults with a learning disability, a few nights somewhere new can be a break for everyone. Our supported living homes take short stays, but none is in Croydon. The nearest is in Kingston upon Thames, roughly 30 to 45 minutes from central Croydon by car via the A232 and A240. Without a car, take the tram from East or West Croydon to Wimbledon and then a South Western Railway train to Kingston, or the SL7 Superloop bus from West Croydon through Sutton; either way allow about an hour. Our other homes, in Whitton and Uxbridge, are further. If the Croydon Joint Community Learning Disability Team is involved and the council is paying, talk to the social worker before booking.
What we can help with in Croydon
- Regular visits so you can rest
- Live-in cover while you are away
- Planned breaks booked ahead
- Cover if the main carer is unwell
- Dementia-aware respite
- Short stays in our supported living homes
- Help with the carers' assessment route
- A care plan the family agrees
Areas of Croydon we cover
Care across the borough, including these neighbourhoods. Each has its own page with local detail.
Our services
How we can help in Croydon
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Croydon FAQs
Respite in Croydon: carers' questions
Questions families ask us about Croydon. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionMy husband doesn't have a social worker. Who does my carer's assessment?
Carers First, under its contract with Croydon Council. Call 0300 303 1555 or drop into the George Street centre on one of its open days. If your husband later gets support from the council, his social worker can review your assessment too.
Mum goes to Langley Oaks three days a week. Can you cover the other two?
Possibly, depending on where she lives and the times you need. Tell us her day-centre pattern at the assessment and we will build visits or sit-in hours around it. For Sanderstead or Selsdon, ask us early so we can check carer availability.
I'm 22 and help look after my dad in Thornton Heath. Is there support for me?
Yes. Croydon's young carers service, run by Off the Record, works with young carers aged 5 to 25 who live in Croydon, and has a separate referral route for young adult carers aged 18 to 25. Your dad's own care can still come from us or another provider, and a break for you can be part of the plan.
I'm going into hospital for an operation and my wife has dementia. What do I do first?
Call us as soon as you have a date. We will assess while you are still at home so you can show the carer the routine yourself, and introduce the carer before you go in. A short live-in stay usually suits this, if there is a bedroom for the carer.
Could my son, who has autism, have a respite stay at your Kingston home on a council budget?
It may be possible. Croydon places people out of the borough where it suits them, but the decision sits with his social worker or the Joint Community Learning Disability Team. Speak to them first, then to us about what the Kingston home offers.
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Looking for care in Croydon?
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