Respite Care in Cambridge

Cambridge • East of England

Short-term and emergency respite care in Cambridge

Looking after a partner or parent is a labour of love, but no one can do it every hour of every day without a break. Respite care gives family carers in Cambridge the chance to rest, recover from their own illness, attend an appointment or go on holiday, safe in the knowledge that a vetted Care Professional is looking after their loved one at home. It can be booked well in advance for a planned break, or arranged quickly when something unexpected happens.

We will be straight about how we work. Our offices are in the South of England, so we do not run a branch in Cambridge itself. What we do run is a genuinely national service, coordinating vetted, background-checked Care Professionals wherever they are needed. Everyone we place has completed enhanced DBS and right-to-work checks, references and training before they start, and a consultant is on hand around the clock, so a carer in Romsey, Newnham or King's Hedges gets the same reliable cover as anyone on our doorstep.

When respite care in Cambridge helps

• ✓ A planned break or holiday for the main carer
• ✓ Emergency cover if a carer is ill or admitted to hospital
• ✓ Recovery time after an operation or hospital stay
• ✓ A regular weekly break to prevent carer burnout
• ✓ Cover for a family wedding, funeral or event
• ✓ Personal care, medication and meals kept going
• ✓ Available as visiting calls or live-in respite
• ✓ A trial of care before committing longer term

Planned breaks and emergency cover, visiting or live-in

Respite care comes in two shapes, and we arrange both across Cambridge. Visiting respite is a run of daily calls that keeps a loved one's routine going while their usual carer takes time out; live-in respite places a Care Professional in the home for a week, a fortnight or longer, which is ideal when a spouse wants a real holiday or needs to convalesce. Planned respite is booked ahead so you can look forward to a proper break, while emergency respite is there for the day everything changes without warning, and we move as fast as we can to put safe cover in place.

Local knowledge across Cambridge

Cambridge is a compact, historic university city on the River Cam, and we arrange respite right across it, from the terraced streets of Romsey and Petersfield near the centre, through Chesterton, Arbury, King's Hedges and Abbey, out to Cherry Hinton, Coleridge and Queen Edith's in the south, and into Newnham, Castle and the newer homes towards Trumpington and Great Kneighton. Whether a client lives in a CB1 flat near the station or a family home out in CB4, we match a Care Professional who can pick up the routine quickly and give the regular carer genuine peace of mind while they are away.

Respite is often needed after a hospital stay too. Following an operation or a discharge from Addenbrooke's Hospital on Hills Road, part of the Cambridge Biomedical Campus and run by Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, a short block of respite care can support recovery at home, while also giving a worn-out family carer time to recover themselves. We help with medication, mobility and rehabilitation and stay in touch with community teams throughout.

Funding and the cost of respite care in Cambridge

Respite is priced by the length and type of cover, so we give you a clear quote once we understand what you need and for how long. Many Cambridge families self-fund short breaks, but support may be available: as a carer you can ask Cambridgeshire County Council for a carer's assessment, and the person you look after can have a care needs assessment followed by a financial assessment, with Cambridge City Council as the local district authority. Our team is happy to explain the routes, and you can read more on our paying for care guide or explore all our services.

More than home care: staffing for Cambridge providers

Alongside care for families, we are an REC-affiliated healthcare staffing agency with national reach. Care homes, supported living services and NHS teams across Cambridge rely on us for dependable short-notice cover, from NMC-registered nurses and support workers to mental health and learning disability specialists.

Areas of Cambridge we cover for respite care

We arrange short-term and emergency respite care across the city and its surrounding communities, including:

• Chesterton
• Trumpington
• Cherry Hinton
• Newnham
• Romsey
• Arbury
• Petersfield
• King's Hedges
• Coleridge
• Queen Edith's
• Castle
• Abbey