Respite Care in Enfield

Start with Enfield Carers Centre

In Enfield, statutory carers' assessments for adult carers are carried out by Enfield Carers Centre, which does them on the council's behalf. You are entitled to an assessment if you provide unpaid care for an adult, whether or not the person you care for gets any council support. It looks at how caring affects your health, work and sleep, and what would help. It also checks whether you are eligible for a carers' direct payment from the council, which some carers use to pay for a break.

To ask for one, call the Carers Centre on 020 8366 3677 or email assessmentsadmin@enfieldcarers.org. You can also go in person: the Centre is at Britannia House, 137-143 Baker Street, off Graeme Road near Enfield Town, with drop-ins on Monday afternoons and Wednesday late mornings.

A break at home: what we provide in Enfield

Our office is in Lewisham, more than an hour from most of Enfield, and we have no team based in the borough. That determines which kind of respite we can offer:

• Live-in respite. A carer moves in for the length of your break, such as a fortnight's holiday, a hospital stay of your own, or a family wedding abroad. They take over the routine you have built: personal care, medication, meals, and the walk round Broomfield Park or Forty Hall. Because they live in, distance from Lewisham is not a problem. They need a spare bedroom.
• Visiting respite. A few hours' cover with a sitting service or companionship visits, so you can get to an appointment or simply have an afternoon to yourself. In Enfield we can only do this if a carer living within reach is free. Edmonton, on the Overground from Liverpool Street, is the most likely area. Call and ask.

Before your first break, Jackie carries out a free assessment at home, ideally with you there. What you know about the person goes into the written care plan, down to what unsettles them and what to do if they refuse their tablets.

Planned breaks and emergencies are different routes

A planned break is the easier kind to arrange. Book it with us early, especially around summer and Christmas, and tell the Carers Centre about it, since it publishes information on carers' breaks available in the borough. If the person you care for has eligible needs, Enfield Adult Social Care can also include regular respite in their support plan. Ask for this through the Single Point of Access on 020 8379 1001.

Emergencies need a plan made in advance. If you are suddenly admitted to North Middlesex or Barnet Hospital, who looks after the person at home that night? Write down the answer while you are well: who to call, where the medication is kept, the GP's details, and how to get in. During office hours, contact the Single Point of Access. Out of hours, Enfield's emergency number is 020 8379 1000. We cannot promise to send a carer at short notice to an Enfield address. If a crisis turns into a longer stay, we can talk about live-in cover from a set date.

Short stays away from home in our supported living houses

Some families want the person they care for to stay somewhere else for a while, perhaps to try out a different setting or because the house needs work. We run three supported living homes, which take respite stays as well as permanent residents. They are in Whitton (Twickenham), Kingston upon Thames and Uxbridge. None of them is in or near Enfield.

Uxbridge is the closest. By car it takes roughly 45 minutes to an hour, round the M25 from north Enfield or along the A406 and A40 from the south. Without a car, the Piccadilly line runs from Southgate, Oakwood and Arnos Grove toward Uxbridge. The ride takes an hour and a half or more and may need a change at Acton Town or Rayners Lane. That works for a planned stay with a family drop-off, less so for frequent visiting. Whitton and Kingston are further. If the council is funding the break, any stay outside the borough has to be agreed with the person's social worker first.

Who pays for respite care in Enfield?

The answer depends on whose assessment the break comes from. Respite that meets the cared-for person's eligible needs is part of their support plan, and the council's financial assessment decides how much they pay towards it. Support that meets the carer's own needs may come as a carers' direct payment following your assessment. Enfield pays direct payments onto a prepaid E-Card, which can be spent with a registered agency. If you pay privately, we give you a written quote after our assessment. We do not quote over the phone. Our guide to paying for care explains the means test.

What we can help with in Enfield

• Regular visits so you can rest
• Live-in cover while you are away
• Planned breaks booked ahead
• Cover if the main carer is unwell
• Dementia-aware respite
• Short stays in our supported living homes
• Help with the carers' assessment route
• A care plan the family agrees