Respite Care in Aberdeen

Aberdeen • Scotland

A break for family carers across Aberdeen

Caring for a relative is one of the most generous things anyone can do, and it is also relentless. If you are looking after a husband, wife, mother or father in Aberdeen, you need to rest, keep your own health up, and sometimes simply get away for a few days without worrying. Respite care gives you exactly that: a vetted Care Professional steps in to keep everything running while you take a proper break, whether that is a few hours a week, a fortnight's holiday, or emergency cover when life suddenly gets in the way. Protocol Healthcare Services has been arranging respite for family carers for more than a decade.

We will be honest about how we work. Our offices are in the South of England, so we do not run a branch in the Granite City. What we do run is a genuinely national service, coordinating background-checked Care Professionals wherever they are needed. Everyone we place has completed enhanced disclosure and right-to-work checks, references and training before they start, and a consultant is available around the clock, so a carer in Cults or Dyce gets the same reliable cover as one on our doorstep.

When families in Aberdeen turn to respite

• ✓ A planned holiday or weekend away
• ✓ Regular short breaks to rest and recharge
• ✓ Emergency cover if a carer is ill or in hospital
• ✓ Recovery time after your own operation
• ✓ Support after a relative comes home from hospital
• ✓ A family wedding, funeral or event to attend
• ✓ Trying out care before committing longer term
• ✓ Simply time to be a daughter or son again, not a carer

Visiting or live-in respite in Aberdeen

Respite comes in two shapes, and we help you choose the right one. Visiting respite provides calls through the day so you can get out, keep an appointment, or take a regular afternoon to yourself, and it works well in the central districts of Rosemount, Ferryhill and Torry as much as in the suburbs of Mannofield, Bridge of Don and Bucksburn. Live-in respite places a Care Professional in the home around the clock, which is ideal when you are away overnight or for a week or more. In both cases the aim is the same: your loved one stays in their own home, keeps their own routine, and barely notices the join while you get the rest you need.

Recovery and hospital-to-home respite

Respite is not only about holidays. It is often the sensible answer after a hospital stay or an operation, when someone needs more support for a few weeks than the family can manage alone. After a discharge from Aberdeen Royal Infirmary or Woodend Hospital, both on the Foresterhill campus in AB25 and both part of NHS Grampian, a short spell of respite care can cover medication, mobility and rehabilitation while everyone finds their feet. It also gives a main carer who may be exhausted from hospital visits the chance to recover their own strength. If clinical support is needed alongside personal care, we can bring in a private nurse at home.

Local knowledge across Aberdeen

Aberdeen's communities are distinct, from the fishing rows of Footdee at the harbour mouth to the university streets of Old Aberdeen and the leafy suburbs of Cults and Hazlehead, and we tailor respite to the person and the place. We cover the city and the wider North East, and because our consultants are on call at all hours, an urgent request on a Friday evening does not have to wait until Monday. That matters most in an emergency, when a carer is suddenly admitted to hospital themselves and cover has to be found the same day.

Funding respite care in Aberdeen

Respite is usually priced by the day or the week, depending on whether you need visiting calls or live-in cover, and we agree everything clearly before it starts. Many Aberdeen families self-fund short breaks, but you may be entitled to help. Aberdeen City Council and the Aberdeen City Health and Social Care Partnership can assess a carer's needs and, under self-directed support, may fund short breaks so carers can keep going. Our team is happy to explain the options, and there is more detail on our paying for care guide. You can also see the full range on our services page.

Areas of Aberdeen we cover for respite care

We arrange visiting and live-in respite across the city and its surrounding communities, including:

• Ferryhill
• Rosemount
• Mannofield
• Cults
• Torry
• Bridge of Don
• Dyce
• Bucksburn
• Old Aberdeen
• Kincorth
• Woodside
• Footdee