How SureCare’s respite care service helps family carers

Posted on 14 June 2021
How SureCare’s respite care service helps family carers

Are your loved one’s care needs becoming a bit too much for a family carer to cope with? Find out how Respite Care from SureCare can help to benefit you and your loved one on a regular basis.

Being an unpaid carer – whether for a family member or a close friend – is one of the toughest jobs in the world, and it’s one that’s often thrust upon a person rather than a conscious decision. For many, it will mean taking care of a loved one who requires regular support, often without any previous training or experience in dealing with complex care needs.

Family carers will often feel it’s their duty to give their loved one the best quality of care. This can take its toll when a carer is struggling physically, emotionally and even financially… often without any back-up support behind them. Ultimately, this can lead to unpaid carers feeling as though they can no longer cope and in desperate need of assistance themselves.

This is where SureCare can provide a lifeline with a Respite or Holiday Care service. SureCare operates teams of trained home care workers who are available to work flexibly to provide support and assistance for people in the comfort of their own homes.

With a respite care package, family carers can take a much needed break or rely on a little extra support on a regular basis. This aims to ease the pressure on full-time carers and ensure that your loved ones continue to receive the care attention they need.

Recognising when you need a hand

For many family carers, looking after somebody is often a labour of love, driven by a desire and determination to give your loved one the best possible quality of life. This makes it a bit harder to recognise the signs in yourself that you might be struggling.

We all know the drill about oxygen masks on an aeroplane; you need to fit your own mask before you can help anyone else. The same principle applies to giving care in the home – it’s important to look after yourself first. If your physical or mental health gets worse, it can affect your concentration and ability to carry out the tasks your loved one is relying on you for.

Signs of mental health decline can include increased feelings of stress, anxiety, exhaustion and depression. These may be triggered by a significant change in circumstances, such as your loved one’s condition becoming harder to manage. You may also experience increased sadness and difficulty in coping with higher care demands.

Mental struggles can also have a knock-on effect on your physical wellbeing, affecting your appetite, energy levels and sleeping patterns. If you notice yourself eating less or developing aches and pains, this could be a sign that you’re not giving yourself enough love, care and attention.

Just as it’s difficult to notice the signs in yourself, it can be even harder admitting to yourself that you need help. The important thing to remember, however, is that help is always available if you need it. Asking for additional assistance isn’t a weakness or a failure of any kind – if anything it’s an act of strength seeking out the support for both yourself and your loved one.

How SureCare’s Respite service helps

Up and down the country, SureCare has teams of local care workers who are highly experienced in supporting a variety of different people with a range of complex care needs. We know just how difficult a task it can be on a daily basis and we recognise that even the most dedicated of individuals needs to have a break every once in a while.

Our Respite and Holiday Care services allow family carers to momentarily take a step back, safe in the knowledge that their loved ones are left in extremely capable hands. SureCare’s care workers can fulfil all the regular care duties in your absence, with a flexible service that is tailored to your individual circumstances and routines.

Respite Care is an all-round care service that benefits the wellbeing of family carers just as much as it tends to the daily needs of someone requiring care. Whether you need a period of rest and rejuvenation or you need an extra pair of hands to help you when things get too hectic, SureCare is ready to help you.
 

To find out more about Respite and Holiday Care services from SureCare, find your nearest branch and speak you a local SureCare team about how we can help you on a temporary or flexible basis.