Respite care involves someone else taking care of the person you care for while you take a break.
The purpose of a break is to give you time to do everyday activities, relax, deal with stress, and make sure you take good care of yourself so that you can come back more positive and energetic in your caring role.
As a caregiver, you should take regular breaks to rest and recharge.
What is ndis respite care?
The person can receive respite care from a family member or friend, or from a respite service.
Depending on the circumstances, it may take place at home, at a centre or in a residential care facility.
It is possible to provide respite care in the following ways:
For a limited short time (for example, a few hours each week).
For a Longer duration stay and may include an overnight stay (for example, on a weekend)
If the person you care for needs respite care, My Aged Care or the National Disability Insurance Scheme (NDIS) may be able to help.
If the person you are caring for has an NDIS plan, the support for Respite can be funded from their plan from the category - Assistance with Daily Life Tasks in a Group or Shared Living Arrangement (category 01). Speak to the ndis helpline at 1800 800 110 for more information or ring us at 1300 323 399 to speak to a friendly support person for more details on how respite can be funded from the ndis plan funding.
Several community organizations offer services tailored to particular groups (such as activities for children or cultural groups).
As well as providing activities for the person you care for, they may also arrange social events or therapy sessions. You can take some time out for yourself this way.
There are also carer groups that offer activities to help you relax (for example, morning tea or yoga classes).
What is Emergency respite?
It is a care that needs to be organized immediately - If you become ill or injured and cannot take care of your loved ones so that you can get the needed care or a break. At this time someone else or a support service can step in and care for your loved ones.
We can arrange for emergency respite care to help you recuperate. Please contact us at any time if you need emergency respite care at 1300 323 399.
We can tailor a support package to anyone who needs a break from their caring role.
If we are unable to provide you with the type of support and/or service that you need, our support coordinator can voluntarily assist to help you find the right respite care by contacting local services in your area if it is available.
Planning for emergencies
Emergencies can occur at any time. The best way to cope with emergencies as a caregiver is to plan ahead.
An emergency can be involving you or someone you care for.
For Example –
It may happen that your loved one falls and breaks a bone or that their mental health worsens suddenly.
There is a possibility that you could fall ill, have an accident, or need to leave the home quickly, due to some other emergency.
Being prepared for such emergencies is essential in a crisis.
To prepare for such emergencies, an emergency care plan makes it easy for someone to take over from you in a hurry. The plan is also useful if someone else will be providing care for a while, or if you need to talk with someone such as a health care professional.
Having a plan in place means that if something goes wrong, the person you care for can still be supported.
What is an emergency care plan?
Your emergency care plan should include:
personal information about the person you care for (name, address, age, condition, health)
details of any emergency contacts, including
- family and friends
- guardians or someone who may have a power of attorney
- health profe
medical history
a list of medicines and how and when they should be given
care needs, such as what they usually eat and drink and details of personal care
a list of the regular support services they use and upcoming appointment dates, times and locations
anything else you think someone taking over for you in a hurry would need to know
The emergency care plan document developed by Carer Gateway (Australian Government) can be a handy and useful document.
We found this document to be a very simple, yet comprehensive document that can capture essential information in one place ready for it to be handed over to someone who is stepping into the caring role of your loved ones.
It can be downloaded from the link here - emergency care plan.
The plan also has a section for little carer emergency cards.
What is a carer emergency card?
A carer emergency card is a card you can carry in your wallet to let people know that you care for someone. It’s a good idea to carry an emergency card to make sure the person you care for will be supported if something happens to you.
This card has the contact details of people who have your emergency care plan and anyone else who can help the person you care for if something happens to you.
The person you care for should also carry a card in their wallet to let people know they are being cared for by you.
How to make and use an emergency care plan and card?
You can download it from the web link provided above or can ask one of our staff by ringing 1300 323 399 - to send you a blank emergency care plan and card to fill in.
When you have completed the plan, you should save it to your phone or computer. You should also print out copies of the plan, and:
Make sure you keep a copy of the plan somewhere safe and easily accessible in your home.
As part of your emergency care plan, you should also keep a copy of important documents such as wills, guardianships, and powers of attorney
When you leave home or travel with the person you care for, make sure you take a copy with you
Make sure all your emergency contacts have a copy
Send a copy to your doctor and anyone else who may need to know what to do
The carer emergency card should be placed in your wallet once it has been filled out.
If you have filled out the emergency card for someone you care for, they should carry it with them in their wallet.
How to get urgent medical care?
In cases of urgent medical care, call the person's doctor or emergency services at triple zero (000).
How to get urgent mental health care?
If the person you care for has a mental health crisis, call your state or territory crisis assessment and treatment team for immediate help.
For more information visit the carer gateway's article on caring for someone with mental illness.
ELS is not an emergency service. Please do not send us an email or contact number in case of an emergency. For emergencies, please call 000 immediately.
Alternatively, there are other services that may be able to support you, as listed below:
Mental Health Line: 1800 011 511
Kids Helpline: 1800 55 1800 kidshelpline.com.au
Parent helpline: 1300 1300 52
Beyond blue: 1300 22 4636
Lifeline: 13 11 14
Ageing and Disability abuse helpline: 1800 629 221