A fortnight off is not a failure.
For a carer who hasn't had a proper break in years, or for someone coming out of hospital who isn't quite ready to be at home alone.
Most respite bookings we take come from one of two phone calls. Either somebody has just been discharged and the family has realised that a flight of stairs and an empty fridge is not a plan, or a husband or daughter has finally admitted they are on their knees.
Both are good reasons. The second one is the one people apologise for, and they shouldn't.
How it works
Ring us
Tell us roughly when and roughly how long. Two of our twenty residential rooms are kept back for short stays, so there's often something inside a fortnight.
A quick assessment
Donna visits at home or on the ward. For a short stay it takes about half an hour and it's free either way.
Bring a bag
Clothes, tablets, and something off the mantelpiece. A week is long enough to want your own things around you.
The same as everyone
Same rooms, same staff, same food, same quiz on Thursday. Respite residents aren't guests parked in a spare room.
Go home
On the day you booked, with a written note of how the stay went that's worth handing to a GP.
Or don't
About a third of our respite stays turn into permanent ones. If that happens we'll say so plainly, but we will never once ask you to extend.
Summer and Christmas go first.
Two weeks in August and the fortnight around Christmas are what everybody wants, and we only keep two rooms back. If you know you need a break in the summer, ring us in about February and we'll pencil it in.
Hospital discharges are different and we'll always try to take those at no notice. If we're full we'll tell you within the hour rather than leaving you hanging, and we'll ring round the homes we rate.
Respite is £1,240 to £1,390 a week.
One week minimum. It costs a little more per week than a permanent place because the room turns over and the assessment happens every time, which is the honest reason rather than a good one.
Paying for it
Short stays are paid in advance. If your relative has a council care package already, ask their social worker about respite funding before you pay for it yourself, because carers are often entitled to a break and nobody tells them.
Have a look before you need it.
The families who cope best with a hospital discharge are the ones who'd already walked round somewhere six months earlier. Half an hour now saves a bad week later.
Or ring us on 01509 000 000