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Respite Care

Boosting the wellbeing of clients while their carers take a break.

Support when you need it

Respite Care is short-term care offering quality support to clients in a safe and engaging environment while their carers take a break. Whether it’s for a day, overnight, or longer, Respite Care helps to boost the health and well-being of clients while their carers rest and recharge.

Types of Respite Care services

 

At Southern Cross Care, Respite Care offers more than just a break for our clients and their carers, it’s a chance to thrive. Our Respite Care options are designed to meet a variety of needs, focusing on meaningful engagement, enhanced well-being and tailored support for clients and carers alike. Whether you’re seeking day programs, overnight stays in our cottages, flexible in-home support, or a longer stay in one of our Residential Care homes, our services provide holistic care that supports both clients and their families.

In-Home Respite

Our flexible In-Home Respite services provide: 

  • One-on-one support tailored to your needs.
  • Assistance with daily activities, companionship, or transportation.
  • Personalised and meaningful social engagement and support.

In-Home Respite is about enabling clients to keep being themselves, stay connected to the community and do the things they love. It is guided by the client and their carer, who works with their support worker to plan enjoyable activities and outings, building a strong friendship along the way.

CRHP - Respite at Home

Dementia Cottage Respite

Purpose-built for clients with cognitive decline, dementia, or complex physical needs, our Dementia Cottage Respite services provide:

  • A safe, supportive, and homely environment.
  • A dementia-friendly, healthy ageing model that helps clients to live at home for longer.
  • Activities that promote engagement and maintain cognitive and physical abilities.
  • Personalised care to meet individual health and lifestyle needs.
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We have a philosophy of ‘doing with, rather than doing for’ and collaborate with clients on fun and purposeful activities that are suited to their interests and personalities. What this means is that clients benefit from their time in respite just as much as carers benefit from the chance to recharge.

Both day and overnight respite is available in our cottage-based environments.

Our Dementia Cottage Respite locations

Residential Respite Care

We offer high-quality, person-centred Residential Respite Care in Adelaide, the Fleurieu Peninsula and Darwin - at all of our homes. Residential respite offers you or your loved one a temporary place in a Residential Care home, either on a planned basis or in an emergency. Our respite residents enjoy all of the same high-quality care and support services as our permanent residents. This means that a respite stay is a great way for people to try our residential aged care before committing to a permanent move. Speak to our team today about respite services near you.

Learn more

Resident from Residential respite talking to a staff member

Why choose Southern Cross Care for Respite Care?

  • Bee well Values

    Quality of life

    We focus on healthy ageing and good quality of life, recognising that this means something different and unique to each person.

     

  • Bee well Benefits

    Multidisciplinary team

    Our Residential Respite services are provided by a multidisciplinary team including Nurses, Personal Carers, Allied Health Professionals and more.

  • Bee well Learn & Dev

    Better for life

    We have a philosophy of ‘doing with, rather than doing for, with a focus on meaningful engagement and activities.

Access Respite Care in 3 steps

Step 1

My Aged Care

Register through the My Aged Care portal to have an assessment of your support needs.

Call 1800 200 422 to speak to My Aged Care or click the link below to apply for an assessment online.

Step 2

Consider options

Look into which Respite Care service is more suitable to your needs. Think about the sort of care you need, how often you need it and whether day, overnight or longer stays in respite would suit you best. We can provide information about your options, support you throughout the process and answer any of your questions.

Call 1800 852 772 or click the link below.

Step 3

Get in touch

Talk to our friendly team about Respite Care services of your choice.

We can provide you with information about fees and financial options and talk you through the application process and contracts. Help is just a phone call away.

Respite Care is short-term care offering quality support to clients in a safe and engaging environment while their carers take a break. Whether it’s for a day, overnight, or longer, Respite Care helps to boost the health and well-being of clients while their carers rest and recharge.

The cost of Respite Care is different depending on what type of government funding support you have. It also depends on the type of respite you want to access. In most cases, Commonwealth Home Support Programme or Home Care Package funding will cover a majority of the cost. You may need to pay a small client contribution. Ask our team for more specific costs that apply to your situation by calling 1800 852 722.

To use the Commonwealth Home Support Programme (CHSP) or Home Care Package funding you will need to undertake an assessment with My Aged Care. At the assessment you will need to request either a ‘Day centre based respite’ or ‘Overnight Cottage respite’, ‘Flexible respite’, or ‘Residential respite’ referral code.

Or alternatively there is the option to pay privately. Our capable staff are able to assist you in finding the right funding avenue for you.

If you are eligible you can access a range of funding support options to help pay for respite. These include Home Care Packages, the Commonwealth Home Support Programme and Short-Term Restorative Care. You also have the option to pay privately for services.

There is no fixed limit on the number of respite days or nights per year through our In-Home Respite or Dementia Cottage Respite services.

However, to keep our respite services accessible to the community we may limit attendance to three days per week in our cottages and 10 hours per week for in-home respite.

Residential respite is limited to 63 days each financial year, but may be extended by 21 days at a time if an aged care assessor approves it.

Day respite in our cottages is available during the day for up to a few days a week.

Overnight respite in our cottages is available for up to two consecutive nights to give family members and carers a longer break.

In-Home respite involves paid carers and clients ‘creating their own adventure’ during each session. Clients are supported to engage in meaningful activities through one-on-one support. Each session is for three to five hours.

Residential respite is usually for a minimum of four weeks and clients can stay for up to 63 days.

Yes it can. Commonwealth funded Home Care Packages provide a subsidy for eligible clients that can be used for respite care services.

The funding is available to help people stay living in their own home. The four levels of Home Care Packages each provide a different subsidy amount. The subsidy contributes to the total cost of service and care delivery.

No. However, in the Dementia Cottage Respite a high percentage of clients who attend are living with dementia or cognitive decline.

If you are feeling socially isolated, can no longer drive, need or prefer 1:1 support, and live too far from our cottages then in-home respite might be a great option for you.

Residential respite also does not require a diagnosis of dementia.

In a group environment, our trained staff will find creative, fun and meaningful ways to keep clients engaged in physically, mentally and socially stimulating activities.

To name just a few; a daily resistance and weight-bearing exercise program facilitated by an exercise professional, bus trips in the broader community, brain training activities, music therapy and opportunities to participate in daily living skill activities such as cooking and gardening.

Each visit includes nutritious meals cooked onsite and assistance with personal care tasks if required. Transport to and from the cottages may be available.

In-Home Respite is delivered in clients’ homes and local communities by a support worker who will collaborate with the client to plan activities and outings that help them to engage in their community, discover new hobbies, practise daily living tasks and contribute to overall health and well-being. The support worker may also drive the client around to help them access their community.

Our Dementia Cottage Respite uses a health and well-being focused model of care. It is driven by the idea that we “do with our clients, rather doing for clients”. This gives our clients the best chance of maintaining their independence, self-esteem and sense of purpose.

During each session, clients engage in physically, socially and mentally stimulating activities. These include day-to-day activities, such as cooking and gardening, learning new skills, and social outings. The activities help people to live at home for longer. 

 

Residential Respite includes all the services and activities that permanent residential care residents access. This includes 24/7 nursing and care support, allied health services, GP visits, laundry, medication support, chef cooked meals, exercise support, lifestyle activities and outings.

Not sure where to start?

Speak to us today to get started

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