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Respite care and support at home

If you need extra help with your caring duties, there are a number of options for arranging care and support at home, both short and long term.
2 min read
In this article
What is respite care at home? What options are available at home? Finding a respite homecare provider

What is respite care at home?

 

If you provide care to a partner, relative or friend and need more time for yourself, it may be possible to arrange for care services to provide care within their home. This might be on a regular basis (for example, one day a week so that you can work, study or have a day off) or for a short period, such as a week, so that you can take a holiday. If the person you care for needs 24-hour supervision, it is possible to arrange for a care worker to stay overnight.

 

What options are available at home?

 

There are various options available for respite care and support at home.

  • Sitting services, where someone can come in to sit with the person who needs care for a few hours.
  • 24-hour live-in care, which can be arranged in an emergency or to provide a regular break for a carer. Suitable accommodation must be available within the home and this is seldom funded by local authorities. See the UK Homecare Association for more details.
  • Night-time care, which can enable the regular carer to get a full night’s sleep for one or two nights a week. In the case of terminal illness, this care can sometimes be provided by Macmillan or Marie Curie nurses.
  • Assistive technology, where home activity monitors and telehealth devices can offer peace of mind by helping people to be safer at home for longer without a carer. For more information, see our mobility and disability aid guides in Which? Home & garden.
     

Finding a respite homecare provider

  • Contact local charities, such as the Royal Voluntary Society (RVS), Age UK, Macmillan or Marie Curie, who may be able to help with respite care at home.
  • Employ a private live-in carer - however, there are lots of things to think about for this option: see live-in care.
  • Contact a homecare agency about a live-in carer: to find home care providers in the local area, enter your loved one’s postcode in our care services directory and filter to show domiciliary care.

Find a home care agency
Use our directory to find local home care agencies anywhere across the UK.


Further reading

Choosing a home care agency

If you’re searching for care at home, our step-by-step guide helps you decide how to get the best help for your needs.

Respite care

Respite care offers carers a break from caring, by providing replacement support. We explain your options.

Planning respite care

The importance of planning ahead, how to access local authority respite care and choosing respite care.

Last updated: 26 Apr 2019
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