Respite care is a vital part of any care plan, and though it is provided for different reasons depending on why the respite care is given, at its core, it looks the same. However, to ensure that you get the type of respite care your loved one needs, you need to know what you can reasonably expect.
Types of Respite Care
We can divide respite care into a few categories: respite care given to provide a break for you or family member who cares for your loved one, or respite care that is supplied to cover the gap left by a professional caregiver when they need to take time out.
This is an important distinction because if your loved one receives care from a specialist care company, part of the care plan they set up should include provision for respite care when your loved one’s normal caregiver needs time out for whatever reason (this is probably something you should check up on). In this case, all you need to worry about is whether the respite care is up to scratch.
If, however, you are needing respite, this is something that you need to make provision for, and you will need to plan for this ahead of time, and this is true whether you are planning to take time away to recharge, or whether you are making provision for the unexpected life events that prevent you from giving your loved one care.
And, honestly, for busy families, it really is only a matter of time before something comes up that takes you out of the caregiving picture – even if that’s only for a few hours – so you need to think about respite care ahead of time.
Respite Care Needs to be There When You Need It
And that brings us to one of the most important features of high-quality respite care, consistent presence. Whether planned or unplanned, and whether to replace a professional caregiver or a family member, a caregiver needs to be present to fulfil the role as though the normal caregiver isn’t away.
For busy families, this means that you need an arrangement with a care provider so that when you need to step away from your normal role you can make a call knowing that a highly competent and compassionate caregiver will immediately step into the gap when you reach out.
This is important unless you have 24-hour, live-in care, you will be fulfilling the role of caregiver to some capacity whether your loved one has a professional caregiver or not. And life happens, usually at the most inopportune time.
We all know that illnesses that incapacitates us always comes at inconvenient time, and for a busy family, with children at school or university, work and social commitments, every day comes with the potential, for example, of you getting a message from you son or daughter calling for help which gets in the way of you caring for your loved one. And no one can plan around your child breaking a limb, or you getting into a fender bender that gets in the way of life’s normal rhythm.
But if your loved one needs care, any sort of gap can bring about serious consequences, and that’s why having a respite care plan that ensures that there is never a gap is important.
In other words, it’s there when you need it.
The Caregiver Needs to be on a Similar Level
Apart from quality respite care entailing that there is never a gap in care, it also entails a consistent level of care. It’s no good if you have a respite carer come in who has no idea what your loved one’s needs and preferences are, or having someone come in without the necessary skill level.
The quality of the care must be at least as good as the care that your loved on ordinarily receives.
That means that high-quality respite care for the elderly (or anyone else, for that matter), looks like getting someone who has the compassion, skills and training at a comparable level of the
The Level of Care and Support Needs to be the Same
When it comes to the actual care provided, there are a number of non-negotiables that mark the respite care as being of a high quality:
It needs to fit your loved one’s routine. One of the real advantages of home-based care is the freedom and flexibility that it provides your loved one, but that means that the caregiver needs to fit into your loved one’s routine, whether it’s the primary caregiver we’re talking about or the respite caregiver. For example, if your loved one’s routine fits around the caregiver arriving in the late morning, that is when the stand in needs to arrive.
The respite caregiver needs to arrive briefed and prepared for your loved one’s needs. As we’ve said, respite care needs to fall into place with no fuss at all. It should be like the original caregiver is there. Of course, if the caregiver is coming in to stand in for you, you will need to ensure that you’re keeping the care provider you use up to date and may well need to provide the respite caregiver with some information, but however it happens, when the caregiver arrives to support your loved one, your loved one needs to feel that they are in safe hands.
The caregiver needs to be caring, compassionate and friendly. As you’re probably well aware, a significant aspect of care – especially to the elderly – is providing a friendly and companionable presence to help meet the social needs of your loved one.
The support provided needs to be the same as the normal care provided. This is straightforward enough, but whatever care and support is normally provided needs to be matched by the respite caregiver.
This can include anything from the following list and more, depending on what is part of the care plan:
- - Transport and socialisation support
- - Meal preparation
- - Medication support
- - Practical household support
- - Daily activity support
- - Health monitoring
Beyond the services given to your loved one, quality respite care also needs to come with all the necessary questions for you and be a reassuring presence so that you have peace of mind.
How To Ensure Your Loved One Gets Respite Care
Having said all of this, it’s important for you to ensure that respite care is ready to come into effect when you or the professional caregiver cannot be there.
This means that you need to do one of two things:
- - If you have a care provider for your loved one, check that they provide respite care cover for the professional caregiver.
- - If you are the caregiver (even if only for part o the day), make sure that either your care provider can provide support on short notice, or find a rapid response respite care service who can step in to fill the gap.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. How does your respite care work?
We provide respite care in any context, and we do so fast. If we are your normal caregiver, we organise respite caregivers to cover for your loved one’s normal caregiver.
However, more importantly for you, we provide rapid response respite care so that you never have to worry about your loved one getting the support they need. This is something that you can set up ahead of time with us so that you can get access to our Urgent Support Link and get same-day support coming in for your loved one. This is something that you can set up with us as a standalone service even if we don’t provide your loved one with care ordinarily. By doing this, our caregiver can come to your loved one’s aid fully briefed.
2. How are you equipped to provide respite care?
We are a nurse-led company that provides nurse-led clinical oversight to ensure that all care provided is of the best possible standard. Our caregivers who provide end of life care also have the specialist training to best support you and your loved ones. We have extensive experience helping people at the end of their lives, as well as supporting their family. We have a good rating with the CQC and are TDDI registered, so we can act quickly to provide fast medical interventions ASAP rather than having to stand by while they wait for emergency services to come if there is an emergency.
3. Do you provide respite care throughout the UK?
We provide care in Bedfordshire, Gloucestershire, Hertfordshire, Northamptonshire and Oxfordshire. Outside of those regions, we cannot provide support but contact us if you want to check our coverage in your area.
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