Written and reviewed by the Oath Healthcare care team · CQC-regulated provider · Last reviewed: 11 June 2026
“I haven’t slept properly in three months.” Or six. Or two years. If you’re an unpaid family carer in the UK, you might already be reading this with a cup of cold tea next to you, after another night of being on call. Respite care is the answer to a question most family carers never give themselves permission to ask: when do I get a break?
This is the plain-English guide to respite care in the UK in 2026. What it is, what it costs, who pays (sometimes the council, sometimes the NHS, sometimes you), how quickly you can get it, and how to choose a respite provider you actually trust to look after your mum, dad, husband or wife while you take the break you need.
Quick answer: Respite care is short-term care that gives unpaid family carers a planned break — from a few hours a week to a few weeks at a time. In the UK in 2026, respite care at home costs from £25/hour for visiting respite, £1,100/week for live-in respite. The council may fund it after a Carer’s Assessment; the NHS may fund it through Continuing Healthcare. Free assessment with Oath Healthcare — call 01223 755887.
What is respite care?
Respite care is short-term care arranged specifically to give the person’s usual carer a break. The usual carer is almost always an unpaid family member — a spouse, an adult child, a sibling — and the break is anything from a few hours so they can attend a hospital appointment of their own, to a couple of weeks so they can go on holiday or attend a wedding.
The person being cared for doesn’t change. Their needs don’t change. What changes is who is providing the care for that defined period. Done well, respite care should be invisible to the person receiving it — the routines, the medication times, the personal preferences should all be honoured. The carer trades places, that’s all.
There are 5.7 million unpaid family carers in the UK in 2026. The vast majority have not taken proper respite in the last twelve months. The vast majority will, eventually, hit a wall — and the person they’re caring for will end up in a care home or hospital that could have been avoided with planned respite earlier. That’s the bet of respite care: short, planned breaks let long-term home care continue.
Types of respite care
1. Visiting respite
A carer comes for a few hours at a time, on agreed days. Best for: family carers who need predictable weekly time off — to go to a yoga class, see friends, attend their own GP appointments, or just sit in a café without their phone next to the cup. Typical cost: from £25/hour.
2. Daytime respite
A carer covers a full day or several consecutive days. Best for: family carers who need a longer reset — a weekend away, an extended hospital stay of their own, or a planned event like a wedding. Typical cost: £200–£260/day.
3. Live-in respite
A carer moves in for one to four weeks, providing round-the-clock care. Best for: holidays, weddings, or any time the family carer needs to be unavailable overnight. The home, the routine, the surroundings stay the same — only the carer is different. Typical cost: from £1,100/week, with dementia or complex needs from £1,200–£1,300/week.
4. Overnight respite
A carer covers nights only — useful when the person needs help getting up, repositioning, or supervision through the night, and the family carer can no longer cope with disturbed sleep. Sleeping nights £180/night, waking nights £260/night.
5. Emergency respite
When the family carer is suddenly unavailable — admitted to hospital themselves, bereaved, or simply too unwell to provide care safely. Good providers should be able to start emergency respite within 24 hours, sometimes within hours.
What respite care costs in 2026
| Type of respite | Typical UK cost |
|---|---|
| Visiting respite (hourly) | From £25/hour |
| Dementia visiting respite | From £28/hour |
| Daytime respite (full day) | £200–£260/day |
| Live-in respite (standard) | From £1,100/week |
| Dementia live-in respite | From £1,200/week |
| Complex live-in respite | From £1,300/week |
| Overnight sleeping | From £180/night |
| Overnight waking | From £260/night |
| Residential care home respite | £1,200–£2,000/week |
Most families compare home-based respite against residential care home respite. The cost is similar; the difference is whether the person stays at home (familiar, less disorienting, especially for dementia) or moves into a residential setting for the duration. For people with dementia in particular, home-based respite is usually better tolerated.
Who pays for respite care?
1. The local council (means-tested)
If the person being cared for has savings/assets below £23,250 (England 2026 threshold), the council may contribute. There are two routes:
- Through the cared-for person’s care needs assessment — respite is included as part of their care package.
- Through a Carer’s Assessment — the council can fund respite directly to support the family carer’s own wellbeing. This is a separate, free assessment that every unpaid family carer in England is entitled to. Apply via your local council’s adult social care team.
2. NHS Continuing Healthcare
If the person’s care needs are primarily about healthcare rather than social care, NHS CHC funds 100% of care — including the respite element. Worth checking even if you don’t think you’d qualify; the free 60-second CHC eligibility checker takes longer to read about than to do, and see the CHC eligibility checklist for what counts.
3. Carer’s Allowance and other benefits
Family carers who provide 35+ hours a week of care for someone who receives certain disability benefits may be eligible for Carer’s Allowance (£81.90/week in 2026). It won’t pay for respite outright but it can help offset the cost.
