Many people across the UK receive in-home care from a friend, relative or specialist. However, a number of circumstances can sometimes put that care on hold due to accident, ongoing transportation problems or any number of other reasons. Sometimes, an individual may not be receiving care but due to a hospital stay or accident may need immediate care. This is when emergency respite care can step in. But what is emergency respite care and how does it work? We’ve put together a quick guide to what emergency respite care is, when it might be needed and how to access it.

 

What is Emergency Respite Care?

In many instances when relatives or loved ones are providing care, a change of circumstances or increase in care needs can mean urgent respite care is needed to ensure individuals get the care they need whilst a more permanent solution is found. This could be a progression to full-time care home care or adaptations to a home to aid mobility or a number of other personal changes.

 

Emergency respite care is when an individual moves into a care home such as Select Healthcare’s care homes on an urgent basis. It is termed emergency respite care as on the whole it would not be pre-arranged as with normal respite care (link) and rather than the careful planning that usually goes into moving into a care home such as viewing different facilities and waiting for spaces, emergency respite care means a quick move to ensure the least amount of stress and to ensure care needs are met immediately.

 

Emergency Dementia Respite Care

In many instances where loved ones are providing home care, it is for someone with dementia-related needs who may still be able to care for themselves in some areas. Emergency respite care may be sought when an incident has occurred where the need for home-based care has increased or seen as more urgent and home care is temporarily unavailable. A number of our specialist dementia care homes offer emergency respite care for those with dementia or dementia-related ilnesses.

 

Is Funding Available for Emergency Respite Care?

If your local council has assessed your loved one’s needs, they may provide some funding for respite care so it is important to contact them to check. There are also a number of charitable organisations that may provide assistance for emergency respite care funding. However, in some circumstances, you or your loved one may need to fund all or some of the emergency respite care costs.

 

What Needs to Be Considered When Arranging Urgent Respite Care?

When arranging urgent respite care or emergency respite services, there are a few things to consider as not all care homes can offer the same services to fit the needs of individual conditions. 

 

The needs of the individual should be at the forefront of arranging emergency respite care and the caregiver should be provided with all information available to ensure the correct care is provided. This includes this such as any health conditions the person receiving care has or physical needs that may need to be met such as mobility issues. Any medication that is being taken will also need to be listed and provided to the respite care facility. It is also important that the respite care home has the capability to provide the right care needed such as dementia respite care or respite care for those with physical disabilities.

 

If you have a care plan for your loved one, this should also be provided and if one does not yet exist, this will need to be formed alongside a specialist. Individual care plans include things such as individual needs and daily routines, dietary or nutritional requirements and emergency contact details for loved ones and medical professionals.

 

Long-Term Healthcare Planning

In addition to the above, a long term plan should be considered. Whilst there are many reasons why emergency respite care may be needed, will this stay turn into a more permanent one? If the needs of the individual are not being met by their current circumstances or it is an emergency hospital stay or development in their condition that has caused the emergency stay, plans for the future should be considered and made.

Select Healthcare’s Respite Care Services

If you are in need of respite care for you or a loved one in a care home setting, Select Healthcare provides care facilities across England and Wales that offer a home-from-home on both a temporary and permanent basis. To find out more about our respite care services, take a look at our respite service page now or contact our team to find out more.

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