Live-in care in Lambeth, London

Our care, where you live

Our live-in care in Lambeth

Live-in care means one-to-one support in your own home: personal care, medication support, meals, help around the house, getting out and about, and someone close by at night. Whether it suits the person, and whether one carer can support a couple, is worked out at the free assessment. Read more in live-in care explained and how it works day to day.

How we arrange live-in care in Lambeth

Day and Nightcare provides fully managed live-in care across Lambeth, from £1,550 a week. One main carer lives in the home; a relief carer covers their holidays and time off, and a manager is on call. Care starts with a free assessment, a written quote and a written care plan.

Care can be paid for privately, by Lambeth Council (including direct payments) or by NHS Continuing Healthcare. We have provided Discharge to Assess (D2A) care since 2014. If someone is in hospital, tell us the expected discharge date (see care after hospital). Our care team is on 01865 715780.

Arranging care and funding in Lambeth

Lambeth Council runs adult social care and collects council tax. To ask for a care needs assessment, use the council’s online referral form, or call 020 7926 5555, option 1 (Community Duty Team, weekdays 9am to 5pm). The same number takes emergency social care calls at any time.

Read more: arranging care and funding in Lambeth

Money points from the council:

Assessments, reablement for up to six weeks after hospital discharge, and equipment or adaptations under £1,000 are free.
Home care, day centres, respite care and direct payments are charged after a financial assessment. With assets above £23,250 the council does not contribute; below £14,250 assets are ignored. An online estimator gives a first idea of what you might pay.
Above £23,250, the council can still arrange care at home for you, and says it does not charge an administration fee for this at present. You can also arrange live-in care directly with a provider; see the cost of live-in care.

A family carer can have a carer’s assessment by video call, phone or face to face; if it is urgent, call 020 7926 5555. Carers’ Hub Lambeth, the council’s partner, offers support whether or not you have had an assessment (020 7501 8970, weekdays 9am to 5pm; connect@carershub.org.uk).

Council tax discounts cover a carer in the household caring at least 35 hours a week for someone who is not their spouse, partner or child under 18 and who gets a qualifying benefit such as any rate of Attendance Allowance; homes needing extra space for a disabled person; and severe mental impairment. Apply online; see council tax discounts.

Urgent care and leaving hospital in Lambeth

Urgent care centre: Guy’s Hospital, ground floor, Tabard Annexe, Great Maze Pond (Southwark): walk in, 8am to 8pm every day; registration closes at 7pm, or earlier if full. For minor injuries and illnesses, ages 12 months and over. Not an A&E.
A&E: St Thomas’ Hospital, East Wing, Westminster Bridge Road: walk in, open 24 hours. People with minor problems are sent to the urgent care centre at Guy’s.
A&E: King’s College Hospital, Denmark Hill (Southwark), open 24 hours; a streaming nurse may direct you to its urgent treatment centre, run with SELDOC (hours not published).

Lambeth’s hospital social work teams at St Thomas’ and King’s arrange care and support before discharge, and the council describes a three-day welfare check after people get home. St Thomas’ gives 14 days of any new medicines. At King’s, patients wait in the discharge lounge for medicines, transport and paperwork, which can take up to four hours, and transport is offered only to people who meet set criteria.

For short-term recovery at home, Guy’s and St Thomas’ runs Intermediate Care Lambeth and Southwark with the councils (020 3049 5391, weekdays 9am to 5pm); the Pulross Centre in Brixton has an inpatient intermediate care unit. See Discharge to Assess explained.

For NHS Continuing Healthcare, NHS South East London’s Lambeth team is on 020 8176 5733.

Local help in Lambeth

Carers' services, dementia support, transport, befriending and other local help, with phone numbers.

Useful contacts in Lambeth

The council, NHS teams, hospitals and local services you are most likely to need in Lambeth, with links to their official pages. Open any heading for the details.

Council and care assessments

Adult social care in Lambeth is arranged by London Borough of Lambeth. Anyone who appears to need care can ask for a free care needs assessment, whatever their savings. If the council funds care, you can usually take it as a direct payment and use it for live-in care from us.

London Borough of Lambeth: ask for a care needs assessment (telephone 020 7926 5555); carer's assessment.

NHS Continuing Healthcare

When someone's main need is a health need, the NHS pays for all of their care through NHS Continuing Healthcare, and it is not means-tested. For Lambeth it is arranged by NHS South East London ICB (Continuing Healthcare information). See our NHS Continuing Healthcare guide.

Hospitals near Lambeth

If someone is in hospital, tell us the expected discharge date as early as you can, and we will work with you and the discharge team on when live-in care can start.

