Respite Care at Home in Portsmouth

Respite care at home means a paid carer steps in so that an unpaid family carer — a spouse, an adult child, a sibling — can take a break. That break might be a few hours one afternoon, a regular weekly slot, or a block of several weeks while you go on holiday or recover from illness yourself. The care takes place in the person's own home, which means their routine stays intact and there is no need to move them into a facility temporarily.

In Portsmouth, families seeking this kind of support have roughly 56 CQC-registered home care agencies to choose from ^[4]. That is a reasonable amount of choice, but it can feel overwhelming when you are already stretched. The purpose of this page is to give you a clear picture of how respite home care works locally, what it costs, how it might be funded, and what questions to ask before you commit to an agency.

It is worth being clear about what respite care is not. It is not a permanent arrangement, and it is not a step towards residential care unless that is what you choose. Many families use it as a way of sustaining a caring role over the long term — small, regular breaks can make an otherwise unsustainable situation workable. Others need it for a specific, time-limited reason: recovering from surgery, attending a family event, or simply resting. Whatever the reason, you do not need to justify it. Needing a break is reason enough.

Portsmouth's main acute hospital is Queen Alexandra Hospital, which is run by Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust. When an older or disabled person is admitted there and then approaches discharge, the Trust's teams use a structured framework to decide what support is needed at home ^[8].

Under NHS England's hospital discharge framework, patients are placed on one of four pathways. Pathway 0 means the person can go home with minimal or no support. Pathway 1 means they need short-term support at home to recover — this is where NHS-funded Discharge to Assess (D2A) arrangements often apply, and where a period of funded respite-style home care may be put in place while a longer-term assessment is completed. Pathway 2 involves short-term residential or nursing care, and Pathway 3 is for those who need a higher level of ongoing clinical support.

For families, the most relevant pathway is usually Pathway 1. Under a Discharge to Assess (D2A) arrangement, your relative may be discharged from Queen Alexandra Hospital with a short funded package of home care while Portsmouth Hospitals University NHS Trust and Portsmouth City Council assess what ongoing support they actually need. This funded period is time-limited, so it is worth understanding early on whether a longer-term package will be needed and who will fund it.

Early Supported Discharge (ESD) is a related scheme used for specific conditions — stroke recovery being the most common — where specialist community teams support a person to leave hospital sooner than they otherwise would, with intensive input at home.

If your relative's needs are primarily health-related rather than social care needs, they may be eligible for NHS Continuing Healthcare (NHS CHC), which is a fully funded NHS package assessed against a national framework ^[2][3]. A referral can be made at any point, not only at hospital discharge.

Choosing a respite care agency involves more than reading a rating. Here are the things worth looking at closely.

Verify CQC registration first. Under the Health and Social Care Act 2008 ^[6], any organisation providing regulated personal care in England — help with washing, dressing, toileting, and similar — must be registered with the Care Quality Commission ^[4]. Providing that care without registration is a criminal offence. Every agency listed on CareAH is CQC-registered. If you find an agency elsewhere, you can check its registration and inspection reports at no cost on the CQC website. An agency that cannot provide a CQC registration number is operating illegally and should not be engaged.

Look at the inspection report, not just the rating. CQC reports describe specific findings, not just an overall grade. The sections on 'Safe' and 'Responsive' are particularly relevant for respite care.

• Ask whether the agency has experience with the condition your relative is recovering from or living with.
• Ask how they handle continuity — will the same carers visit, or does the rota change frequently?
• Ask how quickly they can start, and whether they can accommodate changes to hours at short notice.
• Ask what their process is if a carer calls in sick.
• Ask whether they provide written care plans and how those are shared with the family.
• Ask about communication: who do you call if something concerns you, and how quickly will they respond?

Practical clarity at the outset saves significant difficulty later.

There are several ways that respite home care in Portsmouth might be funded, either fully or in part.

Local authority funding. Portsmouth City Council has a duty under the Care Act 2014 ^[5] to carry out a needs assessment for any adult who appears to need care and support. If your relative meets the eligibility threshold, the council may fund or contribute to a care package. Your relative's financial circumstances are then assessed separately. The current capital thresholds are: above £23,250 in savings and assets, you are expected to meet the full cost yourself; between £14,250 and £23,250, a sliding contribution applies; below £14,250, capital is disregarded ^[1]. For a needs assessment, search 'Portsmouth City Council adult social care' for current contact details and opening hours.

Direct Payments. Rather than receiving a council-arranged service, your relative may be able to receive a Direct Payment and use it to purchase care themselves ^[9]. This gives more flexibility over which agency is used and when.

NHS Continuing Healthcare. Where the primary need is a health need rather than a social care need, NHS CHC may fund the full cost. Assessments are carried out against the national framework ^[2][3]. Free, independent advice on the CHC process is available from Beacon ^[10].

Self-funding. Many families fund respite care directly, at least initially while assessments are under way.