To get respite care in Surrey, ask Surrey County Council for a free carer's assessment, which can lead to council-supported breaks, or arrange respite privately. Reedsfield Care provides respite at home in our six towns in North Surrey and Spelthorne from £28 an hour for weekday daytime visits or £1,300 a week for live-in cover. Respite care gives a family carer a break while the person they look after is still properly supported. In Surrey there are two routes to it: through Surrey County Council, starting with a carer's assessment, or by arranging it privately. This page explains how both work for families in North Surrey, meaning our patch of Egham, Virginia Water, Staines, Ashford, Sunbury and Shepperton. We cover those six towns, not the whole county, and we provide respite at home rather than in a care home.
Reedsfield provides care in people's own homes only. We do not operate care homes or arrange care-home placements.
Anyone in England who provides care for an adult is entitled to a carer's assessment from their council, whether or not the person they care for has had an assessment themselves. In our area that council is Surrey County Council, for both the Runnymede and Spelthorne towns.
The assessment is about you, not the person you care for. It looks at how caring affects your health, work, sleep and time for yourself, and whether you are willing and able to carry on as things are. It is free, and it is the step that makes council-supported breaks possible.
You can ask for one online or by phone through Surrey's adult social care pages. It helps to jot down a typical week before the conversation: how many nights are broken, which tasks are hardest, and what a break would actually let you do.
If the assessment finds eligible needs, Surrey County Council can support a break in several ways. Respite may be arranged as a service for the person you care for, which means they are assessed and may contribute to the cost depending on their finances. Support for you as the carer may also be available.
Sometimes the support comes as a direct payment, which lets you choose who provides the respite, including a private home care agency. Other times the council arranges it directly. The details vary with circumstances, which is why the assessment matters.
Surrey also works with local carers' organisations. Action for Carers Surrey offers information, advice and support to unpaid carers across the county, and is a good first call if you are not sure where to start.
Respite does not have to mean a short stay in a care home. For many people, especially those living with dementia or who are unsettled by change, staying in their own home with a carer is far less disruptive.
Respite at home can be a few hours a week so you can go to your own appointments, a regular afternoon off, a run of overnight visits so you can sleep, or a live-in carer for a week or two while you go away. The person being cared for keeps their routine, their bed, their pets and their neighbours.
A short stay in a care home suits some families, particularly where nursing care is needed. The NHS guidance on carers' breaks sets out the full range of options.
A few hours a week so the carer can keep their own appointments
A regular day or afternoon off
Overnight support so the carer can sleep
A live-in carer while the family carer goes on holiday
Planned respite is easier to arrange well. If you know you have an operation, a family wedding or a holiday coming up, contact an agency as early as you can so that a care manager can visit, write a care plan and introduce the carer before you go.
Urgent respite is for when the plan falls apart: the family carer is taken ill, has a fall or simply reaches the end of what they can manage. In an emergency, Surrey County Council's adult social care team can be contacted, and agencies such as ours will try to help at short notice where we have capacity. Our emergency respite guide covers what to do first.
Money: what helps with the cost
If you care for someone for 35 hours a week or more, you may be entitled to Carer's Allowance. The person you care for may be entitled to Attendance Allowance if they are over State Pension age and need help with personal care. Neither is means tested on savings, and both can help towards the cost of breaks.
Privately, Reedsfield Care's respite at home starts from £28 an hour for weekday daytime visiting care and £1,300 a week for live-in cover. We quote in writing after a free assessment visit.
Carers often say the first break is the hardest, because it is difficult to switch off when you are used to being on call every hour of the day. A few simple steps help.
Write a short handover so you are not relying on memory, and leave a single contact number so the carer is not ringing several relatives. Agree what counts as urgent enough to call you, and what can wait until you are back. Then try to use the time for something that genuinely restores you, whether that is sleep, a hospital appointment you have been putting off, or time with friends.
If the break goes well, book the next one before the benefit wears off. Regular, predictable respite tends to do more for a carer's health than one long break a year followed by months with none. Our family checklist for planning respite goes through the handover in detail.
It is also worth telling your GP that you are a carer. Many practices keep a carers register, and it can help when you need flexible appointment times or a health check of your own.
We are based in Egham and rated Good by the CQC. Our respite carers are employed by us and DBS checked, and the same care manager who visits before the break is the person you ring if anything comes up while you are away.
We cover Egham, Virginia Water, Staines, Ashford, Sunbury and Shepperton. If you live elsewhere in Surrey, Action for Carers Surrey or the council can point you towards providers nearer home.
Frequently asked questions
Who do I ask for a carer's assessment in Staines or Egham?
Surrey County Council. It handles adult social care for both Spelthorne and Runnymede.
Is a carer's assessment free?
Yes. Any adult carer is entitled to one, whatever their finances.
Can respite happen at home?
Yes. A carer can visit for a few hours, stay overnight or live in while you take a break.
How much does respite at home cost?
With Reedsfield, from £28 an hour for weekday daytime visits or £1,300 a week for live-in cover.
Do you cover all of Surrey?
No. We cover Egham, Virginia Water, Staines, Ashford, Sunbury and Shepperton.
Can I get respite if the person I care for refuses a care home?
Yes. Respite at home means a carer comes to the house, so the person you care for stays in familiar surroundings with their own routine, bed and belongings while you take a break.
How long can a respite break last?
As long as you need. Some families book a single afternoon each week, others a few nights in a row, and others a live-in carer for one or two weeks while they go away.
How quickly can respite care start?
In urgent situations we can often arrange care quickly; call us to discuss start dates. See our emergency respite guide for short notice cover.