St Thomas' Hospital: East Wing, Westminster Bridge Road SE1 7EH; walk-in A&E open 24 hours, 7 days a week; minor injuries and illnesses are sent to the urgent care centre at Guy's. (leaving hospital information)
King's College Hospital: Denmark Hill SE5 9RS, just over the Southwark border; A&E open 24 hours, all ages; a streaming nurse in the emergency department directs some patients to the urgent treatment centre run with SELDOC (Golden Jubilee Wing; its hours are not published on the trust page). (leaving hospital information)
Guy's Hospital urgent care centre: Ground floor, Tabard Annexe, Great Maze Pond SE1 9RT (Southwark); walk-in unit for minor injuries and minor illnesses, 8am to 8pm every day; arrive before 7pm, when registration closes (earlier if full); ages 12 months and over. Not an A&E.
Pulross Centre: 47A Pulross Road, Brixton SW9 8AE (Guy's and St Thomas'); inpatient intermediate care unit, inpatient neuro-rehabilitation, and community rehabilitation and falls services; Pulross rehabilitation ward 020 3049 5520 (24 hours, 7 days a week); outpatients reception 020 3049 5500 (Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm). No emergency or walk-in care. (Ward line read with WebFetch on 31 Oct 2026; the trust's site refuses curl.)

Local support and charities

Carers' Hub Lambeth: Carers' support (020 7501 8970)
Southwark and Lambeth Memory Service (South London and Maudsley): Dementia support (020 3228 0570)
Dementia Support Lambeth (Alzheimer's Society): Dementia support (020 7735 5850)
Age UK Lambeth: Age UK (020 7346 6800)
Clarence Avenue Day Centre: Day opportunities (020 7926 1040)
St Christopher's Hospice: Hospice (020 8768 4500)
Healthwatch Lambeth: Healthwatch: your independent voice on health and care (020 7274 8522)
Connected Lambeth: Local services directory

Council tax

Council tax in Lambeth, including discounts for people with a severe mental impairment, for disabled people and for some carers, is handled by London Borough of Lambeth. See council tax discounts for care.

Areas around Lambeth

Brixton
Clapham
Stockwell
Streatham
West Norwood
Tulse Hill
Herne Hill
Kennington
Vauxhall
Waterloo
Gipsy Hill
Loughborough Junction

Your questions

Questions about live-in care in Lambeth

Who do I call in Lambeth to ask for a care assessment?

Lambeth Council arranges adult social care. It asks people to use its online referral form, and you can check eligibility beforehand with the Connected Lambeth eligibility tool. If you need to speak to someone, call 020 7926 5555 and choose option 1 if the person has no current social care service; the Community Duty Team on that option answers Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, and the same number takes emergency-only social care calls 24 hours a day. Have the person's name, address and date of birth ready. The needs assessment is free.

What help is there in Lambeth after a hospital stay?

Reablement is free: Lambeth's charges page lists it for up to six weeks after hospital discharge, along with assessments and equipment or home adaptations costing less than £1,000. The council has hospital social work teams at St Thomas' and King's College Hospital who arrange care and support before discharge. Age UK Lambeth's free Hospital 2 Home service, open to anyone living in Lambeth, can escort someone home from King's or St Thomas' or meet them there, with a follow-up call in the first days or week (020 7346 6800). If care is still needed after reablement, a financial assessment decides what the person pays, and Lambeth's online estimator gives a first idea of the contribution.

Where are memory problems assessed for people in Lambeth?

Start with the GP. The Southwark and Lambeth Memory Service, run by South London and Maudsley, offers assessment, treatment and support to adults over 18 with mild to moderate memory problems, and works with the memory clinics at St Thomas', King's and Guy's (020 3228 0570). Alzheimer's Society's Dementia Support Lambeth gives advice face to face, by phone or in writing on 020 7735 5850, weekdays 9am to 5pm. Age UK Lambeth's Magnolia Club is a free drop-in for people with dementia and their carers, every Monday from 2pm to 4pm.

Which hospice serves Lambeth?

St Christopher's Hospice serves Lambeth as one of its five south London boroughs (with Bromley, Croydon, Lewisham and Southwark). Its main site is in Sydenham, and its team cares for people in their own homes. Families can call 020 8768 4500 at any time of the day or night. Royal Trinity Hospice also gives specialist palliative care, at home and in its hospice, to people in parts of Lambeth. Ask the GP or district nurse which hospice team covers your address. Live-in care can work alongside a hospice's community team.

How much does live-in care cost in Lambeth?

Live-in care with Day and Nightcare costs from £1,550 a week in Lambeth, the same as everywhere in England, for one person with a carer who rests at night. That includes our care team's management (the assessment, care plan, reviews, supervision and the on-call manager) and the carer's food; break cover and the carer's travel are extra. For a couple it is from £1,800 a week, where one carer can safely meet both partners' needs. You receive a written quote after a free assessment.

Can the council help pay for live-in care in Lambeth?

Yes, if the person's care needs meet the national eligibility criteria and their savings are below £23,250 (2026/27). Adult social care in Lambeth is arranged by London Borough of Lambeth. Ask for a care needs assessment; if you are eligible, council funding can usually be taken as a direct payment and used for live-in care from us.

Can live-in care start when someone leaves St Thomas' Hospital?

It can. Tell us the expected discharge date as early as you can, and we will work with you and the ward's discharge team on when live-in care can start. We can often start within 24 to 48 hours of the assessment, depending on carer availability, and we confirm the start date once a carer is arranged. We have provided Discharge to Assess (D2A) care since 2014.

Sources and further information

Show the 35 official sources for this page

Local information checked 31 October 2026. Links go to the official council, NHS and charity pages.

Live-in care in Lambeth