Respite care with Elder
Respite care with Elder
Respite care is a form of care that allows the primary caregiver to take a temporary break – whether to go on holiday, run some errands, or take care of an emergency. Live-in respite care ensures minimal disruption to an older person’s daily routine, protecting their quality of life.
Respite care is a form of care that allows the primary caregiver to take a temporary break – whether to go on holiday, run some errands, or take care of an emergency. Live-in respite care ensures minimal disruption to an older person’s daily routine, protecting their quality of life.
Used by 5,000+ families across the UK
When might respite care be needed?
Unforeseen circumstances
If the primary carer falls ill or has to deal with an emergency
To trial full-time care
Support a smooth transition to full-time care in the future
Following a hospital stay
Support while a person recovers from an operation or illness
To cover a holiday
When primary caregivers needs to take a much-needed break
Choose your carer
Pick your favourite from personalised matches.
Keep your routine
Care is shaped around their lifestyle.
24/7 peace of mind
One-to-one support from a trusted carer.
Experts on hand
Support teams available 7 days a week.
Choose your carer
Pick your favourite from personalised matches.
Keep their routine
Care is shaped around their lifestyle.
24/7 peace of mind
One-to-one support from a trusted carer.
Experts on hand
Support teams available 7 days a week.
How does live-in respite care work?
Live-in respite care involves a self-employed carer of your choice moving in to your loved one’s home for a set period of time. With Elder this can be for three days, up to multiple weeks.
Live-in care has minimal disruption on everyday life as a live-in carer will adapt to and support their usual routine. They’ll also take care of the house and domestic tasks while you’re away.
For elderly people with complex care needs, live-in care can provide better peace of mind to concerned family members compared to visiting care or residential care. This is because they’ll have the full attention of one dedicated carer at all times.
Elder can support with emergency respite care. Our responsive service means we can help you find a suitable carer in under 24 hours, and offer greater flexibility around start and end dates.
What caregiving tasks can a respite carer do?
With Elder you stay in control of your care – using your online MyElder account to share the type of care and support that’s needed with your chosen carer. This can include many aspects of daily life:
- Personal care e.g washing, grooming, oral care and continence
- Medication management e.g ensuring the right dose is taken at the right time
- Household cleaning e.g. vacuuming floors, doing laundry and dishes
- Meal preparation e.g cooking nutritious meals and supporting hydration
- Emergency response e.g contacting the right medical professionals
- Support with mobility e.g encouraging gentle exercise and safe movement
- Running errands e.g shopping, accompanying to appointments
- Companionship e.g sharing hobbies and interests, helping to meet friends
- Pet care e.g feeding, exercising and cleaning up
Straightforward pricing
Live-in Care
- No joining fee
- Up to 2 wake-ups per night
- Trial period
- No lengthy contracts
- No seasonal charges
Short-term Care
- No joining fee
- Up to 2 wake-ups per night
- No surcharge on weekends
- No surcharge on bank holidays
Looking for dementia respite care?
85% of us would want to stay in our own home if diagnosed with dementia. Elder makes this possible.
- We've helped thousands of families living with dementia
- We'll only match you to carers with dementia care experience
- We're part of Alzheimer's Society's Dementia Friends' initiative
Benefits of in-home respite care
Continuity of care
At-home respite care has the least disruption in routine and allows people to stay in a familiar and comfortable environment. It’s also a highly personalised type of care, tailored around your loved one’s lifestyle and the level of care they need.
Flexible
Respite care does not have to be consistent. You may find that you only need a carer to work during the day, or overnight to allow you to have a break when’s most convenient to you.
Cost and time effective
With live-in respite care you can avoid the upheaval, transportation costs and waiting lists for temporary care home stays. And when you make repeat bookings with Elder you’ll get a discounted rate.
Suitable for dementia
Change can be distressing for people living with dementia. Dementia respite care at home means a person can maintain their usual routine, in a place they recognise and feel comfortable in.
Convenient
With Elder you can remove future stress by pre-booking multiple periods of care, and easily make repeat bookings online, without unnecessary admin.
Find your ideal carer
We have connected over 5,000 families and carers across the UK. Search for yours today.
Why's it important for carers to take a break?
A caring role can have big physical and mental health implications. Regular breaks ensure a carer has space to recharge their batteries, safe in the knowledge that a loved one is being well cared for. It helps to prevent caregiver stress and burnout, which over time may influence how you feel about the person you’re looking after.
