Haringey · North London
Respite Care in Haringey
Cover for Haringey family carers who need an afternoon, a night away or a fortnight off, with a written routine so the person you look after is in safe hands while you are gone.
Yes, we provide respite care in Haringey. A carer takes over at home so the relative who normally does the caring can rest, work, go into hospital or go away. In parts of the borough that can be regular sit-in hours. Anywhere in Haringey it can be a live-in carer for a short stay. Every break starts with a free home assessment, so the routine is written down before you leave.
Register with Carers First, then ask for your own assessment
Carers First is the charity the council works with for unpaid carers, and it keeps the Haringey carers register for the council. Registering is free, gets you an information pack and the Carers Emergency Alert Card described below, and if you ask for an assessment on the form, the council's First Response Team will contact you. The Carers Hub is on 0300 303 1555.
Your carer's assessment is your own, under the Care Act, separate from that of the person you look after. Request it with the online form on the council's carer's assessment page. It is open to adults caring unpaid for someone who lives in Haringey, wherever you live yourself, and it is how the council decides whether you are eligible for help with breaks.
Is respite care free in Haringey?
Sometimes, but not always, and not for everyone. On its respite and breaks page the council says respite is allocated on need after an assessment, and that not all carers will be eligible. If you are eligible, the break can be at home or away, or you can take a respite budget as a direct payment and choose who provides the cover and when, including a CQC-registered agency such as ours. Any contribution depends on a financial assessment.
Be realistic: the Care Quality Commission's 2025 assessment of Haringey heard from carers that getting a break was difficult, and found access to respite limited, though the council had brought in further carer support. If you fund the break yourself, we quote in writing after the assessment. A weekly afternoon and two weeks of live-in cover are priced very differently, so we never quote over the phone.
Who to call for planned breaks
- The person you care for already has a care manager or care co-ordinator. Contact them first. If respite is already part of the plan, use the usual route or the named brokerage officer.
- They have a learning disability. Call the learning disabilities duty team on 020 8489 1348.
- Nobody from the council is involved yet. Call 020 8489 1400, choose option 1, then the option for the area where they live. The locality team can arrange your carer's assessment.
If you suddenly cannot carry on
The hard break is the unplanned one: you are admitted to North Middlesex or the Whittington, and the person you look after cannot be left. Set up two things now. One is the council's emergency plan template, listing medication, routines, contacts and who holds keys. The other is the free Carers Emergency Alert Card for registered carers. Whoever finds it can call the council's Connected Care service (020 8489 2365), which holds your plan, contacts your named people and checks the person you care for is supported.
If you are worried you cannot keep going, the council asks you to contact it as soon as possible; its out-of-hours number is 020 8489 0000, and in immediate danger call 999. You can also call us on 0203 375 4047 or 07446 010486 (also WhatsApp). Short-notice cover depends on which carers are free, and we will tell you straight away.
Before your first break, walk us through a normal day: the tea, the tablets, the door that sticks, what helps when they get agitated. It goes into the care plan, so the cover follows your routine.
The cover we can give at home
- Sit-in hours or regular visits. A carer stays while you work, sleep or go to appointments, or does the calls you would normally do. This is most realistic around Seven Sisters, Tottenham and Tottenham Hale, roughly 45 to 55 minutes from our Lewisham office by the Victoria line. In Crouch End, Muswell Hill and Hornsey it depends on having a carer who lives nearby, so ask first. See our sit-in service.
- A live-in carer for a short stay. Anywhere in Haringey, for a long weekend or a few weeks. The carer needs a bedroom, which can be yours while you are away. Where the person has dementia, we try to introduce the carer while you are still at home. Read about live-in care in Haringey.
A regular few hours: dementia hubs and day centres
For carers of someone with dementia, the council's Haynes Dementia Hub at 151 Park Road, Hornsey (020 8489 5925) is the main local resource. Its means-tested day service for moderate or severe dementia is reached through a social worker, the GP or the First Response Team, and it also runs pay-as-you-go day opportunities. Its Relative Support Group is for you: other carers, and professionals to advise. The council's carers pages also list an Alzheimer's Society Haringey Branch dementia café.
In Tottenham, the Grace Organisation on Pretoria Road, N17, runs a day centre and lunch club with minibus transport.
A short stay away: our Uxbridge home
For some younger adults with a learning disability, a few nights somewhere new is a break for everyone. Our three supported living homes take short respite stays. None is in Haringey. The nearest by public transport is Uxbridge, which is one Piccadilly line ride from Turnpike Lane, Wood Green or Bounds Green, about 75 to 85 minutes. Some trains go to Heathrow instead, so check. Whitton and Kingston take around 80 to 90 minutes. If the person is supported by the Haringey Learning Disabilities Partnership and the council would be funding the stay, talk to their social worker before booking.
What we can help with in Haringey
- 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 Haringey we cover
Care across the borough, including these neighbourhoods. Each has its own page with local detail.
Our services
How we can help in Haringey
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Haringey FAQs
Respite in Haringey: carers ask
Questions families ask us about Haringey. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionI live in Enfield but care for my mother in Wood Green. Can I get a Haringey carer's assessment?
Yes. Haringey says its carer's assessment is open to you if the person you care for lives in the borough, even if you live elsewhere. Request it through the council's online form, or ask Carers First to help.
The council has given me a respite budget as a direct payment. Can I spend it with you?
Yes, if the support plan allows agency cover; we are CQC-registered. Questions about the payment itself go to the council's Direct Payment Support Team on 020 8489 8456.
Dad goes to the Haynes on two days. Could you cover the mornings so I can leave early for work?
Possibly. A carer could help him get washed, dressed and ready for the day centre. Hornsey is not the easiest part of Haringey for us to reach, so whether we can cover fixed early mornings depends on carer availability. Ring us with the days and times.
I'm having an operation at the Whittington. How far ahead should I book?
As soon as you have a date, so we can assess and you can show the carer the routine before you go in. Live-in cover is usually the most dependable choice, because recovery dates move.
Nearby
Other areas near Haringey
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