Respite Care in Islington

Yes, we provide respite care in Islington. While you take a break, we cover the care at home, either with visits and sit-in hours or with a live-in carer who stays for the length of your break. Every break starts with a free home assessment, so the stand-in carer knows the routine before you hand over.

Manor Gardens: where Islington carers start

The Islington Carers Hub is the borough's carers centre. It is run by Age UK Islington, funded by Islington Council, and shares Age UK Islington's building at 6-9 Manor Gardens, just off Holloway Road in N7. The Hub gives advice, runs a carers network and groups, carries out carers' assessments and helps carers get a break. Phone 020 7281 3319, weekdays 9am to 5pm, or see islingtoncarershub.org.

Can Islington Council pay for a break from caring?

It can, after a carer's assessment. The assessment is free, it looks at how caring affects your health, work and the rest of your life, and in Islington you can have one if you are 18 or over and care unpaid for an adult who lives in the borough. The person you care for does not need to be getting any services, and you do not need their permission. Ask the Carers Hub, or apply through the council on 020 7527 2299.

If you are eligible, support can be paid as direct payments, which Islington says can be used to buy a break for an unpaid carer, including cover from a private agency like us. The council's carers pages also mention a carers holiday break fund. Ask the Hub what it covers before you assume it will pay for cover at home. Longer or regular respite for the person you care for usually comes through their own needs assessment, and that is means-tested.

Paying yourself? We quote in writing after the assessment, once we know the length of the break and the help needed.

Planned break or sudden crisis: two different routes

A planned break, such as a holiday, your own operation or a weekly day off, works best when it is set up early. Book the assessment while you are still at home to show the carer how things are done, and if the council is paying, get the break agreed through your carer's assessment or the cared-for person's needs assessment first.

A crisis is different. If you are suddenly taken into the Whittington or UCH and the person you look after cannot be left alone, phone Islington's Integrated Health and Care Front Door on 020 7527 2299 during office hours. Out of hours, the Emergency Duty Team is on 020 7226 0992. If anyone is in danger, call 999. You can call us too, 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 tell you straight away if we cannot.

Cover at home, sized to the break

• A few hours a week. A carer sits in so you can go out, see friends or sleep. See our sit-in service. This is easiest to staff in Clerkenwell, Angel, Barnsbury, Canonbury and Highbury, which are 30 to 45 minutes from our Lewisham office.
• Visits while you are away. Carers come for the morning wash, meals and bedtime. In Holloway, Archway, Upper Holloway and Finsbury Park this depends on carer availability, so ask early.
• A short live-in stay. A carer moves in for the length of your break, anywhere in the borough. They need a bedroom. If you share a two-bedroom flat with the person you care for, that can be your room while you are away.

Regular days off: Islington day centres and groups

A day centre place gives a carer predictable time every week. Islington Council runs the New Park Day Centre on Highbury New Park, for older people with moderate to high care needs, and the Alsen Day Centre on Durham Road, N7, which has Greek-speaking staff. Both are arranged through a council assessment and charged on a means test. Care UK runs a separate dementia day centre at 127 Highbury New Park, open seven days a week.

For people with dementia and the family who care for them, Age UK Islington lists dementia-friendly activities in the borough, including Alzheimer's Society's Singing for the Brain at Hargrave Hall in Archway, the Park Theatre's Together in Time singing group near Finsbury Park, and the Minds Together Cafe at Goodinge Community Centre. Our dementia care page explains how we hand over care for someone with memory problems.

Short stays in Uxbridge, Whitton or Kingston

For some adults, particularly younger adults with a learning disability, a short stay somewhere new can be a break for everyone. Our three supported living homes take respite stays, but none is in Islington. They are in Whitton (Twickenham), Kingston upon Thames and Uxbridge. Uxbridge is the simplest trip: the Metropolitan line runs direct from Farringdon or King's Cross St Pancras, around an hour door to door. For Whitton, the Overground Mildmay line runs from Highbury & Islington or Caledonian Road & Barnsbury to Richmond, then it is a short hop. If the person is supported by the Islington Learning Disabilities Partnership and the council is paying, talk to their social worker before you book.

What we can help with in Islington

• 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