Taking care of you and your loved ones during the Christmas period
For many people, the Christmas period is quality time: a chance to eat, drink and be merry with their family and enjoy a little time off. However, for those with caring responsibilities, the holiday season can be a little more complicated.
Why is respite care important?
That’s where respite care comes in, giving you a chance to take a break from your usual care responsibilities and maybe visit other family members, hand out your Christmas gifts to friends or just focus on your own health and wellbeing. As the saying goes, you can’t pour from an empty cup.
Whether you’re looking after older people or a vulnerable family member, respite care offers an extra pair of hands when you need it most. As Age UK succinctly puts it: “no one should have no one at Christmas”. This is why we support families with their own respite carer.
How does respite care support the family members?
The thought of disrupting your loved one’s habits and routines could put you off arranging respite care for the festive season, especially if members of your own family can’t help out at Christmas.
It becomes even more important to take a break by calling on external support and finding a carer if the sole responsibility for looking after a loved one falls to you.
Arranging respite care at Christmas can help avoid caregiver burnout and, even if it’s just for a short period, help relieve stress, ensuring you and the person receiving care enjoy a serene festive period.
What are my Christmas respite care options?
If your loved one is primarily looked after by you, having to deal with all the Christmas preparations on top of the usual care routines can seem like an impossible task.
A respite carer and professional homecarer, such as Age Care Advice, can step in and offer support for a few hours, leaving you free to get on with your Christmas plans, visiting friends, organising family get-togethers and generally reducing stress levels over the busy festive period.
If your loved one will be in their own home on Christmas Day and require live-in care, a respite carer can stay with them until you and other members of the family pop by. Our professional home carers will make sure all the routines your loved one understands are maintained.
Organising your respite care over the festive period
It’s important to plan ahead when organising care over the Christmas season. Take a good look at your loved one’s care routine to establish exactly what both you and your loved one need from short-term respite care
Talk to your loved one and your family members about caring responsibilities over the Christmas period so when you arrange respite care, short term care, or a longer-term professional home carer, everyone’s on the same page.
There’s always a lot to do during the hectic festive period, but it’s important to try and include some overlap time so your loved one and family can talk and meet your professional care giver from Age Care Advice in advance.
We know that everyone is unique, and will have different requirements and preferences, so it’s important for us to match the right care giver to your loved one. We want them to feel totally comfortable with the professional carer who will be supporting them.
A carer is not just for Christmas
Finding a carer and arranging care for your loved one over the Christmas period can seem like a daunting task, especially if their caring responsibilities are solely down to you and it’s the first time you’ve ever asked for someone else’s help. But it may be the first step in a longer care journey.
At Age Care Advice, we can arrange care for you 365 days a year, with our network of local Care Coordinators. We offer a multitude of services including providing a live in carer to families, finding a care home for you which is registered with the Care Quality Commission and night time care.
We pride ourselves on providing the very best care and support for your loved one throughout their entire care process.
You can find out more here, phone 01778 219639 or 07930 125081, or contact us here.