Respite care and short breaks for carers

Hambleton and Richmondshire

2 Omega Business Village, Thurston Road, Northallerton DL6 2NJ Tel: 01609 780872

Scarborough and Ryedale

96 High Street, Snainton YO13 9AJ Tel: 01723 850155

Carers’ Resource

Harrogate office, 11 North Park Road HG1 5PD Tel: 01423 500555 Email: info@carersresource.org Web: www.carersresource.org

See page 7 for more information about staying healthy and well.

You may have a carer living with you, or perhaps living nearby who helps you regularly. Caring for someone can be a huge undertaking and carers sometimes need a break. This may be provided in several ways. You may wish to go into a care home for a week or two or a specialist short-term break facility. You could have home-based respite care, where another carer (or a trained care worker) moves into your home to care for you, or you could have family-based respite care where you move into another family’s home for a period.

We can also refer carers to ‘sitting services.’ These are short breaks for carers where you will be supported in your own home or out doing something you enjoy, allowing your carer to go out or just take a rest for a couple of hours. These services can be accessed following a carers’ assessment and are designed to be on the day and time that is most suitable for you and your carer. These services can also be accessed directly by individuals and through referrals from adult social care, local carers’ support services and GPs.

The best option will depend on your needs, the urgency of the situation, personal choice and cost. If you are thinking about long-term care but have no experience of a care home, you could book a short stay to see what it is like. This will give you some experience of residential care to make an informed decision. If you have nursing needs, you may be eligible for a contribution to your fees – see ‘Care homes with nursing’ on page 67.

However, we would like you to contact us, so that we can help you consider whether this is the best option or whether other types of help in the home would be appropriate for you. We offer respite care to people who meet our eligibility criteria. To access this, you and your carer will need to have an assessment. The assessment will take your wishes into account, as well as the needs of your carer.

It is still worth having a carers’ assessment even if your carer does not think that they would benefit from a respite service. The assessment could result in you or your carer receiving different types of support.

The amount of respite available will depend on individual assessments but it is important to note that resources are limited. Carers’ circumstances will be assessed against the eligibility criteria described on page 49.

If you would like to arrange a carers’ assessment, visit: www.northyorks.gov.uk (search ‘carers’ assessment’). You can also contact the local carers’ support services in North Yorkshire starting on page 44, or you can email: social.care@northyorks.gov.uk or call: 01609 780780.