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If you are looking after someone who needs care but need a break, you might be wondering if you qualify for respite care. There are certain criteria you need to meet when wanting to qualify for respite care, and this piece is going to take a look at what those might be. Read on to find out more.
What is Respite Care?
Respite care is where someone is given a short break from something difficult or demanding, such as caring for someone. This can allow carers to take care of themselves, relax, run errands, exercise, or do anything else that needs to be done during that time, which they are not able to do when they are looking after someone.
There are different types and levels of respite care services, and they all have their own pros and cons.
Qualifying For Respite
Qualifying for respite will always depend on your circumstances and who you are caring for. For example, in the USA, if you are caring for a child who has special health care needs, you can qualify for respite under military childcare benefits, Medicaid waiver funding, or Lifespan financial aid. For the elderly, it can be a little more difficult. For carers who are looking after seniors, you will usually need to pay out of pocket, as most insurance plans do not cover respite care costs. There are, of course, a few exceptions, such as for someone receiving respite care in hospital, five days of which Medicare will cover most of the cost. Hospice care can also be covered to a certain degree, and you might find insurances such as Medicaid can help too.
In Australia cares can get respite care as a part of their NDIS plan. The NDIS or the National Disability Insurance Scheme is run by the Australian Government that provides funding for the costs associated with a disability. Apart of this is respite care, where a NDIS Cairns service providers take on the care responsibilities. Participants should contact a NDIS provider to find out more information about respite care and how it could fit into their NDIS plan.
If you are in the UK, you can qualify for council-funded respite care through an official assessment of the person you are caring for, and you could also be entitled to a carer’s allowance, which could be put towards respite.
Realistically, if you are willing and able to pay for respite care, you should be able to qualify for it. If a care team thinks that something else would be more beneficial for you, they might say so, such as a care home or different levels of in-home care. For more information, head over to signature-care-homes.co.uk.
Choosing From Different Levels of Respite Care
There are a few things you can do to prepare for respite care, and one of these is choosing the right sort of respite care for you.
There are two main options you can take, such as ‘at home’ respite and external respite, such as a care home, and from those you can choose what would be the most beneficial to you. For example, would it be best if you had someone to do the homemaker chores such as washing, keeping on top of cleaning, going food shopping, or preparing meals? You could also find respite for personal care, such as bathing, feeding, and dressing. This can be particularly helpful if you have to pop out or you have to do your own chores and do not have the energy to do two lots. It can also be helpful if you have limitations yourself, such as not being able to drive or lift heavy objects.