Short breaks, holidays and respite care

Taking a relaxing break is vital to everyone's well being. Whether it's a break for yourself or with friends or family, a break away from the routine offers a chance to have a rest and recharge your batteries, explore different places and meet new people.

Where you decide to go and what you decide to do is up to you. It could be a respite care centre or an accessible hotel. It might be one of the hundreds of accessible locations all around the UK and abroad. 

We have produced a new Guide to Short Breaks to help you make decisions about what kind of break is right for you. We’re now starting work on a web portal which will build on the guide and offer interactive features. Until then, you might want to know more about:

• respite care 
• taking a break from caring 
• finding a short break that’s right for you
• funding your short break
• planning a short break
• How can we support you?
   

Respite care

Respite care means a carer and/or the person they care for being supported to have a break from their normal routine and the often stressful demands of their caring situation. People without a carer can also benefit from a break from their home circumstances.

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Taking a break from caring

Short breaks are an essential part of the overall support that families and carers need to help them care for a family member, partner or friend. Everyone needs a change and time off occasionally, whether it's for an hour, a day or a week, and whether it’s time for yourself or spent with family and friends.

Having a break is more likely to help you continue with your caring role, as it will give you time to rest and recharge your batteries. You may want a break so that you can pursue hobbies or interests or catch up with family and friends. You may just want to spend some quality time with the person you care for, letting someone else take over the caring responsibilities for a while. For advice on getting a break anywhere in the UK get in touch with your local carers' centre or Carers UK. In Scotland you can also get in touch with Shared Care Scotland. 

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Finding a short break that’s right for you

There are many types of short breaks and there are many charities and organisations standing by to help you make your choice. Here are just a few ideas:

• DisabledGo provides online access guides to a huge range of venues. Disabled people survey every venue in person and on site. 
• Holidays for All are a group of UK disability organisations working together to promote quality, accessible holiday breaks.
• Tourism For All is a national charity for accessible tourism, providing information on accessible accommodation and other tourism services.
• DirectEnquiries is a nationwide disabled access register of buildings and services, which allows users to search towns and counties by accessibility criteria.
• Disabled Holiday Info gives useful holiday information on accessible accommodation, attractions and activities.
• OpenBritain provides reliable accessibility information focusing on UK tourism and holidays. Available as an online database or can be ordered as a printed guide.
• Some MS Society branches own self-catering holiday homes that are set up and equipped to cater for people with MS. The Wareham & Purbeck branch has an online database of some branch accommodation that is available across the UK.
• The Ceiling Hoist Users Club provides information on accommodation and transport with ceiling track hoists and hoist suppliers, and encourages user reviews.
• The Direct Gov website has lots of useful information and links to organisations that can help.
• Shared Care Scotland is a Scottish charity which promotes and supports the development of short break services (also known as respite care) for the benefit of carers and the people they care for.

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Funding your short break

Contact your local authority to see whether you qualify for help with funding. 

You may be able to receive vouchers from your local council for short-term breaks. (Funding may be available from your council in Scotland but not through vouchers). Vouchers can be redeemed with local services when you choose, giving you the freedom to decide where and when to have a break.

For example: Mary looks after her partner (who has MS) 24 hours a day. They are allocated eight hours a week of respite care. Instead of arranging this with Care Watch (a local agency), the Local Authority gives Jean vouchers for 32 hours a month of care which she can redeem flexibly with whatever agency she likes at whatever time is best for her.

These schemes aren't available everywhere, so check with your local social services department.

You may wish to to use direct payments to pay for your short break or respite care. Direct payments are local council payments for people who have been assessed as needing services but who would like to arrange and pay for the services themselves. The way councils manage direct payments differs across the UK, so check with your local social services for details.
Read more about direct payments.

If you are a Carer and you haven’t had a Carers Assessment, ask for one at your local social services department. The Carers Assessment will enable you to discuss your own needs and help you plan and possibly fund a short break. Read more about Carers Assessments and how to get one

Read more on direct payments, vouchers and other ways of funding short breaks or respite care. Find out how to get what you’re entitled to from Social Care services. 

The MS Society's Short Breaks and Activities Fund (SBA Fund) provides financial support to people with MS. The grants team can also provide information on other organisations who may be able to offer financial support.

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Planning your break

When going away there may be a few things you need to take into consideration, like what kind of equipment you may need to take with you or hire when you get there. Further information is available from The Disabled Living Foundation (DLF) and their sister site Living Made Easy.

For inspiration and ideas from other people affected by MS, take a look at some online discussion forums. For example:  

• Youreable is an online community of and for disabled people with a forum on advice on holidays and accessible travel.
• Disabled Go has a forum which covers lots of topics around accessible short breaks. 

For more information about travel, holidays, breaks and other things to consider, the Direct Gov website is useful and comprehensive. 

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How can we support you?

The MS Society’s Guide to Short Breaks offers information on a wide range of options for people considering short breaks or respite care. 

This guide explains who can help you find a short break, how to get funding, the standards you should expect, who can help you get there, hire equipment and how to get insurance.

Download the guide. 

As well as the guide, we’re also working on a new interactive web portal for short breaks. Watch this space!

We want to support you to get the short breaks and respite you want, wherever you live in the UK and whatever your needs. Find out more about our new approach.

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