A break can range from a couple of hours to go shopping or visit a friend to a full day, night, weekend or a week to have a holiday.

There are a range of options depending on the type of break you need and the needs of the person being cared for.

The Carers Hub can talk through what type of break you need and the support that may be needed for the person you care for to enable this to happen.

Options could include:

• a family member or friend providing the care and support for a few hours or more
• a volunteer service providing the care and support for a few hours
• equipment or assistive technology can help people to live independently but also alert a carer if there is a problem

To talk to the Carers Hub you can self-refer through the Worcestershire Adults Portal, see:

• Carers Hub | Carers & Communities

Or phone:

• 0300 0124272

It may be that more formal support is needed. Respite care, replacement care and short breaks are terms used to describe the temporary support provided by a paid provider that enables the carer to take a break from their caring role.

It may be beneficial for the person you care for to have a needs assessment completed by the local authority to look at what type of support is needed to meet their needs and determine whether they are eligible for financial support to pay towards this.

Options could include:

• a Positive Days provider - providing support to people to access the community or by providing an opportunity to attend a day service used by lots of other people
• domiciliary home care agency providing care and/or support in the person’s own home, for further information visit: Care at home (domiciliary care)
• planned replacement care in a nursing or residential care home where the person you care for would go for a short stay, not all care homes provide this service and where a home does, availability may be limited. For further information visit: Care homes
• Worcestershire Shared Lives Scheme - gives the opportunity for the person you care for to stay in another family home with trained Shared Lives Providers supporting them.  For further information visit: Shared Lives scheme
• a Direct Payment - the person you care for receives a direct payment to use a care provider, personal assistant or microenterprise of their choice and arrange their own care and support, for further information visit: Direct Payments

The Carers Hub can talk through the type of break that you would benefit from and advise on the next steps needed. You can self-refer to the Carers Hub through the portal below:

Worcestershire Adults Portal 

Alternatively, you can call the Carers Hub on:

• 0300 0124272

or for more information, visit:

• Carers Hub | Carers & Communities

To access a replacement care service, the person you care for would benefit from a needs assessment completed by the local authority to determine what service would best meet their needs and whether they would be eligible for financial support to pay for it.

Any cost for replacement care is charged to the cared-for person as they are the direct recipient of the service. The local authority will complete a means tested  financial assessment to determine:

• how much the person receiving care will need to contribute towards the cost of their care
• that all the benefits that both you and the person you support are entitled to, are being claimed

For further information, see:

• Covering the cost of your care (Financial Assessment)