Some local authorities have a range of day care places which support the person and allow their carers to have a few hours break. Try to find out which of them may be suitable for your needs. There may be waiting lists for places or transport.

If the person requires a lot of care there maybe short break respite for a few days or a week at a time. This may be in a residential care or nursing home facility. If the person needs a high level of nursing care it may be possible to arrange respite via your GP or social work team. If you are caring full time, have a high level of physical tasks to do for the person or have a sustained level of stress because of the carer role, you should be asking for regular planned respite as part of the package of care. This is important for your own health and well being, but also if you are exhausted, the person you are caring for may be at risk.

Sometimes the person you are caring for is reluctant to accept respite care. If this is the case you should discuss with them honestly why you need to have time to recover so you will be able to continue to care for them in the future.

There maybe a financial charge for day and respite care. Some day care is provided by voluntary sector organisations. (See the next section on Voluntary care).

For more information on short breaks please see: Shared Care Scotland. Tel 01383 622462