41% of carers state they haven't taken a break in the last 12 months
60% are living with a long-term health condition or disability
29% often feel lonely due to their caring responsibilities
Arranging respite care with Elder
We’ve built a platform that makes it easier for families and self-employed carers to find each other, build ongoing relationships, and access dedicated support when they need it.
Share your care request
Call one of our friendly care advisors or get started online. Tell us what you’re looking for and when, and build your care profile to give your carer a clear picture of the care that’s needed.
Select your carer
You’ll start receiving profiles of your uniquely matched self-employed carers in 24 hours. Chat online to carers you’d like to know better, or arrange a phone or video call.
Prepare for care
Use MyElder to communicate with your chosen carer and the Elder support team, manage care while you're away, and book repeat periods of respite care.
Other types of respite care services
There are alternative options for respite care services other than live-in care – the most appropriate will depend on your loved one’s care requirements and preferences.
Day care centres
Run by charities or local councils, adult day centres offer activities such as art classes and quizzes, and gentle exercise.
- Provides some practical assistance, such as helping with medication
- Wide range of social activities on offer
- Need to self-refer or be referred by a GP, and complete an assessment
- Only provides an hour to two of respite per week
- Not always suitable for more complex needs, such as advanced dementia
Residential care
Some care homes offer short-term stays. If you opt for residential respite care, it’s important to find a home that both you and your loved one are happy with. This can take time, and is important to get right.
- Opportunity to socialise with other temporary and permanent residents
- Wide range of social activities on offer
- Staff available 24/7
- Suitable for mid to complex conditions
- Need to adjust to a new routine and unfamiliar surroundings
- Not always available at short notice
- May be confusing for people with dementia
- Support comes from a staff of carers, rather than one dedicated carer
Holidays with care support
Respite holidays with care offer specialist support to your loved one, but within a holiday setting. however, some providers only offer respite support for a few hours during the day or night, and therefore require the primary caregiver to join their loved one on-site.
- Many providers can help with travel arrangements
- Schedule of activities and entertainment available
- Not always possible for the primary carer to take extended breaks from caring
- Can be expensive
Additional information
Carers holiday grants
A number of charitable organisations have been set up to provide grants towards short breaks for carers across the UK.
These are available for low-income families, carers who would otherwise struggle to get away from their caregiving role, or those without a support network in place to help care for an elderly loved one.
- Ogilvie Charities – Grants of up to £300 to give a complete break to a carer.
- After Umbrage – Provides carers with free, four night breaks in a range of self-catering holiday cottages.
- The Respite Association – Provides free holidays and holiday grants for carers. They offer self-catering cottages in both Cornwall and Wales.
Carers assessment
Local authorities also have a duty to assess carer needs when requested. This may be in the form of a one-to-one meeting, telephone or online discussion between the carer and a trained professional, who’ll consider the impact of the caring duties on the individual and their life. They’ll also consider support options and provide their decision in writing following the assessment.
If the assessment determines that you have ‘eligible needs’, the council will be in contact with you to discuss what assistance may be available. This could be in the form of financial help or practical support.
Even if you’re not eligible for support from your local authority, getting an assessment can still be valuable as they can put you in touch with other agencies such as voluntary organisations who may be able to help.
Carer's allowance
As a carer, you could also be entitled to a Carer’s Allowance which is a benefit specifically for informal carers who look after a person for more than 35 hours per week. If you find you’re ineligible for this, make sure you check whether Carer’s Credit is suitable.
FAQ's
Care can be confusing, and sometimes difficult to talk
about. We’ve answered some common questions below.
We only onboard carers with previous experience to the Elder platform. As an introductory provider, we are unable to provide bespoke training. However, through our carer loyalty programme, carers who actively find work through our platform have access to a third-party online learning platform, where they can enhance their skills.
We match based on the skills and experience you tell us you need, for example, if your loved one has dementia, we’ll only match you to self-employed carers with experience of looking after someone with the condition.
Each carer with access to our platform must undertake a full background check, and provide at least 2 professional and verifiable references of their work history that we can verify.
We’ll always send you an introductory video of each carer you’re matched with – where they’ll tell you about their background, what they enjoy about being a carer, and their hobbies and interests.
