Respite support provides short-term, temporary and emergency relief to family or friends who care for people with significant or permanent care needs in their own home.
If you are looking after a family member or friend and need a break or additional help, our respite services can be arranged casually, on a regular basis or in an emergency.
We have no waiting lists, so you can feel confident we will respond to your request quickly.
CareChoice respite care is specifically designed to support clients in their own home and ensure their individual needs are met. Services can include:
CareChoice understands how difficult it can be to leave loved ones. We work with you to ensure each CareChoice worker is suitably matched to individual needs.
The first National Carer Wellbeing Survey, released as part of National Carers Week 2021, has found that Australia’s carers are 2.5 times more likely to have low wellbeing and high psychological distress compared to the average person.
Over 2.65 million – one in 10 – Australians provide unpaid care to family members or friends for many reasons. These include disability, chronic conditions, mental health conditions, drug and alcohol addictions, as well as ageing and terminal illness.
Our carers do an amazing job. Almost one million of Australia’s carers are ‘primary carers’ who have caring duties that make up a significant part of their daily life.
The survey, conducted by Carers Australia and the University of Canberra, shows that 55% of respondents have low wellbeing compared to just 20% of the broader population. The older the carer gets, the larger the wellbeing ‘gap’ becomes. Wellbeing is poorest among carers aged 45 to 54 – with 66% reporting low wellbeing.
The longer a person is a carer, the more their wellbeing decreases. Once a person no longer has caring obligations, their wellbeing increases.
It’s also important to consider measures of ‘ill being’, including psychological distress. Carers have significantly higher rates of psychological distress than the average person. In 2020, the average psychological distress score for adults was 19.3 out of 50. Among carers, the mean score was 25.
Almost all carers reported multiple challenges:
Even though many families rightfully take great joy and pride in providing care to their loved ones so that they can remain at home, the physical, emotional and financial consequences for the primary caregiver(s) can be overwhelming without some form of respite.
Respite services, delivered in your own home, provide a well-deserved break for the family caregiver, which is beneficial to their health and wellbeing. There is also much evidence to suggest that respite also provides a positive experience for the person receiving respite support.
If you are the person normally providing day-to-day care, contact us to find out how we can support you in your own home. Our respite services will give you a break and provide you with the opportunity to attend to tasks or activities on your own, confident in the knowledge that the person you care about is safe and in professional hands.
Carers need time off without any caring responsibilities to rest and rejuvenate.
Having access to support – whether from family/friends or formal support services – is associated with elevated wellbeing, particularly for carers who are caring for people with high assistance needs. Well-being was 10 to 11 points higher if the carer had access to support from family/friends or respite support.
However, the survey found just 19% of carers are able to easily organise family/friends to help if they are ill or need a break. More than a quarter (28%) have no access to this type of support.
Beyond family and friends, 31% of carers access respite support services.
CareChoice provides in-home respite support so that carers can take a well-earned break from their caring responsibilities.
This time could include a long walk or hike, a picnic in the park with friends, a swim, or a coffee and some uninterrupted reading time. Or a carer may prefer to use the time to attend personal appointments.
Our respite services can be arranged casually, on a regular basis, or in an emergency. We can provide support workers on weekdays, weekends, evenings, overnight or even 24-hour support. We do require a minimum booking of four hours.
As a Victorian service provider, we have support workers across Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat, Bendigo, Mornington Peninsula, and the Latrobe Valley.
We will work with you to ensure that each support worker is suitably matched to the individual needs of your loved one. We’re committed to ensuring a positive and engaging experience for the person receiving respite support.
To find out more about CareChoice’s in-home respite support, please phone 1300 737 942 or make an enquiry here and one of our team will be in touch.
CareChoice is registered to provide services for TAC and WorkSafe clients
Registered NDIS Service Provider
CareChoice acknowledges the support of the Victorian Government
CareChoice is partnered with NDISDA
CareChoice is partnered with NDS
Australasian Association of Forensic Disability
