Respite Care in Hampshire
A trained carer steps in at home, so you can rest, recover or simply have a week that belongs to you.
- Planned or Emergency
- Nurse-Led
- CQC Rated Good
- Office Staffed 24 Hours
Photograph to be supplied
Image 1, Hero. 16:9, respite carer settling in while the daughter puts her coat on to leave.
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CQC rated GoodNurse-led since 2013
Looking After Someone Is a Job Without a Rota
Most family carers do not describe themselves as carers. They describe themselves as a wife, a son, a neighbour who helps out. Which is exactly why the tiredness builds so quietly, and why nobody ever hands them a week off.
Respite care is that week off. A trained carer comes into the home and takes over the routine, so you can sleep properly, go to your own hospital appointment, visit your grandchildren or go away without spending the whole time on the phone.
It can be a few hours a week, a night at a time, or a fortnight while you are abroad. Nothing about the person you look after has to change. They stay in their own home, in their own routine, while you get a genuine break rather than a shorter version of the same day.
When Families Ask Us for Respite
- A holiday, a wedding or a family occasion you do not want to miss
- Your own surgery, treatment or recovery
- Exhaustion, when the nights have caught up with you
- A regular weekly break, booked in so you can rely on it
- An emergency, when a family carer is suddenly unwell or unavailable
- A trial run, to see how the person you care for gets on with support before committing to anything longer
You do not need a reason we would consider good enough. Being tired is reason enough.
What the Carer Takes On
Personal care
Washing, dressing, toileting, continence support, help with mobility and getting in and out of bed, at the same times and in the same way as usual.
Health and medication
Medication administration and prompting, monitoring health and wellbeing, and escalating any concern to our nursing team the same day.
Home and meals
Meal preparation including special diets, laundry, household tasks, shopping and collecting prescriptions.
Company and routine
Conversation, hobbies, walks, favourite programmes and the small habits that make the day feel normal rather than supervised.
Handing Over Without Worrying
The hardest part of respite is not the arrangement. It is trusting someone else with a routine you have refined over years.
So we take the handover seriously. Before the break begins, we sit down with you and record the detail that matters. Which side of the bed. How the tea is made. What time the tablets go out. Which topics settle things and which ones do not. The things a care plan usually misses and a family carer knows by heart.
Wherever possible we introduce your carer beforehand, so the first day of your break is not the first day they have met. For longer respite we keep you updated at whatever frequency you want, from a daily message to nothing at all unless something changes.
Every carer is fully referenced, DBS checked and trained to the Care Certificate before working alone, with clinical oversight from our nursing team behind them.
Photograph to be supplied
Image 2, The Handover Conversation. 3:2, carer taking notes while the family carer explains the routine.
Respite carer in green Karis Care uniform with logo on left chest taking handover notes from a family carer at a kitchen table in Hampshire
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When You Need Someone Today
Not every break is planned. Family carers get ill, get admitted, get called away, and suddenly there is nobody to do the morning call.
Our office is staffed by an experienced member of the team 24 hours a day, every day of the year, and we are used to responding at short notice, including after a late hospital discharge or an unexpected admission. We cannot promise to cover every emergency, but we can promise to answer the phone and tell you honestly and immediately what we can do.
If you are in that position right now, call 01420 551309 rather than filling in a form.
Getting Started
Talk to us
Call 01420 551309 or send an enquiry with the dates you have in mind, even if they are provisional.
Free assessment at home
We meet the person you care for, understand the routine and agree exactly what the carer will take on.
Handover and introduction
We record the detail, introduce your carer where possible and confirm the costs in writing before anything begins.
Your break begins
Care continues at home while you rest. We keep you updated as much or as little as you want.
Paying for Respite Care
Ask for a carer's assessment
If you look after someone regularly, you are entitled to a carer's assessment from Hampshire County Council in your own right, separately from any assessment of the person you care for. It can lead to funded respite, and a great many family carers never ask for it. It costs nothing to request.
Local authority and direct payments
Hampshire County Council may contribute after a needs and financial assessment. Direct payments let you choose your own provider rather than being allocated one.
Self-funding
You arrange and pay directly. We provide a written rate sheet before care begins and there is no long-term commitment, respite can be a single week and nothing more.
Frequently Asked Questions
How short or long can respite be?
Anything from a few hours to several weeks. Some families book a regular weekly afternoon, others use us once a year for a holiday.
Will Mum accept someone else?
More often than families expect, particularly when the carer is introduced beforehand and the routine stays the same. If it does not settle, tell us and we will change the carer rather than expecting you to persevere.
Does respite have to be live-in?
No. It can be visiting calls, day sitting, night sitting, live-in or 24 hour cover, depending on the level of support usually provided.
Can you cover complex or clinical needs during respite?
Often yes, and this is where being nurse-led matters. Tell us what is involved and we will assess it properly rather than declining on the phone.
How much notice do you need?
For a planned break, the more the better, particularly over school holidays and Christmas. For an emergency, call us and we will tell you straight away what is possible.
Will I be able to check in while I am away?
As much as you want. Some families want a daily message, others want to be left alone unless something changes. You decide at handover.
Enquire About Respite
Tell us the dates, or just tell us you are tired and we will work out the rest.
We reply within 24 hours, and the same day for urgent enquiries.
Take the Break. You Have Earned It.
Tell us the dates, or just tell us you are tired and we will work out the rest. The assessment is free and there is no commitment beyond the days you book.
01420 55130907717 495533admin@kariscareservices.co.uk
We reply within 24 hours, and the same day for urgent enquiries.