Once you’ve chosen your carer, we’re happy to set up a virtual meeting too, such as a Zoom call so that you can get to know them better before they arrive.
We have a large nationwide network of 6000+ independent care professionals, and have connected families to carers in 123 of 124 postcode areas in Great Britain. This means we can usually get care in place within 24 to 48 hours if your needs are urgent.
Yes, many of our customers use funding from their local authority to cover all or part of their live-in care costs. Often customers choose to receive their funding as a direct payment, so that they’re free to choose their own the carer provider, rather than the council picking one for them.
If you’ve not started the process of applying for local authority funding, we have mapped out the full process here.
If you or a loved one is living with an on-going health condition, it’s worth applying for NHS Continuing Healthcare too. If you meet the criteria, this form of funding will cover every penny of your care costs. However, bear in mind that this funding is reserved for complex conditions which may fall out of the scope of what a self-employed carer can provide.
Not at all. We offer short-term live-in care too.
We understand that, if you’re caring for a loved one yourself, it’s important to feel you can take a break without worry. If your regular care arrangement falls through unexpectedly, it’s reassuring to have somewhere to turn to for cover. And, if you or a loved one is returning home from hospital, planning specialist, short term support can aid a safer and more comfortable recovery.
Elder can help you find a short-term carer for a few days to a few weeks, starting from £625. We offer discounted rates for multiple bookings, and you can easily rebook care online, without the need to call our care advisors.
If you do decide on-going live-in care is best for your situation, your first week will be what we call a ‘trial’ week. This is an opportunity for everyone to get to know each other. If it doesn’t feel right, you’re able to cancel straightaway. However, we’re not going to lock you into any long contracts when it does work out either. If your care needs change, you’re able to end your care arrangement with just two weeks’ notice.
Yes. Every carer we work with must have a good level of written and spoken English.
If you’d prefer a carer who also speaks a second language, simply let us know.
We understand the importance of continuity for those living with conditions such as dementia. However, the carers we work with are only human, and do require time off. You can expect your family’s primary carer to be with you for around four weeks at a time, usually taking one or two weeks off. During this period, if you need another independent carer to step in simply let us know and we’ll start identifying suitable respite carers for you to choose from.
The carer will need their own bedroom to use for sleeping and as a place to relax when they are taking a break. It is best to provide a television and internet access for them since they will be spending so much time with you. The carer will prepare meals and probably eat with you, so separate dining facilities will not be needed. We’d recommend budgeting £40 per week for the carer’s food. However, if you’d like us to arrange it, we can add it to your weekly payments.
If you or your loved one likes to get out and about and they are well enough to do so, it can be a good idea to supply a car that the live-in carer can use. Having a car to use can also help with shopping trips and transport to appointments or daycare sessions, especially if you’re in an isolated area. Please bear in mind, for carers with cars we do ask for an additional fee. This is passed directly on to the carer.
There are various pieces of nursing equipment you can buy that can make care at home easier.
If you or a loved one spends a lot of time in bed or needs to change position at regular intervals, they may benefit from a hospital bed. In addition to raising and lowering to the optimum position for the carer to work, it will help to get into a comfortable position and sit upright for meals. Hospital beds also have side rails to use if the person is at risk of falling. Extra equipment such as pressure relief mattresses will also minimise the development of pressure sores.
Usually, the district nursing service will advise on the best specialist equipment for providing care at home. They should also be able to organise the supply of these items from NHS stores, although some items may have to be purchased privately.
If you or your family member has mobility issues, it’s worth looking into the various aids that can help – from walking aids such as Zimmer frames to the installation of a stair lift. If unable to stand, you will need a hoist so that the live-in carer can reposition when necessary. Equipment such as a mobile commode is useful for toilet and personal hygiene tasks such as showering.
A live-in carer provides companionship for you or a loved one when family members are unable to be around. They will be chosen on the basis of shared interests and hobbies, as well as for the ability to meet healthcare needs.
In a typical day the carer might play games or share activities such as cooking or gardening. They can also help with getting dressed, and personal hygiene. Put simply, the carer will try to support to ensure you or a loved on can carry on doing the things you enjoy, while minimising risk.
If care is for a loved one, You will be notified of illness or a fall, or anything else that you need to be aware of and the carer will also contact health care professionals such as nurses or doctors if they need to.