Respite care at home
If you are looking after a relative, you already know the arithmetic: the care does not stop because you are tired, ill, or booked on a train. Respite care is cover so it can stop for a while without anything falling over.
What respite looks like
It scales to what you need. A few hours so you can go to your own appointment. A regular afternoon each week that you keep for yourself. Full cover for a week or a fortnight while you are away, including waking nights and sleep-ins. Emergency cover at short notice when something happens to you rather than to them.
The person stays in their own home with their own routine, which is usually far less disruptive than a short stay somewhere unfamiliar — particularly for anyone living with dementia, where a change of setting can undo weeks of stability.
How we hand over
Badly handled respite creates more work than it saves, so we do the handover properly. Before your first break we visit while you are still there, so the carer meets the person alongside someone they trust.
We write down the things that never make it onto a care plan — which mug, which chair, what time the radio goes on, what helps when they are anxious in the evening. You get a named contact for the whole period and an update at whatever frequency you want. Silence, if you would rather actually rest.
Common questions
How far ahead do I need to book?
For a planned break, around two weeks' notice is comfortable. For emergencies, call and we will tell you honestly what we can cover today.
Will it be the same carer throughout?
For a block of respite we aim for one or two people, not a rota of strangers.
Can the council pay for it?
Often, yes. As an unpaid carer you are entitled to a Carer's Assessment from your local council in your own right, separately from the person you care for, and it can lead to funded respite. Worth doing even if you think you will not qualify.
I feel guilty about this.
Nearly everyone says so. Carer breakdown is the most common reason a person ends up in residential care they did not want. Taking a break is part of keeping someone at home, not a failure of it.
Talk to us
No obligation, no sales visit. If you are arranging care for the first time and do not know what to ask, that is the normal place to start — just call.