The Different Types Of Respite Care
- Posted by:
- Admin
- Tags:
- Posted date:
- 21-02-2022
What are the different types of respite care? If you need a break from working as a carer, you may want to seek out the right type of respite care for you. This article looks at the types of respite care available.
What Is Elderly Respite Care?
The form that elderly respite care takes all depends on what exactly it is that you need.
It can simply be a break just for a single night to catch up on some sleep and get some energy back, or it can be a longer period of time in order to allow for a proper holiday.
If one of your parents is a full-time carer for the other one, it can be easy to underestimate the toll it takes on them. Especially when the are multiple nights in a row of unbroken sleep.
Being responsible for the health and well-being of someone who is becoming increasingly frailer is incredibly exhausting and unimaginably stressful, even if most carers hide it very well.
Types Of Respite Care
Residential Respite
Here, care is provided in a nursing home, residential home, or even a local care home if it is possible for them to offer short-term stay facilities.
Respite Holidays
This variety of respite care can be a win-win for everyone. An increasing number of holiday destinations - hotels, cruises, etc. - offer breaks for carers along with specialist accommodation for people who are requiring care.
Day Care Centres
Trips to a local adult day care centre can offer company, support, and a large choice of activities.
They are usually set up to help with socialising, but other adult day care centres can offer personal care. Many will also ensure transport to and fro the centre.
Domiciliary Or Homecare
Arranging for someone to provide care services directly in the home can massively minimise disruption and stress.
This kind of care can either be accessed through a professional homecare service or a local charity organisation.
Of course, it is vital to remember that you should never forget family and friends. If they are available to provide temporary care, then this offer of support can be invaluable. Especially if you are struggling at short notice.
What Does A Respite Carer Do?
When a respite carer visits your loved one who needs care, they can provide a variety of services in a friendly and understanding manner. If you or a carer provides support for a loved one in a specific way, helping with anything a loved one may need, then a respite carer will emulate the same experience with the same lev of dedication, care, and patience.
While you or your carer is taking a well-deserved break, they can rest assured that anything and everything that could need to be resolved within the home can be achieved, all while still acting as a companion and helper. Respite carers are highly trained and qualified in order to help your loved one with a huge range of different respite services.
These services include but are not limited to, aiding with remembering, helping with medication, working on standard house cleaning, personalised food and drink medication, and ensuring that any pets found within the home are looked after too.
Respite care doesn't just have to stay simply within the home. Additional respite services include assistance with navigating the world outside the home. If your loved one wishes to get out of the house and go shipping, then a compassionate caregiver can give them help with every single step of the journey.
If they want to get together with some friends or go out for a social visit, then you do not have to worry as they can be joined by a warm and friendly respite carer who can help them with anything they need.
Of course, though, the love and support that comes from a close loved one to someone who requires care can never be truly replicated.
If your absence may be a source of concern for the person needing care, then respite carers also offer huge amounts for plenty of emotional support.
Talking to your loved one, as well as regularly checking how they are feeling and serving as a faithful companion, is a highly important part of any respite carer's role.
This is part of the role that all respite carers carry with them and put maximum effort into with each client.
Benefits Of In-Home Respite Care
In-home respite care has various benefits; first and foremost that it has the least disruption in routine for your loved one and allows them to stay in an environment they are happy and comfortable in. Not only that, but it is also flexible enough to fit around your current lifestyle, as well as your loved one's care needs.
Respite care does not need to be full time. You may find that carers can come into the home and help out at different times, which can allow you to take a well-earned break during the day or night.
For example, if you wish to arrange night services three or four nights a week so that you can have a good sleep and aren't constantly out of energy, then this may be enough to allow you to cope the rest of the time.
On the other hand, a carer could visit in the morning to help with getting your loved one ready for the day.
This could involve getting them out of bed, washing them, dressing them, and preparing breakfast for them.
This assistance would make your caring day shorter and allow you to spend more time with your loved one.
A respite carer coming to take your loved one out for a few hours can also give you a much-needed break.
You may just need to get out of the house once or twice a week in order to enjoy a hobby or meet some friends, and having a respite carer come into your home to provide your loved one with some companionship can help you to do this.
Benefits Of Respite Care
The key benefits of respite care include:
Reduced levels of stress for both your loved one and you. This is helpful for maintaining a healthy relationship between the two of you.
Relieving frustrations and underlying feelings of resentment
More time for you to meet up and interact with family and friends or the wider community
Provides you with an opportunity to work, study, socialise or even go on a longer trip or holiday
Your loved one can benefit from interacting with other carers outside of yourself. The new stimulus and a slightly different routine can be refreshing for everyone involved.
Who Is Respite Care For?
Even though respite care is designed to give you or a carer peace of mind whilst taking some time for yourself, it can also be used as an option for anyone who just needs a little more help both in and outside of their own home.
Emergency respite care for the elderly and people afflicted with dementia can be tailored on an individual case-to-case basis, offering your loved one the exact treatment they need along with a caring companion.
Respite care can be made up of several short visits or longer periods of time dedicated to caring for your loved one, but it's the temporary nature of the respite care arrangement that makes them particularly interesting for those who only require help for limited amounts of time.
People who can benefit from this temporary level of care can include independent elderly people who are recovering from a recent illness, extended hospital stay, surgical procedure, absent-family support, or people who are beginning to adjust to the very early stages of living with dementia or another similar life-changing affliction.
If you have questions about the types of respite care, we hope this information has been useful to you.
We offer specialist home care services and live-in care for vulnerable adults throughout London. Get in contact today if you have a loved one that would benefit from professional care at home.