Respite Care For The Elderly
In this article we will cover key topics such as:
– Why you need respite care for the elderly
– What is respite care
– What in home respite care involves
– Respite care rates and costs
– Who to use for emergency respite care
Why You Need Respite Care
Care for the elderly is a demanding job that no one can do alone.
In this piece, we will discuss various facts of respite care for the elderly, and others, and why it is right for you. By going through this whole guide, you will also learn the average cost and rates of respite care. Let’s take a quick look at the meaning of respite care.
What Is Respite Care?
If you are a primary carer, it’s ok to admit that this job can get too demanding. At some point, you will need to take a break and do something other than providing care of the elderly, the sick, or even a disabled family member. When an alternative care provider comes in to take care of an individual as you take a break, they are said to be on respite care.
This kind of arrangement can take place anywhere.
It could be done in the home of the senior citizen, at a residential place, at a daycare centre, or even at nursing facilities that provide overnight stay.
Respite care for the elderly is highly advisable. It gives you the time to take a rest from the demanding task of providing care to your patients. During this time, you have all the space to do things that would make you energised and create a balance in your life.
If you are looking to protect yourself from feeling exhausted or burned out, then respite care is something you should go for.
To the elders, respite care can help them learn how to embrace changes in the environment. That way, they can easily adapt to future changes as they occur.
It is crucial that before you take this brief rest, you come up with a plan for you and the person being cared for. This implies that it should be planned ahead of time. As a caregiver, you need to take some rest and improve your health too. Therefore, you shouldn’t feel bad about creating time for yourself.
There are several types of respite services. In the following section, we will look at the different types of respite services.
Here is a short video explaining more about elderly respite care and how it works.
Types of In Home Respite Care For The Elderly
Although there are many forms of respite services, they all boil down to two basic ideas. Both of these can be used for emergency respite care.
It is all about getting support for oneself and sharing the responsibility of caregiving.
With respite care, you can take a break by inviting your friends and or family members to take care of a loved one as you go to the gym, shopping, or even a holiday.
Better still, it could mean finding a professional to take care of a loved one occasionally or regularly at a fee. Let’s take a look at some of the main types of Respite Services.
Live in Care – In Home Respite Care
This kind of care can be offered by a paid expert or a volunteer live in carer. This, as you would expect, is considered in home respite care.
One of the benefits of live in care is that it can be done regularly or when needed. In-home respite care can last from a few hours to an overnight stay.
It is possible to arrange for live in care directly or via a live in care agencies if you are hiring an expert. This care is well regarded because your loved one can stay at home and still receive excellent care.
Since you are the primary caregiver, you must ensure that you bring in a professional and potentially one who is regulated by the care quality commission.
The live in care costs will rise if you choose to work with professionals.
It is possible to get a reliable volunteer through community, faith-based, and other non-profit organisations.
Some businesses can offer their trained live in carer to provide you with in-home respite care. They can provide from daily to weekly care, depending on the agreement.
If you are not interested in a long break, you can find a personal caregiver to handle the daily needs of your loved ones such as cleaning and dressing them. In case there is a need for medical services, you can look for skilled caregivers from organisations within your area. Again, this will raise the live in care costs.
You can read more on the benefits of live in care so that you make the best decision for your loved one, as well as yourself.
Out-of-Home Respite Care for Carers
This form of respite care is handled outside the client’s home. Here are some forms of respite care:
1 – Adult Caregiver Centers
These ones are mainly created for older adults who are not able to care for themselves because of age.
The centres are also ideal for individuals who cannot be independent and are isolated and lonely. Through social and health services, planned activities are undertaken to improve the lives of patients.
Note that these kinds of centres are mainly operated during the day, from Monday to Friday.
They have a nice environment to ensure that the clients get the best atmosphere throughout the day. They offer meals and snacks and also, there are meals for individuals who need special diets.
2 – Residential Programs
These are meant for people looking to get temporary care during specific times of the day.
If you are a caregiver looking for 24-hour relief, then you can choose the ones that issue planned overnight and emergency services so that you have enough time to rejuvenate.
You should note that the cost of the services provided vary depending on the institution that you select. There are some insurance covers that do not cater for overnight care, which is why you have to make your selection careful.
3 – Respite Camps and Caregiver Retreats
These are accessible in specific areas, and they offer unique services that are focused on issuing peer support to caregivers.
What Are Respite Care Rates and Costs?
We have already seen that respite care is important.
But how much does respite care cost?
The average rates and costs of respite care typically runs from £700 and up to £2,000 per week if there is more than one person being cared for.
In the UK, the cost of respite care depends on several aspects. Also, being that there are lots of options, you only should go for the one that you can afford based on your budget. NHS respite care is the most affordable professional respite care service.
However, as mentioned earlier, it depends on several things such as location, age of the patient, nature of their needs, duration of care, the organization providing the care, the level of expertise of the caregiver, and whether or not it is NHS respite care.
Before you sign a contract with an organisation, you must ensure to understand their terms and conditions so that you know if you can afford to cooperate with them.
The average rates and costs of respite care typically runs from £700 and up to £2,000 per week if there is more than one person being cared for.
How to Engage Families Members in Respite Care for Carers
You should know that while friends and family members can always provide elderly care while you take a break, you must always let them know in advance of any routines or issues they need to be aware of.
They might have important tasks to handle. Therefore, planning ahead of time is a crucial thing.
Care of the elderly is a demanding task that can take more than one person to provide. Besides, you need to ensure that your loved one gets the best care possible, even when you are away.
Here are the tips you could use to engage family members in respite care:
Talk to them regularly and openly
Your family should be aware of what your loved one is going through and their current condition.
You also need to let them know about the needs of the patient and how they should be met.
If you don’t do this, then you might not be able to make them understand the kind of demand and stress involved in providing the best care.
Talk to the family members and make sure to encourage them to think carefully about the kind of services that they can give.
If there are enough resources, and if the family members are willing to provide a certain nature of the assistance, then you can plan carefully for the respite care without any problem.
Make sure to share with them what you feel about the task, and what you might not want them to do. As much as you might want to stay with your loved one, you are human and need some rest. During this time, you will stay away from them while you work on yourself.
However, you still want to ensure that your loved one is fine wherever they are and that they are getting the best care possible. This is why you should share with your family members about the services they need to issue and the things they must not do.
You can make good use of technology to bridge the distance. If you are going on holiday, you can stay up-to-date with your loved one and confirm that they are fine. You need to come up with a plan to keep in touch with the family members so that they share with you the progress at least once a while.
Where to Get Emergency Respite Care for the Elderly
In the UK, there are several nursing homes that you could contact in case there is an emergency.
Such homes hire medical professionals to provide essential elderly care. You can find one through an agency, or still, you might consider researching your location for some of the best homes for the elderly. You can also use live in care agencies until their condition has improved.
The Final Word
Respite care is essential both for you and the senior citizen under your care.
After long weeks or months of constant work, you need to refresh yourself and learn more about caregiving.
That way, you will come back to work strong, happy, and focused. The elder person under your care will enjoy staying around the new you because you shall have taken a rest and rejuvenated to ensure that they get the most pleasurable moments with you.
However, before you start arranging for respite care, you need to have a comprehensive understanding of the organisation or experts with whom you are leaving your loved one.
Make sure they have a reasonable care quality commission so that you rest knowing your elder loved one is in good hands.