The short answer
- Respite is a break for you, not a verdict on your careIt is a short, planned spell where somebody else takes over the caring, so you can rest, work or deal with your own life. It does not mean stepping back from caring for good.
- There are six main types of respiteA few hours with a sitter, a day centre, overnight cover, a live-in carer, a short stay in a care home, and emergency respite. The right one depends on how long you need and what your relative's care involves.
- A break can last a few hours or many weeksThere is no national limit on a break you arrange yourself. A council-funded stay follows that council's own policy, so ask what it is.
- Free routes sit alongside paying for it yourselfA carer's assessment, and in some cases NHS funding, can pay towards a break. Booking a carer directly costs from £18 an hour on PrimeCarers, with our fee included.
This page covers respite care in general. If you are weighing it up specifically because your relative is approaching the end of life, see the linked guide in the section below.
The short answer
What is respite care?
Respite care is a short, planned break for an unpaid carer, while someone else looks after the person they care for. It can last a few hours, a night, a week or several weeks, at home, at a day centre or in a care home, and afterwards caring carries on as before.
What respite care is
- A short, planned spell where somebody else takes over the caring
- Something you can ask for at any stage of caring, not only in a crisis
- A way of sharing the load, rather than handing it over for good
- Available whether or not your relative has a formal diagnosis
What it is not
- A sign that you or the family cannot cope
- The same as moving your relative into permanent care
- Only available once things have become an emergency
- One single service. It covers several different arrangements, set out below
Respite care meaningSection titled Respite%20care%20meaning
The word respite means a short rest or a pause from something hard. In care, it means a pause for the family carer, while the person they look after still has someone with them. The NHS describes respite care as taking a break from caring while the person you care for is looked after by someone else, and you will also see it called a carer's break or a short break. The names mean the same thing.
The purpose of respite care is to keep the arrangement going. A carer who never stops for months at a time can become exhausted and run down, and a planned break gives you time to sleep, work, see friends or deal with your own health, so you can carry on caring afterwards. For the person being looked after, it can mean a change of company and routine for a while. Respite care for elderly people works in the same way as for any other adult: the break is for the carer, and the older person's care continues at home or somewhere nearby.
Some of the confusion about what respite care is comes from it being mentioned alongside other things at the wrong moment. A hospital discharge team or a district nurse might bring it up while discussing a parent's care, and it can sound as though respite only exists for families who are already deep into a serious illness. It does not. You can ask for a break the first month you take on caring for someone with a long-term condition. If you are wondering whether respite only applies once end-of-life care has started, is respite care end-of-life care? sets out the difference in full.
The ways to get a break
Types of respite care
There are six main types of respite care. They differ in where your relative spends the time, how long each one tends to run, and what it costs. Each row links to a guide that covers that type in full.
| Type of respite | What happens | How long | What it costs |
|---|---|---|---|
| A few hours at homeHow sitting services work | A sitter, a volunteer or a companion carer stays with your relative at home while you go out. | An hour or two up to a full day, once or every week | From £15 an hour for a companion carer on PrimeCarers |
| A day centreDay centre or a day carer at home? | Your relative spends the day at a centre run by the council or a local charity, with company, a meal and activities. | A day at a time, often on set days each week | Each centre sets its own daily charge, so ask the centre |
| Overnight coverHow overnight care works | A carer sleeps in the house, or stays awake, so you get a full night or a night away. | One night, a run of nights, or a few nights each week | From £130 a night for a sleeping night on PrimeCarers |
| A live-in carer for a set periodTemporary live-in care | A carer lives in your relative's home and covers the day and night while you are away. | From about a week to several weeks | From £1,050 a week on PrimeCarers |
| A short stay in a care homeRespite at home or in a care home | Your relative moves into a care home for a fixed stay and comes home afterwards. | Usually booked by the week; homes set their own minimum stay | A standard care home week runs roughly £1,100 to £1,600; homes set their own respite rates |
| Emergency respiteWhat to do when you need emergency respite | Cover found at short notice, for example when the family carer is suddenly ill or in hospital. | As long as the emergency lasts, then a planned arrangement | Depends on the kind of cover you find, priced as the other types listed here |
A few hours at home
A sitter, a volunteer or a companion carer stays with your relative at home while you go out.
- How long:
- An hour or two up to a full day, once or every week
- Cost:
- From £15 an hour for a companion carer on PrimeCarers
A day centre
Your relative spends the day at a centre run by the council or a local charity, with company, a meal and activities.