4. Self-funded
Most respite is self-funded, particularly for families above the council means-test threshold. The good news: a week of live-in respite (£1,100) often costs less than a week’s residential respite (£1,200–£2,000), and lets the person stay in their own home.
How to organise respite care — step by step
- Decide what kind of respite you need. A few hours weekly? A one-off week for a wedding? Plan for at least 2 weeks of total respite per year — that’s what carers’ charities recommend.
- Apply for a Carer’s Assessment if you’re an unpaid family carer. It’s free, doesn’t affect your finances directly, and may unlock council funding for respite.
- Check NHS CHC eligibility if the person has significant health needs. Don’t be put off by the term — over a third of dementia patients potentially qualify, and few apply.
- Contact 2–3 home care providers and ask about respite specifically. Some providers do respite well; some treat it as an afterthought. The 8-point checklist below tells you which is which.
- Book the free home assessment with your preferred provider. They should send a manager (not a sales person) to meet the person needing care and understand the routine they need to honour during respite.
- Carer match. For live-in respite especially, you should meet the carer before they start.
- Take the break. This is the hard part. You’re allowed to switch your phone off.
How to choose a respite care provider
Most home care agencies offer respite. Not all do it well. The 8-point Oath qualifier is the checklist that separates serious providers from agencies that treat respite as a fill-in job:
- CQC Rated Good or Outstanding — check live ratings on the CQC website.
- DBS-checked carers — no exceptions.
- Same-carer continuity — even for one week of respite, the person should not be passed between 5 different carers.
- Written care plan based on the existing routine — not a template the provider has used for someone else.
- Family communication — daily notes or app updates so you can actually relax knowing what’s happening.
- Out-of-hours support — 24/7 line that’s actually staffed.
- Local presence with named manager — your point of contact should be a named human, not a call centre.
- Pricing transparency — published rates, written quotes. If they say “we’ll discuss pricing,” walk away.
For more detail, see our 27 questions to ask before signing up.
Frequently asked questions
What is respite care?
Respite care is short-term care arranged specifically to give an unpaid family carer a planned break — from a few hours a week to a few weeks at a time. The person being cared for stays in their own home (or moves to a residential setting); the care continues, just with a paid carer covering the role temporarily.
How much does respite care cost in the UK?
Visiting respite from £25/hour, live-in respite from £1,100/week (£1,200–£1,300/week for dementia or complex needs), overnight respite £180–£260/night, residential respite £1,200–£2,000/week. Most families self-fund, but the council may contribute after a Carer’s Assessment and the NHS may fund through Continuing Healthcare.
Who pays for respite care?
Three main funding routes: (1) the local council, means-tested with the £23,250 savings threshold, accessed via a Carer’s Assessment or the person’s own care needs assessment; (2) NHS Continuing Healthcare, if the person’s needs are primarily clinical; (3) self-funding, which is the most common route. Carer’s Allowance (£81.90/week) can help offset costs but doesn’t pay directly.
How quickly can respite care start?
For planned respite: typically 1–2 weeks from first call to first carer. For emergency respite (where the family carer is suddenly unavailable due to illness, bereavement, or hospital admission): within 24 hours for visiting care, 2–3 days for live-in.
Is respite care available at home or only in a care home?
Both. Home-based respite (visiting, live-in, or overnight) keeps the person in their own surroundings — better for dementia in particular. Residential respite means moving into a care home temporarily — useful if the home doesn’t accommodate the equipment needed, or for complex medical needs requiring a nursing home setting.
Can family carers get help paying for respite?
Yes. Apply for a Carer’s Assessment via your local council — it’s free, it’s your legal right under the Care Act 2014, and the council can fund respite directly to support the carer’s wellbeing, independent of the cared-for person’s finances. Charities like Carers UK and Carers Trust also have small grant programmes for respite breaks.
How often should family carers take respite?
Carers’ charities recommend at minimum 2 weeks of total respite per year. In practice, regular short breaks (a few hours weekly, plus one week off twice a year) are more sustainable than one long break per year. Without planned respite, family carers are statistically far more likely to experience burnout — which often leads to the cared-for person ending up in residential care unnecessarily.
Speak to the Oath Healthcare respite team
Oath Healthcare provides planned and emergency respite at home — visiting, daytime, live-in, and overnight — across our branches in England. CQC Rated Good, DBS-checked carers, same-carer continuity, and pricing published up-front.
Speak to a local care advisor for a free no-obligation assessment:
- Cambridge: 01223 755887 — covering Cambridgeshire, Ely, Huntingdon, Newmarket, St Neots
- Suffolk: 01223 755887 — covering Bury St Edmunds, Ipswich, Sudbury, Mildenhall
- Redbridge & East London: 020 3949 4333 — covering Ilford, Wanstead, Woodford, Romford
- South Essex: 01268 206550 — covering Basildon, Southend, Canvey Island, Brentwood
- Nottingham: 0115 865 6333 — covering West Bridgford, Beeston, Mansfield, Hucknall