Respite Care for Carers in Waltham Forest

Start with a carer's assessment on 020 8496 3130

As a family carer, you have a right to your own assessment from the council, separate from the assessment of the person you look after. In Waltham Forest you can ask for one through Adult Social Care on 020 8496 3130 or by emailing adult.carers@walthamforest.gov.uk. The adult carers team is based at Willow House on Forest Road in Walthamstow. The assessment can be done by phone, face to face or by email.

The person you care for does not need to have a care package already. That matters if you have been managing on your own for years, perhaps looking after a parent in a Walthamstow terrace with no outside help, and have never been in touch with social services. The council's core offer for carers sets out what follows. Eligible carers can get a carer's direct payment, reviewed each year, which some people use towards breaks.

Carers First, on Russell Road in Leyton

The council commissions Carers First to support unpaid carers in the borough. You can refer yourself on 0300 303 1555 or at hello@carersfirst.org.uk. Its base is at 1 Russell Road, E10. It offers information, advice, groups and activities. It is a good place to talk through what kind of break would help, before you ask anyone, including us, for a quote.

One practical point: if you get Carer's Allowance and the person you care for lives in a controlled parking zone, which covers much of Walthamstow, Leyton and Leytonstone, you can apply for a free carer's parking permit.

Who pays for respite care in Waltham Forest?

It depends on which route you take. If the council assesses you and the person you care for, and agrees that breaks are needed, it will decide how they are provided and whether the cared-for person contributes under its financial assessment. It may be arranged by the council or paid through a direct payment, which can be used with an agency you choose. If you arrange a break privately, we quote after a free assessment and you pay us directly. We do not give prices before we have seen what is needed. Our paying for care guide explains the means test.

The breaks we can give you

• A week or more away. A live-in carer moves in while you go on holiday, have an operation or visit family. Distance from Lewisham does not matter for this, so it works just as well in Chingford or Highams Park as in Leyton.
• A regular afternoon or evening. A sit-in so you can go to a class, a hospital appointment or simply out. This depends on getting a carer to the same address every week, which is most realistic in Leyton and Leytonstone, close to the Central line.
• Cover around a hospital stay. If you are the one going into Whipps Cross, planned respite means the person you care for is not left without help.

Before any of this, we visit, meet you both, and write down the routine you follow: medication, meals, how they like to be helped to bed, and what upsets them. The carer follows your routine.

Day services that give you regular time

Respite does not have to mean someone coming to the house. If the person you care for has dementia, the council's Dementia Hub at 25 Sidmouth Road, Leyton, is open on weekdays. It hosts the Intensive Dementia Outreach Service, an Alzheimer's Society cognitive stimulation group and CREST's free Ageing Well sessions on Fridays. Age UK Waltham Forest runs an advice drop-in there on Thursdays.

Building-based day centres for dementia, physical disability, learning disability and mental health need a social worker's assessment and eligible needs. A day service on some days can be combined with our dementia care or a sit-in on others.

A short stay at one of our homes

For some adults, especially younger people with a learning disability or physical disability, a short stay away from home works better than a carer moving in. We run three supported living homes, in Whitton, Kingston upon Thames and Uxbridge, which take respite as well as permanent residents. They are on the far side of London from Waltham Forest: Whitton is roughly 75 to 90 minutes by public transport, by the Victoria line to Vauxhall and then South Western Railway. A council-funded stay would need to be agreed with the person's social worker.

What we can help with in Waltham Forest

• 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