Newham · East London
Respite Care in Newham
Time off for family carers in Newham: a few hours of sit-in cover each week, or a carer who moves in while you go into hospital or away.
Yes, we provide respite care in Newham, so the person who usually does the caring can take a break. A carer can sit in for a few hours at a time, or a live-in carer can stay for a week or two while you are away or in hospital. We start with a free home assessment, so the routine, medicines and preferences are written down before you hand over.
Your carer's assessment from Newham
If you look after someone unpaid, you have a right to a carer's assessment of your own, whatever your finances or the amount of care you give. Newham does it face to face, by phone, online or as a supported self-assessment, alongside the cared-for person's assessment or separately. Ask the Access to Adult Social Care Team on 020 8430 2000, option 2, or use the online request on the council's carers assessment page.
The council currently charges nothing for the assessment or for support it agrees you need to keep caring, though its charging policy is under review. Newham arranges carers' breaks only after an assessment.
Newham Carers Community
The council's commissioned service for unpaid carers is Newham Carers Community, run by Age UK East London, for adult and young carers. It offers free advice, information, activities and support, and can help you fill in the emergency card form below. Phone 020 3954 3143 or email info@newhamcarerscommunity.org.uk. Age UK East London's Newham office is now at the Stratford Advice Arcade, 107-109 The Grove, E15.
What breaks can Newham Council arrange?
If you and the person you care for meet the eligibility criteria, the council's short breaks page says it may arrange care so you can have respite, or help with the cost of time for yourself. The options it lists include:
- a sitting service at home in the daytime or evening
- a short stay in a residential or nursing care home for the person you look after
- funding towards things for you, such as a gym membership or a theatre trip, or towards a longer holiday with or without the person you care for
If the person you care for is eligible for and receiving adult social care, the council says those breaks are free to you. If the support plan includes a direct payment, it can be used to pay an agency you choose for home cover, including us. Check with the social worker before booking.
If you suddenly cannot care: the Carers Emergency Card
The hardest break to arrange is the one nobody planned: you are admitted to Newham University Hospital, or you fall ill, and the person you look after cannot be left. Newham's emergency care arrangements include a free Carers Emergency Card Scheme open to all carers. You write a plan with two backup contacts, and Newham Network issues a card with a 24-hour number. If it is used, Newham Network puts the plan into action, calling your contacts or the agency already involved, or arranging short-term emergency support with a provider.
Out of hours, the council's emergency duty team is on 020 8430 2000. 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 tell you honestly.
Write it down now. The Carers Emergency Card plan is the natural place for it: medicines and times, the GP surgery, who has keys, what helps on a bad day. Newham Network can only act on what the plan says, so keep a copy by the door as well.
Respite at home with us: sit-in hours or a live-in stay
Regular hours. A carer comes in so you can work, sleep, see friends or go to your own appointments. This is most realistic in the parts of Newham closest to our Lewisham office: Canning Town, Custom House, Silvertown, West Ham and Stratford are a short journey by DLR, Jubilee or Elizabeth line. In East Ham, Upton Park, Forest Gate and Manor Park, regular hours depend on carer availability, so ask before you plan around them. See our sit-in service.
A live-in stay. A carer moves in for the length of your break, anywhere in the borough, from Beckton to Plaistow. They need a bedroom. That can be your own room while you are away. For someone with dementia, we try to introduce the carer before you leave so the first morning is not with a stranger. Read about live-in care in Newham.
Day services that give you regular time back
The council's Resource Centre at 200 Chargeable Lane, Plaistow, runs day services for older people, a dementia service with Cognitive Stimulation Therapy and learning disability day services, arranged through the Community Opportunities Team on 020 3373 2209. Bonny Downs Community Association also runs over-55s activities and a dementia group on Vicarage Lane, East Ham. Home cover can fill the other days.
A short stay at one of our supported living homes
For some younger adults with a learning disability, a few nights away is a break for the whole family. Our three supported living homes take respite stays, but none is in east London: they are in Whitton (Twickenham), Kingston upon Thames and Uxbridge. From Stratford, the Elizabeth line runs without a change to West Drayton or Hayes & Harlington, then a bus to Uxbridge, roughly 75 to 90 minutes in all. If Newham would be paying, or the person is supported by the Young Adults Preparation Team or ELFT's Newham Learning Disabilities Service, speak to their social worker before booking.
How much does respite care cost in Newham?
If the council arranges the break after your carer's assessment, it explains any charge first. If you pay yourself, we quote in writing after the home assessment; a few hours a week and a live-in fortnight cost very different amounts, so we give no figures by phone. Our guide to paying for care in London explains the council means test and NHS Continuing Healthcare.
What we can help with in Newham
- 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 Newham we cover
Care across the borough, including these neighbourhoods. Each has its own page with local detail.
Our services
How we can help in Newham
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Newham FAQs
Respite in Newham: carers' questions
Questions families ask us about Newham. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionI care for my husband in East Ham and need a hip operation. When should I call you?
As soon as you have a date, so we can assess while you are home to show the carer his routine. East Ham is at the far end of our visiting range, so a live-in stay while you are in hospital and recovering is usually the safer plan.
My mother lives in Forest Gate but I live in Essex. Which council assesses me as her carer?
Newham. A carer's assessment is carried out by the council where the person being cared for lives, not where the carer lives.
If I use my Carers Emergency Card, will your carers be the ones who turn up?
Only if we are named in your plan, or already provide care, and have a carer free at the time. Newham Network acts on whatever your plan says. If you want us involved, tell us when you write the plan so we hold the person's details, and we will tell you honestly what we can promise.
My son goes to the Resource Centre on weekdays. Can you cover some weekends?
Very possibly, particularly if you live in the south or west of the borough. Tell us the days and hours, and whether the council would be paying through his support plan, and we will check.
Nearby
Other areas near Newham
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Looking for care in Newham?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.