What Is Respite Care?

Respite care is a form of temporary care, primarily for caregivers who are in need of a break from the demands of caregiving, yet it is also perfect for those who need to recover after an illness or a hospital stay. A respite care service can take place within your own home, residential care homes in Aberdeen or nursing facilitates which provide overnight stays. Whether it’s for a few hours a week or a couple of months, those looking for respite care can help to relieve stress, promoting balance in your life again and restoring your energy. It can also help you from becoming burnt out, isolated and exhausted.

Respite care can benefit both the person you care for as well as yourself; don’t ever think it’s selfish, you need time to yourself as it’s essential to maintain your own health as a caregiver. If you’re overwhelmed by caregiving, your compassion and patience will start to wear thin, making it harder to connect with the individual you’re caring for, leading you both to being unfulfilled. 

Types of Respite Services

Respite care is all about sharing the caregiving responsibilities as well as getting support for yourself. Respite care can be through friends and family, finding paid carers or volunteers to help and provide in-house care. On the other hand there are also assisted living facilitates, such as a care home to provide you with the break as well as your loved one with the continued care in which they need.

In-Home Respite Care

In-house/home services can either be provided through paid help or by volunteers, either as and when or on a more regular basis. This type of care service can last from a few hours to overnight care and can be arranged directly or through an agency.

This type of care is popular as it means your loved one is able to remain in their own home, whilst receiving care, alongside your break. It also means that those who are trained from previous care home sectors are available to cover short periods of in-home care. Personal care providers can also help out with daily living skills such as washing, dressing and/or feeding. Some homemaker services also support with meal preparation, housekeeping and shopping.

Out-Of-Home Respite Care

Those who are looking for out-of-home respite care, residential care homes could be the best option for you, along with other group homes, hospitals, assisted living facilities or nursing homes. Either respite care for yourself, where you can enjoy all the facilitates and/or amenities or nursing care/residential care for the one you’re caring for.

Engaging Family Members in Respite Care

It’s important to talk to a family member about how you’re feeling and allow them to help support where they can/if they can, especially if you’re a primary caregiver. You can use the following strategies to help:

• Talk openly and regularly to your friends and family, keeping them in the loop with your loved ones condition and needs.
• Encourage family members to evaluate where they can, talk about different viewpoints, try new strategies and share your list of needs.
• Recognise your own feelings, ask for support, you don’t want to experience burnout.
• Look for further support, building relationships with other dependable, trustworthy caregivers.

Overcoming Obstacles to Respite Care

We understand, no matter what situation you’re in, seeking help isn’t an easy step and handing over care could seem like a daunting prospect. However, it’s important to remember that respite care is an integral part of the caregiving process. 

Selection, planning and choice are essential for your respite experience. From understanding needs, selecting the right type of care and choosing the right provider can definitely ease the stress. It’s not unheard of for long-time family caregivers to seek respite care and then find a void in their lives. By seeking respite care earlier and often, you’ll be able to maintain those interests further outside of your loved ones care and therefore preserving your own identity.

Planning Your Relief

Planning for respite care starts with looking into the needs of yourself and/or your loved one, establishing the type, frequency, skills and location of respite services is highly important to ensure you receive the appropriate levels of care. Do you need care? Regular free time? Help with transportation? All of these decisions can help identify the areas and times of when you need the most help.

Identifying your loved ones needs and preferences will also help you find the perfect solution, for example, are social activities important? Do you or your loved one need assistance with walking, eating or medication? Is mental stimulation important? Exercise etc. All these questions will help you determine which care to pursue.

Respite Care at Rubislaw Park

Respite care in Aberdeen can be tailored to fit your life and care plan, with specialised attention given to each individual. We’re always looking at ways to develop new tactics, providing our residents and their loved ones with the best care possible and we are more than happy to discuss any requirements you may have. 

If you’re unsure on whether to make the move, it’s understandable. However, do you know, you can arrange a short term trial stay with us? Meaning you can really get a feel for the life and our trained staff here at Rubislaw Park. We’re a wonderful care facility where everyone is safe, all within a supervised setting which is all tailored to each individual need.

Life at Rubislaw Park

Rubislaw Park Care Home is located in Aberdeenshire, it’s a wonderful, purpose-built, luxury care home with a capacity of up to 86 residents. Our home is situated in the West End of Aberdeen, overseen by a team of excellent management, care assistants and nurses. Within our home, we’re proud to provide a range of care, from Respite Care and Nursing Care to Residential Care and Dementia Care.

Within our nursing home in Aberdeen, you will find our luxurious way or living, all along fostering a community amongst one another. We see no reason as to why our residents shouldn’t be able to continue doing what they love and here, at Rubislaw Park, there is something for everyone, from our brand new private gardens to our cinema room and hair salon.

For more information on respite care, our care home or any of our other services, along with respite care faqs, please don’t hesitate to get in contact with us today, we’re here to help and offer advice as and where we can.