- How long:
- A day at a time, often on set days each week
- Cost:
- Each centre sets its own daily charge, so ask the centre
Overnight cover
A carer sleeps in the house, or stays awake, so you get a full night or a night away.
- How long:
- One night, a run of nights, or a few nights each week
- Cost:
- From £130 a night for a sleeping night on PrimeCarers
A live-in carer for a set period
A carer lives in your relative's home and covers the day and night while you are away.
- How long:
- From about a week to several weeks
- Cost:
- From £1,050 a week on PrimeCarers
A short stay in a care home
Your relative moves into a care home for a fixed stay and comes home afterwards.
- How long:
- Usually booked by the week; homes set their own minimum stay
- Cost:
- A standard care home week runs roughly £1,100 to £1,600; homes set their own respite rates
Emergency respite
Cover found at short notice, for example when the family carer is suddenly ill or in hospital.
- How long:
- As long as the emergency lasts, then a planned arrangement
- Cost:
- Depends on the kind of cover you find, priced as the other types listed here
These can be combined. A weekly day at an adult day care centre, alongside a carer booked for the odd weekend away, covers a lot of what caring for somebody over months or years needs. A day centre takes your relative out of the house for company and activities, while a sitter or carer at home keeps them in familiar surroundings. Age UK and your council's adult social care team can tell you which day centres run near you.
A respite care home is an ordinary residential or nursing home that takes people for short stays as well as permanent ones. Your relative has a room, meals and care for a fixed period, then comes home. Not every home keeps rooms for short stays, so ask each one directly. If you are choosing between a carer at home and a care home for a longer break, respite at home or in a care home sets the two side by side, and live-in care vs a nursing home compares them for longer arrangements.
How long it can last
How long can respite care last?
Respite care can last anywhere from an hour or two to several weeks. There is no national limit on a break you arrange and pay for yourself, and a council-funded break follows the rules of the council paying for it.
A few hours
A sitting or volunteer service, a companion carer, or an adult day care centre
From £15 an hour for a companion carer. Some charity and volunteer sitting services are free; a day centre sets its own daily charge, so ask the centre directly.
A day centre suits a regular weekly gap and gives your relative company and activities away from home; a sitting service or companion carer suits a one-off or a visit at home.
A day or a weekend
A carer at home covering the visits, or overnight cover for the nights you are away
£18 to £25 an hour for visits on PrimeCarers.
Suits a wedding, your own stay in hospital, or a weekend away.
A week
A live-in carer, or daily visits with overnight cover added
From £1,050 a week for a live-in carer, or from £130 a night for overnight cover on top of visits.
Once a week of visits passes about 35 hours, a live-in carer can cost less than separate day and night visits.
A fortnight or more
A live-in carer, or a short-term place in a care home
£1,050 to £1,400 a week for live-in care, or roughly £1,100 to £1,600 for a standard care home week, with each home setting its own respite rate.
Ask the care home whether it takes short-term bookings rather than assuming it only offers permanent places.
A privately booked carer can cover a single afternoon, a run of nights or a fixed number of weeks, and you pay only for the time you book. A short stay in a care home is usually booked by the week, and each home sets its own minimum stay, so ask before you plan around a few days. If the council is paying, how often and how long it will fund a break is set by that council, so ask what its policy is when you have a carer's assessment.
In England, the government's care and support statutory guidance treats a care home stay as temporary when there is a plan for the person to return home and the stay is unlikely to go beyond 52 weeks. While your relative is a temporary resident, their home is usually left out of the council's financial assessment. The same guidance describes a stay of up to 8 weeks, such as a respite stay, as short-term, and a council may then charge for it under the rules for care at home rather than care home rules.
For a longer break at home, temporary live-in care covers booking a carer for a set number of weeks, and holiday cover covers arranging a break around your own time away.
Who it is for
Who respite care is for, and signs it might be time for a break
Respite care is for anyone who looks after a relative, partner or friend without being paid for it, whatever the person they care for needs and whatever their age. It is easy not to notice how much you are carrying, because the hard days come one at a time. Tick anything that has been true in the last month, and treat two or more as a reason to arrange something rather than wait for a worse week.
Has any of this been true recently?
0 of 7 ticked
Your own health
Work and relationships
The person you care for
If most of these sound familiar, when to consider respite care looks at the decision in more depth, including what tends to hold people back from asking. Caring for the caregiver and the challenges of caring for elderly parents cover the wider pressures behind this list.
Cost and funding
What respite care costs, and who can help pay
Respite care can be free, paid for by the council, or paid for yourself, and these can be combined. The figures below are for booking a carer directly on PrimeCarers, with our fee included.
