Respite Care in Barnet

Barnet • North London

Short-term and emergency respite care in Barnet

Caring for a husband, wife or parent is a labour of love, but it is also relentless, and every family carer needs to stop sometimes, to sleep, to recover from their own illness, or simply to be a daughter or a spouse again rather than a full-time carer. Respite care gives you that space. Protocol Healthcare Services arranges short-term cover across Barnet so that you can take a proper break knowing your relative is safe, comfortable and supported in their own home, with the same routines carrying on while you are away. This page is about giving carers in Barnet a rest, not about long-term care.

We will be honest about how we work. Our offices are in the South of England, so we are not a branch on Barnet High Street, but we run a genuinely national service that coordinates vetted, DBS-checked Care Professionals wherever they are needed, with a consultant on call around the clock. That matters most in an emergency, when a carer in Chipping Barnet or East Barnet is suddenly unwell or admitted to hospital and someone has to step in fast. It matters just as much for a break you have planned for months.

When Barnet families turn to respite care

• ✓ A planned holiday or a weekend away
• ✓ Regular days or nights off to recharge
• ✓ Emergency cover if a carer falls ill
• ✓ Recovery after your own operation or hospital stay
• ✓ Support after your relative comes out of hospital
• ✓ A wedding, funeral or family event to attend
• ✓ A trial of care before committing longer term
• ✓ Simply avoiding carer burnout

Planned respite and holidays

Most respite is arranged in advance, and that is by far the easiest way to do it. Tell us the dates you want to be away and the kind of support your relative needs, and we build a plan around it, whether that is extra visits during the day or a Care Professional who moves in for a week or two. Because the care happens in their own home in Totteridge, Whetstone or Monken Hadley, there is no unsettling move to a care home for a fortnight and no disruption to the familiar rhythm of the week, from the Saturday stalls of Barnet Market to a regular walk on Monken Hadley Common. You come back rested, and they have barely noticed a change.

Emergency respite when you need it fast

Life does not always give notice. When a family carer is suddenly taken ill, has a fall, or is admitted to hospital themselves, the person they look after can be left without support at a few hours' notice. This is exactly the situation our around-the-clock team is built for. We can usually arrange emergency respite in Barnet within 24 to 48 hours, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays, so there is always someone to step into the gap. If you are facing a crisis right now, call us on 020 8951 4510 and we will move quickly.

Respite after an operation or hospital stay

Respite is not only for the carer. After a stay at Barnet Hospital on Wellhouse Lane, run by Royal Free London NHS Foundation Trust, or at nearby Chase Farm Hospital, many people need a few weeks of extra help before they are back on their feet, and a short-term respite package covers exactly that period. A Care Professional can support medication, personal care, meals and gentle mobility while strength returns, taking the pressure off a family that has been holding everything together. When the recovery is complete, the respite simply ends, or converts into ongoing care if that turns out to be what is needed.

Visiting or live-in respite in Barnet

Respite comes in whatever shape suits your household. For lighter needs, a pattern of visiting calls through the day may be all it takes to cover the tasks you normally do. For someone who cannot safely be left alone, or who needs support overnight, live-in respite puts a dedicated Care Professional in the home around the clock for the length of your break. If you are weighing up longer-term options, respite also makes a low-pressure trial of live-in care or regular visiting care. Whatever the form, the aim is the same: you rest, and your relative is well looked after.

Funding respite care in Barnet

Respite is arranged by the visit, the day or the week, so you only pay for the cover you actually need. Many Barnet families self-fund a break, but support may be available too: as a carer you are entitled to a carer's assessment from the London Borough of Barnet through its Social Care Direct team, and your relative can have a needs assessment followed by a financial assessment, both of which can sometimes help with the cost of respite. Our team is happy to explain the options, and you can read more on our paying for care guide.

Areas of Barnet we cover for respite care

We arrange respite care across the town and its surrounding EN5 and N20 postcodes, including:

• High Barnet
• Chipping Barnet
• New Barnet
• East Barnet
• Arkley
• Whetstone
• Totteridge
• Monken Hadley
• Hadley Wood
• Cockfosters
• Underhill
• Barnet Gate