Hackney · East London
Respite Care in Hackney
Cover at home so a Hackney family carer can rest, work, go into hospital or get away, from a regular evening off to a live-in carer for a fortnight.
Yes, we provide respite care in Hackney: a carer steps in at home so the person who usually does the caring can take a break. That can be visits or sit-in hours for a few hours at a time, or a live-in carer for a short stay anywhere in the borough. We start with a free home assessment so the routine is written down before you hand over.
Your own carer's assessment comes first
If you look after a partner, parent or adult child in Hackney without being paid for it, you are entitled to a carer's assessment of your own under the Care Act. It looks at how caring affects your health, work and the rest of your life, and it is how the council decides whether to help with breaks.
Hackney gives you three ways to ask for one. If the person you care for already has a social worker, ask them. If not, contact Hackney Adult Social Care on 020 8356 6262 or access@hackney.gov.uk. Or ask the City & Hackney Carers Centre to request the assessment on your behalf, which can be easier than approaching the council yourself.
City & Hackney Carers Centre
The Carers Centre is based in the Marie Lloyd Centre at 329 Queensbridge Road, E8, a building shared with Age UK East London. It offers advice, counselling and wellbeing activities for unpaid carers, help requesting a carer's assessment, and workshops for people caring for someone with dementia. Phone 020 8533 0951 or email info@hackneycarers.org.uk.
Who pays for respite care in Hackney?
If your carer's assessment finds you eligible, Hackney can give you carers' direct payments. The council's direct payments can also be used for short breaks for the person being cared for, up to four weeks a year, as part of their own support plan. Either can pay for agency respite cover if the support plan includes it, so check before booking.
If the council is not paying, respite is privately funded. We quote after the assessment, based on what the break involves: a few hours a week costs a very different amount from a fortnight of live-in cover. We do not give figures over the phone.
Make a "what if" plan before you need it
The hardest respite to arrange is the unplanned kind: you are taken into Homerton, or fall ill, and the person you look after cannot be left alone. Hackney offers carers an emergency "what if" plan, which the council can hold with your consent, setting out what should happen if you suddenly cannot care. Ask about it at your carer's assessment or through the Carers Centre.
In an actual emergency, call Hackney Adult Social Care on 020 8356 6262 during office hours, or the council's out-of-hours number, 020 8356 2300. If anyone is in immediate danger, call 999. You can also call us on 0203 375 4047 or 07446 010486 (also WhatsApp). Whether we can step in at short notice depends on which carers are free, and we will give you a straight answer.
One page saves a lot of trouble. Medication, the daily routine, the GP surgery, who has keys, what calms things down and what upsets them. Keep it by the door. It helps us, the council or a neighbour step in safely.
Cover at home: an evening, a day, or a fortnight
- Regular visits or sit-in hours. A carer comes at the times you would normally help, or stays for a few hours so you can go to work, a class or simply sleep. This is most realistic along the Overground Windrush line, in Hoxton, Haggerston, Dalston, Hackney Central and Homerton, about 40 to 50 minutes from our Lewisham office. In Stoke Newington, Stamford Hill and Clapton it depends on carer availability, so ask first. See our sit-in service.
- A live-in stay. A carer moves in while you are away, anywhere in the borough. They need a bedroom; if you share a two-bedroom flat with the person you care for, that can be yours while you are gone. Where the person has dementia, we try to introduce the carer before you leave. Read about live-in care.
Day centres that give you regular time
A weekly day centre place gives a carer predictable hours back. The council's own Oswald Street day centre in Clapton, opened in 2018 with a sensory garden, is for adults with complex needs including dementia and learning and physical disabilities; places come through an adult social care assessment. The Hackney Caribbean Elderly Organisation on Leswin Road, Stoke Newington, has run a day centre and lunch club since 1985. At the Marie Lloyd Centre, the Holly Street Luncheon Club and Age UK East London's activities run from the same building as the Carers Centre.
A short stay at one of our homes
For some younger adults, particularly those with a learning disability, a short stay somewhere new is a break for everyone. Our three supported living homes take respite stays. None is in Hackney: they are in Whitton (Twickenham), Kingston upon Thames and Uxbridge. Whitton is the easiest from here, because the Overground Mildmay line runs one-seat from Hackney Wick, Homerton, Hackney Central or Dalston Kingsland to Richmond in about an hour, with a short train or bus on to Whitton. If the person is supported by the Integrated Learning Disability Service (020 8356 7444) and the council would be paying, talk to their social worker before booking.
What we can help with in Hackney
- 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 Hackney we cover
Care across the borough, including these neighbourhoods. Each has its own page with local detail.
Our services
How we can help in Hackney
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Hackney FAQs
Respite in Hackney: carers' questions
Questions families ask us about Hackney. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionI care for my wife in Clapton and I have an operation at Homerton next month. What should we do now?
Call us as soon as you have the date, so we can assess while you are still at home and you can show the carer the routine yourself. Clapton is at the far end of our visiting range, so a short live-in stay is often the more reliable option if there is a room for the carer. Ask the Carers Centre too about a carer's assessment, in case the council can help with the cost.
My mother lives in Hackney but I live in Essex. Which council assesses me as her carer?
Under the Care Act, the carer's assessment is done by the council where the person you care for lives, so it is Hackney, not your own council. Ask the Carers Centre whether its services are open to you as well.
My son has a learning disability and is known to ILDS. Could he stay at your Whitton home for a week?
It may be possible. Talk to us about the home and dates, and talk to his ILDS social worker if the council is funding the break, because a stay outside Hackney needs their agreement. The supported living page describes each home.
I work in the evenings and care for my dad in Dalston. Can you cover the same evenings each week?
Dalston is one of the more reachable parts of Hackney for us, on the Windrush line, so regular evening cover is realistic if we have a carer free at those times. Call us with the days and hours and we will check.
Nearby
Other areas near Hackney
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