Respite Care in Hammersmith and Fulham

Yes, we can give unpaid carers in Hammersmith and Fulham a break. The most reliable option is a short live-in stay, where one of our carers moves in for a few days or a few weeks while you're away. Shorter sitting visits depend on carer availability, because our office is in Lewisham. Before you book anything, speak to Carers Network or the council about a carer's assessment, since it may open up support you don't have to pay for.

Your first call: Carers Network

The council names Carers Network as the first point of contact for unpaid adult carers in H&F. It's a charity covering Hammersmith & Fulham, Kensington & Chelsea and Westminster, and it offers free carers' assessments, advice, support groups and help with personal budgets and direct payments. Phone 020 8960 3033. Its base is the Beethoven Centre on Third Avenue, W10, just over the border, but the service is for H&F carers.

You can also ask Adult Social Care for a carer's assessment on 0800 145 6095 (8.45am to 5pm, weekdays), or through the council's online contact form. Under the Care Act you have a right to an assessment of your own needs as a carer, separate from the needs of the person you look after. Use it to say plainly how often you need a break and what would happen if you were ill.

Will we have to pay for respite in H&F?

It depends on what kind of break it is. H&F doesn't charge for home care, the only council in the country with that policy. So if the person you care for is assessed as needing replacement care at home while you take a break, ask whether that care can be arranged under the free home care service. A short stay in a care home is different, because the council still charges for care homes.

If the council agrees a personal budget, you can usually take it as a direct payment and use it with a provider you choose. Carers Network can help you set that up. If you book respite with us privately, we give you a written figure after a free assessment, based on how long the break is and how much help is needed. We don't give prices over the phone.

Three kinds of break we can provide

A carer moves in while you're away

For a holiday, a family event abroad or your own operation, a short live-in stay is the steadiest cover we offer anywhere in the borough. The carer travels in once and then lives in, so it works as well on the White City Estate as by the river at Sands End. It does need a spare bedroom for the carer. Whole terraced houses usually have one, but a one-bedroom flat or a council sheltered flat usually won't.

Sitting cover for a few hours

A regular afternoon off each week depends on having a carer who can get to you reliably from south-east London. That's more realistic in Shepherd's Bush, which has the Central line and the Overground, and in south and east Fulham near Imperial Wharf and Fulham Broadway, than out by Stamford Brook or Wormholt. A sit-in suits someone with dementia who can't be left alone. Ask us first, and we will tell you plainly whether we can keep it going before you plan your week around it.

A short stay at one of our homes

Our three supported living homes, in Whitton, Kingston upon Thames and Uxbridge, take respite stays as well as permanent residents. Whitton is the nearest for most of H&F: about 25 to 35 minutes by car over Chiswick Bridge and the A316, or 40 to 50 minutes on the District line from Hammersmith or Ravenscourt Park to Richmond, then one stop on South Western Railway. Uxbridge is a straight run on the Piccadilly line from Hammersmith. Talk to us first about whether one of the homes suits the person's needs.

If you suddenly can't carry on caring

Unplanned breaks are the hardest: your own fall, an admission to Charing Cross or Chelsea and Westminster, or a family emergency. The time to plan for them is at your carer's assessment, while things are calm. Write down who would step in and where the medication list is kept. During office hours, call Adult Social Care on 0800 145 6095. If someone is at risk and the office is closed, call 111, or 999 in an emergency.

You can also ring us. We will tell you straight away whether we can get a carer into the house and when. We don't promise cover we can't staff.

Day breaks in the borough

A regular day out gives carers time back each week.

• Nubian Life, at 50 Ellerslie Road in Shepherd's Bush, has run day opportunities since 1995. Set up for older African Caribbean residents and since extended to older Asian residents, its activity-based care also gives carers respite. Call 020 8749 8017 to check current sessions.
• The Age UK Hammersmith and Fulham activity centre at 105 Greyhound Road runs classes, lunches and social activities for older residents.
• Fulham Good Neighbours organises volunteer befriending for housebound older people in Fulham, escorts to appointments and social clubs at Rosaline Hall. Its council funding page lists support for people over 85 after discharge from Charing Cross.
• Alzheimer's Society's Hammersmith and Fulham service offers dementia advisers and peer support groups for people with dementia and for carers, plus a dementia cafe one Saturday afternoon a month (020 8563 0001). A couple of hours there together is a gentle first step before handing over to a sitter.

What we can help with in Hammersmith and Fulham

• 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