£18-£25
An hour, on PrimeCarers
Agencies charge £28 to £35 for the same visit.
£130+
A night for overnight cover
A carer sleeping in the house through the night.
£1,050+
A week for a live-in carer
Agencies typically charge from £1,400 for the same week.
£23,250
Savings threshold for council help
Below this figure the council may contribute; below £14,250 it is disregarded entirely.
PrimeCarers rates and council capital limits in England (Department of Health and Social Care), October 2026.
What it costs. Booking a carer yourself costs from £18 an hour, from £130 a night or from £1,050 a week on PrimeCarers, with our fee included, and there is no deposit, joining fee or package to sign up to: a single visit is enough, though each carer sets the visit lengths they offer. A short stay in a care home is charged by the home itself, and each home sets its own respite rate. What respite care costs sets out every option side by side, with agency figures to compare.
Who can help pay. A carer's assessment from the council is free, it is your right under the Care Act 2014 whether or not your relative wants council help, and it can lead to the council paying towards a break if your relative's savings are below £23,250. The council will usually want to assess your relative's needs as well before it funds a break. NHS Continuing Healthcare, charities such as Carers Trust and grant searches such as Turn2us can also help in some cases. How to fund respite explains each route and how to apply.
How to arrange it
Getting a break arranged, in five practical steps
There is no fixed order. If your relative already has an assessment or a nursing team involved, start there; if not, you can book a carer directly and sort out funding afterwards.
- 1
Ask for a carer's assessment
Free, any timeContact the council's adult social care team and ask for a carer's assessment under the Care Act 2014. You do not need your relative's agreement, and it does not depend on your own income. Local authority funding explains how the assessment and any money that follows it work. - 2
Ask what is available locally
If a hospital or hospice team is involvedAsk the hospital, hospice or district nursing team directly whether there is a sitting service, a day centre, or short stays nearby. What is available varies a great deal by area, so ask rather than assume there is nothing. - 3
Ask about NHS Fast Track if health is declining quickly
Free, not means-testedIf a doctor or nurse thinks your relative's health may be entering a rapid decline, ask them about the NHS Continuing Healthcare Fast Track route. It is aimed at putting a package of care in place within days rather than weeks, and that package can include the cover that gives you a break. - 4
Book a carer directly for the days you need
From £18 an hourYou do not have to wait for an assessment to arrange a break yourself. Search carers near you by postcode, agree the dates directly with them, and pay only for what you book. See current rates before you start looking. - 5
Write down what the person covering needs to know
Before you goMedication times, the GP and district nurse's numbers if a health condition is involved, what a bad day looks like, and who to call if you cannot be reached. Whoever covers will need this, whichever route paid for the break.
Questions
Questions families ask about respite care
No. You do not need a diagnosis, a prognosis, or a formal assessment of your relative to ask for a break or to book one yourself. A carer’s assessment, together with a needs assessment for your relative, can lead to council help with the cost, but neither is a condition of arranging respite privately. What is a carer’s assessment? explains what the assessment adds if you want one.
Both are possible. A carer's assessment can lead to council funding if your relative's savings are below £23,250, some charity and volunteer sitting services are free, and NHS Fast Track funding is free where a doctor thinks it applies. Outside those routes, you pay for it yourself, in the same way you would pay for any other home care. How to fund respite explains each route, and what respite care costs sets out the prices.
Yes. A carer’s assessment is your right as the carer, and your relative does not have to agree to council involvement, or be assessed themselves, for you to have one. Local authority funding covers how the assessment and any money that follows it work.
It should change as little as possible. Whoever covers for you, whether that is a carer, a family member or the staff at a care home, can work from the routine you would normally run: mealtimes, medication and the small habits that make the day feel normal. A short handover note before you go makes that much easier.
It is an ordinary residential or nursing home that also takes people for short stays, so the family carer can have a break. Your relative has a room, meals and care for an agreed number of days or weeks, then comes home. Homes set their own respite rates and minimum stays, and not all of them keep rooms for short stays, so ask each one directly. Respite at home or in a care home compares this with having a carer at home.
Yes, and it counts as respite just as much as a paid service does. It works best as a rota agreed in advance and written down, rather than a favour asked for during a bad week, so everyone knows which days they are covering. Balancing work with caregiving has more on sharing caring around a job.
Say so when you contact the council or the hospital, because both can move faster where there is an urgent reason, such as your own hospital admission or a sudden change in your relative’s health. A privately booked carer can sometimes be found within days, depending on who is available near you. Emergency respite covers what to do first, and funding care after a hospital stay covers one situation where this comes up.