Things To Consider When Looking At Respite Care For Dementia Sufferers

If you are responsible for caring for someone with dementia, you will know that it can be a very draining job, which requires a lot of work – so much so that you almost feel guilty for wanting to take a break from it.

However, a break is vital from time to time and when looking at dementia respite care options there are a number of things to bear in mind, as this blog outlines.

Don’t Feel Guilty

As hard as it may be to think that you need a break from caring for someone suffering with dementia, it is vital that you look after your own wellbeing as well.

It is well worth discussing things through with a trained professional if you have any lingering doubts as many carers find this a particularly beneficial way to deal with any concerns that they have.

Discuss With The Person

It is important to discuss any kind of care options for them that you are considering with the person you are caring for.

Naturally they will often prefer to stay at home as moving out of their home can be confusing for them. Of course, this can put the carer in a difficult position as they may end up feeling guilty that they do have to send the person into short term dementia respite care.

Avoiding Stress

When it comes to discussing the break through with the person you are caring for, it is important to bear in mind that you shouldn’t discuss things through too early – this can cause a level of confusion and distress.

Groups such as the Alzheimer’s Society recommend discussing the care break as a holiday as opposed to going into care.

Keeping a positive tone is crucial to keeping the person as relaxed as possible – it is equally important to make sure you say things with a confident tone so as not to let any insecurity come across as that can cause a certain level of fear in the dementia sufferer.

You should also ensure that you get the message across that it is just a short term thing and that the person will be going back home after you have your short holiday.

Options Available

There are a number of dementia respite care options available.

Live in dementia respite care or care at home is, as the name suggests, provided in the comfort of the person’s own home.

This can be provided by a friend or family member, found via a personal recommendation, provided by a local authority or an agency that specialises in such a service.

In this case it well advised to prepare something like a life history book for the carer to engage with the patient as it can generate a lot of conversation.

Care away from home is another option; this is where the person moves into a care home on a short term basis.

Occasionally, other services including holiday accommodation can be provided for anyone looking into forms of dementia respite care or there also exist short term care schemes as another alternative to dementia respite care.

[box_light]Louisa Jenkins is a care specialist who offers people and carers advice on topics including dementia respite care, home care and other forms of care.[/box_light]

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• Dementia: shouldn’t we be concentrating on getting trained medical staff in our care homes? (blogs.telegraph.co.uk)
• Two thirds of boroughs have no senior nurses for dementia patients (standard.co.uk)
• Care Homes Essex – Showing the Carers That We Care (sys-con.com)
• Live Chat: Dementia treatment expert Linda Messbauer discusses therapy options for families and patients (mlive.com)