Respite Care in Kingston upon Thames

Yes, we provide respite care for family carers in Kingston upon Thames. The cover we can always arrange is a short live-in stay, where one of our carers moves into the home while you rest, go away or recover from your own treatment. We can also offer respite stays at our supported living home in Kingston, and shorter visiting cover where we have a carer near you.

Kingston Carers' Network: where your carer's assessment starts

In Kingston, carer's assessments are not done by the council directly. They are carried out for the council by Kingston Carers' Network (KCN), a local charity at 418 Ewell Road in Tolworth. The quickest way in is the online referral form on the KCN website; you can also phone 020 3031 2757 or email admin@kingstoncarers.org.uk. The council's carer's assessment page says to expect around 8 to 12 weeks.

Ask now, even if you are coping. KCN also runs support groups, counselling and peer support, and works with young carers from the age of five.

What Kingston Council will fund for a carer's break

If the assessment finds you eligible, the council's respite care page lists two kinds of financial help:

• Relief care: you can book a care worker from an agency for up to 72 hours a year, so you can go out while someone stays with the person you look after.
• A discretionary payment: a one-off sum to support you in your caring role. It is not means-tested; it depends on how much caring affects your wellbeing.

To qualify you need to be over 18, caring unpaid for someone in Kingston who cannot safely be left alone, and significantly affected by it. For longer breaks the council also describes day care and short stays in a local care home. Ask KCN how relief care is booked in your case before you plan around it.

Can I get respite care in Kingston if I don't qualify for council help?

Yes. Many carers arrange and pay for their own breaks, and the council's page on arranging your own relief care points people to private agencies, day centres and KCN for advice. If you book with us, we give you a written figure after a free assessment, based on how long the break is and how much help is needed. We give no prices before that. If the person you care for already has council funding, a direct payment may be usable for a break. Our guide to paying for care in London explains the options.

Breaks we can cover at home

A live-in stay while you are away

A carer who moves in for a week or a fortnight is the most dependable respite we can offer in Kingston. Our office is in Lewisham, more than an hour away by train, and a live-in carer only makes that journey once. They need a bedroom of their own, which most interwar semis in Tolworth, Berrylands, the Maldens and Chessington have. A one-bedroom flat in a Surbiton conversion usually doesn't. It can also be a trial of longer-term live-in care.

An afternoon off each week

A regular sit-in, so you can see friends or get to a KCN group, depends on us having a carer living within reach of you. We'll tell you honestly whether we can staff it in your part of the borough. Our home care in Kingston page explains how we decide.

When the break is not planned

The alert card is the council's route for a sudden emergency. If you need longer cover, for example because you are going into Kingston Hospital yourself, call Adult Social Care on 020 8547 5005 and tell them you are the carer. You can call us too. We will tell you plainly whether we can get a carer into the house and from when, and we don't agree to cover we can't staff.

A short stay at our home in Kingston

Sometimes the best break is time apart. We run three supported living homes, and one is in Kingston upon Thames itself, so a short respite stay keeps the person close to their family, their GP and the places they know. The others are in Whitton, across Kingston Bridge in Twickenham, and Uxbridge. Read about the Kingston home, then call us to check it suits the person's needs. If they have a Kingston social worker, involve them, especially if you hope for council funding.

Day centres that give you a few hours

• Raleigh House, Staywell's day centre in New Malden, is open Monday to Friday, 10am to 3pm, for over-65s, including people living with dementia. It offers a two-course lunch, hairdressing, podiatry and a garden, with a minibus from anywhere in the borough at extra cost, subject to availability.
• The Bradbury, also run by Staywell, on Grange Road in Kingston, offers peer support for people with low-level mental health needs and gives carers a break.
• Milaap runs a multicultural day centre, and Geneva Road Services supports adults with a physical disability, learning disability or autism. Both are listed by the council.

What we can help with in Kingston upon Thames

• 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