Respite care in London

When should I choose respite care, and what can a carer help with?

Receiving your respite care at home is preferable to having to move into residential care for most people, even temporarily, because you get to remain in familiar surroundings, with people, pets and possessions around you that mean the world. Seeing the same carer or small team of carers every day is much more likely when you have care at home too, unlike if you’re in a residential home with the varying shift patterns and often high turnover of staff. Your carer can only perform at their best if they get a chance to regularly step away from their duties, so it’s vital they get to do so as often as is practical.

Your carer can support you with a range of tasks that could include:

• Nursing care needs, such as catheter or continence support
• Personal care, including dressing, showering, and toileting
• Mobility support, helping your loved one move around the house
• Administering medication at the correct times
• Ongoing companionship and emotional support
• Cooking meals and grocery shopping
• Housekeeping, including laundry
• Arranging visits out, for a break or to see family and friends
• Feeding and caring for pets, where appropriate

Why you may need London respite care

A possible scenario of needing respite care is when you’re being discharged from hospital and feel you would like some help to get back to your daily life. Maybe your carer is going home for a while and you don’t want to move into a care home, even temporarily, or there is a personal event that you’d like to attend but you don’t feel safe going alone. Whatever circumstances you face, Helping Hands are here to help.

Post-discharge care

When you’ve been in hospital, it’s completely natural that returning home to an empty house can feel daunting, especially if your family is not local. Our respite care means that a carer can be in your home from the moment you are discharged until you’re able to manage on your own again. Our flexible care packages can be easily adapted to suit your evolving needs, so if you decide you would eventually like ongoing support, we can arrange that for you too.

Emergency care

If your regular carer suddenly needs to leave or falls ill, arranging care at short notice can be stressful. Thankfully, Helping Hands’ extensive network of branches across England and Wales ensures that your care continues uninterrupted, no matter the circumstances. Unexpected hospital discharges can also worry your loved ones, as they try to balance their ownlives while making sure you’re supported. With our respite care services, you can have peace of mind knowing that help is always available when you need it.

Signs that could hint at requiring respite care in London include:

• Carer exhaustion – physical exhaustion such as feeling constantly tired, emotional exhaustion (feeling stressed or overwhelmed) or difficulty executing day-to-day tasks
• Declining quality of care – mistakes with care management such as medication or meal issues
• Social isolation – neglecting hobbies, personal interests or friendships could indicate the need of respite care
• Health concerns – the worsening of chronic conditions, weight gain or loss and trouble sleeping

The benefits of respite care at home

Respite care is beneficial for both the person receiving care, and the caregiver. Ensuring that your care provider is fit to provide you with the care that you needs ensures that your care journey will go as smooth as possible, whilst receiving the best quality care.

Other benefits of respite care in London include:

• Family balance – with respite care in mind, family members don’t need to give concern to care gaps or carer stress
• Relieves caregiver stress – giving carers the opportunity to step back from care needs, focus on their own health, recharge, and then return to administering care
• Improved patient wellbeing – ensuring that the person needing care receives the best possible care at all times
• Continuity of care – meaning that your loved one will remain receiving the support they need whilst the usual carer is unavailable
• Flexibility – in unexpected situations, respite care provides peace of mind for both carers and families

Choosing Helping Hands for respite care

Using Helping Hands for respite care means that your choosing a trusted home care provider that has over 35 years experience in providing quality care at home. Our support is tailored around the person, making sure that all of their personal and care needs are met in a compassionate, professional environment.

Choosing Helping Hands means:

• Flexible support – from an hourly visit, all the way up to live-in care
• Specialist respite support – provided by carers that are trained for respite situations and the continuity of care
• Personalised care plans – created around the persons routines, needs and preferences
• The comfort of home – staying in the place that you feel most familiar, helping to promote independence

Our expert respite carers in London

Our carers are amongst the best in the industry and that’s not just us saying that – we hear from our customers and their loved ones all the time, telling us what a difference their carers have made to their daily life. We like to think that’s partly because we choose our carers so carefully, making sure they share our ethos for delivering the highest standards of care every day, as well as naturally occurring traits of kindness and compassion. In return we train them carefully, enhancing their natural skills with those they’ll need to support their customers fully, every single day. We’re also proud to be fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission and Care Inspectorate Wales as not every care company is, meaning you’ll always be able to trust our consistent standards and high levels of care delivery.

How much does Respite care cost in London?

The cost of respite care in London varies depending on the level and type of support you need. At Helping Hands, our live-in care services start from £1,595 per week for one person or for a couple. For visiting care, prices start from £31.00 per hour, with visits lasting 30, 45, or 60 minutes and scheduled as frequently as you require.

To find a respite care plan in London that fits your needs, please get in touch with our friendly customer support team.