Taking a Break

Respite is any kind of support that gives you a break from caring, and is important as it allows you (and the person you care for) to enjoy things as individuals. It can help to reduce stress and enable you to see friends or get on with the other commitments in your life.

Whatever kind of respite you are thinking about it is important that you discuss your plans with the person you care for. Ideally, they should be able to do something they enjoy that also gives you a break. Social services and mental health services should be able to tell you what is available locally and how to access these services. Here are some examples of what respite can mean:

Short Breaks
It may be possible for the person you care for to go away on holiday or for you both to go away together. Local authorities are encouraged to offer short breaks to carers, and this might mean the person you support going to stay at a local mental health respite centre for a few days, to give them a change from home and to give you a break from caring. The amount of time will be assessed to suit both your needs and those of the person you care for.

Funding specifically for carers is available through the Carers Grant, however this is used in different ways in each area. Carers can access the Carers Grant through social services or Carers’ Centre. Contact the local Carers’ Centre for information.

There are various organisations, care homes, hotels and guesthouses that specialise in holidays for people with mental health needs. Rethink’s Holidays and Respite Breaks has information on various organisations providing respite to carers and service users, fact-sheets from the National Advice Service and information on Funding for Respite.

Befriending Services
‘Befriender’s’ visit people with mental health needs adding another dimension to their social life. Regular visits from a friend or befriender can allow you regular ‘time off’. These services are often provided by voluntary organisations and may need a referral from the care co-ordinator.

Day Services
These are services provided for the person you support, and they can usually attend from a few hours to a few days each week, giving you both a regular break. The care co-ordinator refers the cared for to these services, after discussing with them what is suitable.

Domiciliary Care
This covers different types of care and support and might mean a paid care worker taking over the caring responsibilities for an agreed period of time each week, or a community support worker providing supporting to the service user for an agreed period of time, giving you a break from caring.

Direct Payments
Social services departments may offer ‘direct payments’ to service users and carers, where services that have been identified through the assessment process, can be bought. Direct payments can give people greater control, and flexibility in, the support they receive, but it does mean that they have to take on the responsibilities of being an employer.