Respite Care in Southampton

Southampton • Hampshire

Short-term and emergency respite care in Southampton

Caring for someone you love is rewarding, but it is also relentless, and every family carer needs to stop sometimes. Respite care in Southampton gives you that space. It is short-term cover that steps in so you can rest, catch up on your own health, go to a wedding or take a proper holiday, safe in the knowledge that your relative is being looked after in their own home. When you come back refreshed, you are a better carer for it, and that matters just as much in Bitterne or Shirley as it does anywhere else.

We will be honest about how we work. Protocol Healthcare Services is based in the South of England, with our nearest office in Bournemouth, a short drive west along the coast, so we do not have a branch in Southampton itself. What we do have is a genuinely national care and staffing service, and a team used to arranging cover at short notice. Every Care Professional we place has completed enhanced DBS and right-to-work checks, references and training before they start, so handing over the reins, even for a few days, does not mean lowering your standards.

When families in Southampton use respite care

• ✓ A planned break, holiday or weekend away
• ✓ Emergency cover if a carer falls ill
• ✓ Recovery time after a carer's own operation
• ✓ Extra support after a hospital stay or discharge
• ✓ A regular, standing break to prevent burnout
• ✓ Cover during a family event or wedding
• ✓ Trying care at home before committing longer term
• ✓ Bridging a gap between other care arrangements

Planned breaks and holiday cover

Most respite is planned, and that is the easiest kind to get right. Tell us the dates you need, whether it is a fortnight in the sun or a single weekend, and we will match a Care Professional to your relative's routine well in advance. We take time to learn the details that make a day go smoothly: how they like their tea, when their favourite programme is on, the walk they enjoy across Southampton Common or the shops they like at Westquay. The aim is that life at home in Portswood, Freemantle or Woolston barely changes while you are away, so your break is a real one.

Emergency and short-notice respite across Southampton

Not every situation can be planned. Sometimes a carer is suddenly taken ill, or an unexpected hospital admission leaves a gap that has to be filled today. Because our team works from nearby Bournemouth, we can usually arrange emergency respite in Southampton within 24 to 48 hours, including evenings, weekends and bank holidays. We will move quickly, gather what we need over the phone, and get a trusted Care Professional in place so no one is left without support at a stressful moment.

Recovery after a hospital stay or operation

Respite care is also a gentle way to bridge recovery. When someone comes home from Southampton General Hospital, run by University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust, the first few weeks often call for more support than usual, whether they normally manage alone or with a family carer who is stretched thin. A short block of respite, as regular visits or full live-in cover, gives extra hands for medication, mobility and personal care while strength returns, then eases back as independence comes back with it.

Visiting or live-in respite, and how it is funded

Respite comes in two shapes. Visiting respite covers a carer's usual daily calls with our own Care Professional, while live-in respite places someone in the home around the clock, which is ideal when the family carer normally lives with the person and wants to go away. Respite care in England is regulated by the Care Quality Commission (CQC). Southampton City Council can carry out a carer's assessment and a care needs assessment, and respite is sometimes funded as part of a carer's support package, though many families self-fund a short break. You can read more on our paying for care guide, or explore all our services.

Areas of Southampton we cover for respite care

We arrange respite care across the whole city and the surrounding SO postcodes, including:

• Portswood
• Highfield
• Shirley
• Freemantle
• Bassett
• Bitterne
• Bitterne Park
• Woolston
• Sholing
• St Denys
• Swaythling
• Millbrook
• Weston