Respite care in Balham and Wandsworth: short stays at Bhakti Shyama for Hindu and Gujarati families across London

What respite at Bhakti Shyama is

A respite stay means one of our 25 single en-suite rooms for an agreed period, subject to assessment and availability, in a purpose-built home next to the Balham temple. The person has registered nurses on duty day and night, staff who speak Gujarati and Hindi, a pure vegetarian Gujarati kitchen and daily Aarti.

Sons and daughters may turn to it when they need a holiday, an operation or unbroken sleep. It can also cover a family trip to India for a wedding or funeral when a frail parent cannot fly, a period after hospital, or a trial stay before any decision about long-term care.

Why a nursing home rather than a carer at home

A live-in or visiting carer can help with washing, dressing and meals, but may not be able to give insulin by injection, manage a catheter, dress wounds or deal with wandering at night. Bhakti Shyama has registered nurses on duty 24 hours, and the assessment before the stay looks at those needs as well as the person's language, diet and faith.

What a stay includes

• A single en-suite room, with space for photographs and personal things, including religious items the person wants nearby.
• Nursing care around the clock, with care staff in a home of just 25 rooms.
• Gujarati pure-vegetarian meals, chai and snacks. Tell us about fasting days and medical diets at the assessment.
• Daily Aarti, prayer and bhajans, and festivals such as Diwali, Navratri and Janmashtami when they fall during a stay.
• Medication given by nurses from the current prescription. Ask how the GP will be involved if the person's usual surgery is far away.
• Visits from family and friends. We can explain visiting times when you book.

Booking a stay

Ring 020 8772 1499 with the dates, or send them through the tour request form. An assessment comes first, and it helps to have the medication list, GP details and any hospital letters ready. Ask us to confirm the room, dates and weekly fee before flights or other plans depend on them. Bring medication, labelled clothes, glasses and hearing aids.

The home has only 25 rooms, so respite depends on one being free. Give as much notice as you can for a planned trip, and ring as soon as an emergency arises so we can tell you where things stand.

Help from the council with the cost

Private payment by the week is usual, and there are two public routes. Both go through the council where the person normally lives, not the council for Balham: Wandsworth for a family in Balham or Tooting, Harrow or Brent for a family in those boroughs, Croydon for a family there. The person being cared for can ask for a needs assessment under the Care Act 2014, and eligible needs can lead to council-arranged respite after a financial assessment using the 2026/27 capital limits. The carer can ask for a carer's assessment of their own wellbeing, whatever the other person's finances, though replacement care may carry a charge.

NHS-funded nursing care can also apply. If a person is assessed as needing a registered nurse during the stay, the NHS pays a weekly contribution to the home, pro rata for part weeks, and it comes off the fee.

Day care for shorter breaks

For hours rather than weeks, look at day care: the person spends the day at Bhakti Shyama, has a vegetarian lunch, joins Aarti and an activity, and goes home in the evening.

After the stay

The person goes home when the agreed dates end. Ask the nurse how they have been eating, sleeping and moving, and what the GP should be told, especially if the family has been away for some weeks. A permanent place is a separate decision for the family to take in its own time.

Going to India for a wedding or a funeral

A family trip to India can take weeks to plan, and a respite stay deserves the same attention. Tell us the dates as soon as you know them, so the assessment can happen well before you fly, and ask about medication and GP arrangements for the whole period. Leave a contact number that works abroad, and a second contact in the UK if there is one.

Where we are

Bhakti Shyama Care Centre is at 1 Balham New Road, London SW12 9PH, next to the Balham temple and near Balham station on the Northern line and National Rail. Relatives from Tooting, Clapham South, Streatham Hill and Wandsworth Common are close by, and families from further across London can come by train or Tube.