Tower Hamlets · East London
Respite Care in Tower Hamlets
Cover at home so a Tower Hamlets family carer can rest, work, go into hospital or get away, from an afternoon a week to a carer staying in the flat for a fortnight.
Yes, we provide respite care across Tower Hamlets, so the person who usually does the caring can step away. A carer can come in for a few hours at a time, which is realistic in much of the borough because the DLR runs direct from our Lewisham office, or a live-in carer can stay while you are away or in hospital. It starts with a free home assessment, so routines and medicines are written down before you hand over.
Start at Brayford Square: the Carers Centre
The Carers Centre Tower Hamlets at 21 Brayford Square, Stepney (020 7790 1765, enquiries@ccth.org.uk) is the most useful first call for an unpaid carer in the borough. It carries out carer's assessments on behalf of Tower Hamlets Adult Social Care, which then decides eligibility and puts support in place. You register with the centre first. It also runs carers' groups, counselling and benefits advice.
You can also ask for the council's Carer Needs Assessment through Tower Hamlets Connect on 0300 303 6070. You have the right to one if the person you care for lives in the borough, wherever you live.
Will Tower Hamlets Council pay for a break?
It can, but respite for the person you care for is only available after a Carer Needs Assessment, and depends on eligibility. The council's support for adult carers page lists what it may arrange or pay for:
- extra care at home for the person you look after, so you can take a break
- a short stay at a respite centre for them
- a carers' direct payment, one-off or ongoing, which can go towards a short break of your own
Support given to you as the carer is free. Care for the person you look after can be charged for, subject to a financial assessment of their income and savings: the carers' page lists temporary residential stays of up to eight weeks, day care and transport. The council's paying for care page says that from 1 April 2025 care in the home is no longer a chargeable service, so extra home care arranged by the council for a break should not carry a charge. The council's page also mentions free two-night retreats for carers run by the London Buddhist Centre.
If you pay privately, we quote in writing after the assessment, not by phone. Our guide to paying for care in London explains the means test and NHS Continuing Healthcare.
Is there emergency respite in Tower Hamlets?
Yes, in two forms, both through the Carers Centre. The Emergency Carers Service provides short-term care in a crisis: if you are admitted to hospital without notice, need to get to a medical appointment, or reach the point where you cannot carry on. It gives up to 24 hours of support in a 12-week period, and is for carers whose cared-for person is not already receiving adult social care services. Anything longer goes through a carer's assessment and a commissioned care package.
The Tower Hamlets Carers Emergency Card is for anyone caring for a borough resident. You write a plan naming up to three people who have agreed to step in, with details such as where the medicines are kept. If the council hears you have had an emergency, it contacts them; if nobody can step in, or needs are higher, the council arranges care until the emergency is over.
Out of hours, the Social Care Emergency Duty Line is 020 7364 4079. 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 straight.
If the person you care for is admitted to the Royal London, the Carers Centre has a carers hospital support worker based at the hospital, at the Patient & Family Contact Centre by the Stepney Way entrance. They can help with discharge planning, a carer's assessment and respite before the person comes home.
Cover from us: a regular afternoon or a live-in stay
Sit-in hours. A carer comes in while you work, sleep, go to the mosque or church, or see your own doctor. The DLR runs straight from Lewisham to Island Gardens, Poplar and Limehouse, and Bow Church is on the DLR too; Whitechapel, Stepney and Bethnal Green take longer but are still realistic. Regular hours depend on which carers are free, so ask before you plan around them. See our sit-in service.
A live-in stay. For a holiday, a family wedding abroad or your own operation, a carer moves in for the length of the break. They need a bedroom, which in a crowded estate flat is often your own while you are away. For someone with dementia, we try to arrange a first meeting before you leave. See live-in care in Tower Hamlets for longer arrangements.
Tell us about language, halal food, prayer times and whether a female carer is needed, and we will be honest about how closely we can match.
Day centres plus home cover
Some families build the week from a day centre on some days and home cover on others. Tower Hamlets Connect lists the borough's day centres, including Russia Lane in Bethnal Green for people with moderate to severe dementia, the Sundial Centre on Shipton Street for older adults, Sonali Gardens, and the Create day centre on Ronald Street for adults with learning disabilities. Places come through adult social care; we can cover the other days.
A short stay away for a younger adult
For a younger adult with a learning disability, a few nights away can be a break for the whole household. 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 Whitechapel or Mile End, the District line runs to Richmond without a change, then a short train or bus to Whitton, roughly 75 to 95 minutes in all. If the council would be paying, speak first to the social worker or the Community Learning Disability Service at Mile End Hospital (020 7771 5500), because a placement outside the borough needs their agreement.
What we can help with in Tower Hamlets
- 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 Tower Hamlets we cover
Care across the borough, including these neighbourhoods. Each has its own page with local detail.
Our services
How we can help in Tower Hamlets
From a few visits a week to a carer who lives in, choose the support that fits.
Tower Hamlets FAQs
Respite in Tower Hamlets: carers' questions
Questions families ask us about Tower Hamlets. If yours is not here, ask us directly.
Ask a questionMy mother already has a council care package. Can I still use the Emergency Carers Service?
That service is for carers whose cared-for person is not already receiving adult social care, though carers on a carers' relief service who are at risk of crisis can get extra hours. Call the centre on 020 7790 1765, and ask adult social care to review her package.
I'm going to Bangladesh for six weeks. Can someone stay with my husband in our Stepney flat?
Yes, if there is a bedroom for the carer. Book the assessment well before you fly so the carer can learn his routine from you, and start the Carer Needs Assessment early if the council may help fund it.
Can you be one of the contacts on my Carers Emergency Card plan?
The plan names people who have agreed to step in, usually family or neighbours. If we already provide care, say so in the plan, and we will tell you honestly what we can promise at short notice.
I live in Essex but care for my dad on the Isle of Dogs. Who assesses me?
Tower Hamlets, because the assessment follows where the cared-for person lives. And the Isle of Dogs is the closest part of the borough to our office, so regular visits there are often possible, subject to carer availability.
Get started
Looking for care in Tower Hamlets?
Tell us what is happening and we will tell you honestly whether we can help, and how.