Caring for a loved one full time in their home can be both physically and mentally tiring. You are constantly looking out for the other person, checking they are okay, providing for their needs, and often helping them to physically move around as well.

Even if it’s your spouse or partner you’re looking after, sometimes it can all get a bit too much. That’s where respite care can really help. Respite care does exactly what it says. It gives you respite from all the stress and tiredness of being a caregiver.

Respite care provides an excellent level of care just as you do yourself at the moment, giving you the chance to do something for yourself and take a break. Whether you want a caregiver or a nurse, either during the day or full time for a week, you can relax and let go of some of the stress that you will have been accumulating.

A 24/7 job

When you live with the person you are caring for, it is inevitably a 24 hour 7 days a week commitment. We know from our own experience how caring for a loved one with a disability or ever decreasing mobility is physically hard work.

What’s more, you are effectively “on call” overnight too. This can have a major effect on your own health. Many caregivers who experience broken sleep during the night helping their loved one simply don’t have the time to catch up on that sleep during the day. The effect of accumulated sleep deprivation should not be underestimated.

No time for you

As a live-in caregiver, it’s often difficult to find time for yourself to do what you want. Even just popping out for a couple of hours to shop, meet a friend or have a haircut can be difficult and you simply may not bother as a result.

Respite care gives you the opportunity to do what you want, not what you need! Whether our respite caregivers come in for just a couple of hours during the day, or for a longer term, it gives you that chance to step off the treadmill of continual caregiving. You can go and do what you want when you want to, without worry that your loved one is being properly looked after.

Respite for non-resident caregivers

It’s not just about caregivers who live in either. If you live apart from your loved one or senior parent/s, you may find yourself popping in a lot during the day to check they are OK, do the shopping, cook meals, clean the house, do the laundry, take them to appointments, and other chores. This inevitably has to fit around your own home and work life, and the hours it takes will eat into your time available to be with your own family.

You will have less time to spend with your children or your partner if half of your time is spent going to and from your parents’ place. Much as you love them, you do need a break from what can be a hard schedule of caring for two households. You may also have problems taking time away on vacation because of the worry that nobody else can look after your parent quite like you do.

In fact, an experience home care team like ours can and will look after your parent with all the care, attention, and expertise that you do. Our team will work with you to learn exactly what your parents’ needs are, what they’re used to and when you normally help them. Then our experienced caregivers simply do all that instead of you doing it yourself. So you can go away on vacation or away for the weekend and relax, and recharge your mental and physical batteries.

Try it, you might like it

What’s more we find that seniors who have caregivers for respite care for the first time rather like the experience! Putting in place regular home care visits after a respite care “one off” seems a natural progression.

Once you have regular home care, it’s much easier to arrange for our team to come in and provide respite care on a more regular basis. For example, one day a week, you might choose to have a caregiver come in for a companionship visit. This gives your loved one has the opportunity to go out and do what they want to do, independent of you. Think of it as respite care for the cared for, a change of person to talk to, laugh with and enjoy a day out during the week when you may be working.

Respite care from Higgs Home Health

If you’d like to discuss respite care for you or a loved one, please do get in contact. We’re always happy to help and just talk through options with you, whatever your situation.

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