When caring for a loved one, taking a break is essential for maintaining your own health and well-being. Respite care offers carers the necessary time to relax while ensuring that the person they care for continues to receive expert attention in their absence.
Understanding the costs of live-in and short term respite care is crucial for planning and ensuring it fits within your budget. In this guide, we’ll explore the various factors that influence the cost of respite care and provide insights to help you make informed decisions.
What is respite care?
Respite care is a form of short-term care that allows the primary carer to take a break without compromising the quality of care an individual receives. Respite carers step in to bridge the gap between regular care provisions, ensuring continuity of care.
Changes in care providers can cause confusion and distress to people receiving care. However, experienced respite carers can step into the role seamlessly and adapt to the health needs, daily routine, and personal preferences of your loved one.
Whether a primary caregiver needs a holiday, has other commitments, is undergoing medical treatment, or is recovering from an illness, respite care is there to help support your loved one for several weeks if necessary. As with many forms of home care, respite care can be guided by your loved one’s care plan and is completely personalised to suit their needs.
For more information about respite care, take a look at our respite care guide.
The benefits of respite care
Respite care can provide relief and reassurance to family members when faced with a gap in a loved one’s regular care provision. There are many benefits of respite care, and the most common include:
- Peace of mind for families and loved ones
- Continuity of care
- Limits confusion and distress
- Maintains regular routines
- Ensures the safety of individuals receiving care
- Allows primary caregivers to relax, recuperate, or recover
- Relieves pressure and stress
- Offers respite care in the comfortable surroundings of home
What is the cost of live-in respite care?
Live-in respite care costs are based upon an assessment of the individual’s care needs. At Country Cousins, care is categorised into one of three tiers:
- Standard live-in care (for individuals or couples)
- Advanced live-in care (for individuals or couples with complex needs)
- Night support
If you choose Country Cousins, we charge a one-off registration fee, covering initial consultation costs and access to support. Following that, the carer’s fee will be decided on, and they will invoice you directly with their charges. Any additional support will also be added onto the basic costs of live-in respite care, such as a ‘waking fee’ for extra night-time assistance.
With all this in mind, live-in respite care can be more cost-effective than other forms of care. For example, the one-to-one care included in live-in respite care is considered an extra service in a residential care setting, incurring further costs. What’s more, there are no accommodation fees to factor in.
If you would like to find out more about live-in care costs, take a look at our guide to the costs of live-in care.
What does respite care involve?
Similarly to any other form of home care, respite care can offer individuals support with everyday activities and managing their health conditions in their own home.
Respite care typically involves helping with:
- Personal care – supporting toileting, bathing, grooming, or personal hygiene routines.
- Preparing meals – a respite carer can help with cooking nutritious meals guided by personal dietary requirements.
- Light housekeeping – including basic cleaning and laundry chores.
- Household administration – assistance with the administrative tasks of managing a household.
- Mobility support – a respite carer can support individuals facing mobility challenges.
- Social activities – help individuals to maintain an active social life, both within and outside the home.
- Medication management – from picking up prescriptions to offering gentle reminders about taking medication.
How Country Cousins can help
If you are a family carer in need of a break or your regular carer is not available for whatever reason, Country Cousins can help. Our nationwide respite care service introduces you and your loved one to a suitable short-term respite carer. This will ensure that your loved one is consistently cared for, there are no gaps in their care provision, and that the whole family can rest assured that quality care is in place.
Over 400 families trust us daily to match them with the perfect respite carer. You can depend on us to help you find the most suitable respite care for your loved one. For more advice on choosing in-home care for your elderly loved one, check out our guide to respite care at home.
Talk to our team today
If you require respite care at home for your loved one, get in touch with us at Country Cousins today. We are the UK’s longest-serving introductory care agency, having provided compassionate care to people in their own homes since 1959.
Give us a call today on 01293 244 706. should you have any questions about home care. Our experienced team is on hand to help from Monday to Friday, 8 am to 6 pm. Alternatively, contact us through our online enquiry form.
