What is Respite Care at Home & how do I arrange it?
Respite care means taking a break from caring for your loved-one, whilst the person you care for is supported and looked after by someone else. You can arrange respite care for the elderly or for children and for anyone in between. Respite care is a short-term care solution used as an alternative to your usual care plans. Whether you are a family member looking after a relative, or you have a live-in carer, a break is necessary to be able the provision of the best quality care.
If you are looking after a relative or loved one at home, you may need to take a break to recharge your batteries and focus on your health and wellbeing to be able to continue to provide the best care you can.
The first step is to decide on whether you able to fund the care privately or if you would like to have a needs assessment. A needs assessment will ascertain whether the council will fund the care you are looking for. It is purely a question of choice and need as to whether you approach the council or not.
There are several different types of respite care available to arrange and you will need to weigh up what you can afford (either with funding or not) along with the service that will give you the break you need. We have listed some of the more common respite care options below.
You could arrange for your loved-on to attend a day centre
Day centres are normally local to you and provide opportunities for people who need care and support but who are willing to go out and socialise. They often have activities and some even have wet room/bathrooms now and offer assisted bathing as well as other services. Transport can often be included to. Your local social services team is a good place to start looking for local respite day centres in your area.
You could engage local in home care services to come to the house and provide care & support for several hours each day or on certain days of the week
You can pay privately or have a needs assessment for this service too. A good place to find a local agency and read all about them is the Care Quality Commission website who have a facility to search for local providers in your area.
You could arrange for a professional live-in carer to some and live in your home for a week or so enabling you to have a holiday or a few days away, or even just take the strain from you while you have a rest at home.
We can help you with this one (visit our page to find out all about live-in care) and again you can pay privately or with funding. You can arrange short-term emergency respite live-in care as and when needed or book a regular short-term live-in care pattern e.g. 1 week every so many to ensure you always have a break to look forward to.
You could arrange for a your relative to have a short stay in a care home
The Care Quality Commission will help you see what services are available in your area. Some will accept emergency respite bookings whilst others prefer you to arrange a regular pattern, say one week in 8 for example.
You could ask your friends & family to help you
Don’t be afraid to ask for help. Often people would really like to but don’t want to feel like they are imposing. Perhaps even a friendly neighbour would do a couple of hours per week just o you can get out for a restorative walk or pop to the shops without worry.
You can book specific respite holidays
This is one for both you and the person you look after to explore as an option.
Check out Revitalise, a charity who offer respite care in a holiday setting in one of three locations in the UK – Essex, Southampton & Southport.Mind for you offers holidays for people with Dementia and their carers to enjoy together and has a fabulous itinerary at every location with qualified staff on hand to help. They can bring any specialist equipment for you and help to arrange travel.
You can arrange for sitting services
A sitting service is where a domiciliary care worker or a volunteer will come and relieve you for a few hours during a day. Local domiciliary care service agencies or charities are the place to look for these marvellous people.
Some links for you to try:
Even if you engage a paid professional domiciliary carer privately, it may be that he/she needs to take some time off to re-charge their batteries. A Live-in Care Agency is a good place to start here too. Access Care can help you arrange this and other agencies can be found at The Live-in Care Hub too.
Respite care at home provides much needed companionship and friendship, along with looking after more complex needs of a person needing 24-hour care. Live-in carers can cook nutritious home-cooked meals, accompanying to social and family events, enjoy hobbies together, be a friend who listens, helps look after pets, and provides care support.
Here are just some of the things a respite live-in carer can help with in the home:
Cooking and preparing home-cooked meals
Washing and getting dressed
Housekeeping - cleaning and laundry
Mobility support
Family and social activities
Weekly shopping
Pet care and walks
Medication prompts
Complex care needs
Companionship
In home respite care or live-in care can be planned, or an emergency care break provided to an adult who needs support to remain at home by providing temporary relief to families who are caring for a child or an adult. This provides temporary relief to those who are caring for family members. So whether you are looking for private respite care at home for the elderly or funded e care for a young person there is help and there are options please find them as you are important and we need to care for you too.
If you would like to arrange respite care at home, call our friendly live-in care specialists on 0800 980 3958 or email hello@access-care.co.uk
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