Source Independent Living: If you are taking care of another person, both of you need a break from time to time, for the sake of your physical and mental wellbeing.
Respite care is any break from your job as a carer, whether it involves the person you care for going away for a few hours to a day centre; a few days’ holiday for them in a residential centre; or someone coming into your home to look after them while you have some time for yourself. Sometimes, it is a change of scene rather than a break from the caring that is required, in which case a respite holiday which you can take with the person you care for, can be really beneficial
Ideally, respite care should be planned, giving both carer and cared-for a chance to consider the options and make a decision that suits both. Sometimes, life doesn’t work out so neatly, though, and respite care has to be organised on an emergency basis – if the carer suddenly becomes ill, for example.
Planned respite care can be a good opportunity for the person you care for to receive rehabilitation or some form of complementary therapy, or just to widen their social circle and spend time in a different environment. Read on.