Support for caregivers managing palliative care at home.
Introduction
Home-Based Respite Care (HBRC) is a short-term support service for caregivers whose loved ones are receiving home palliative care, including compassionate discharge patients. It aims to help caregivers cope with their loved one’s changing care needs during this period, and to relieve their stress for a short period.
Who is this service for
To be eligible for this service,
- The applicant must be a caregiver who needs respite
- The care recipient must be receiving care from a MOH-funded home palliative care provider OR be a compassionate discharge patient from a public hospital
Services provided
An interim caregiver who is a trained care staff will visit the home to help with:
- Personal care and daily living activities: Examples include bathing or assisted bathing, toileting, feeding or nutrition intake and transferring from bed to chair.
- Light housekeeping for hygiene and safety: Examples include sweeping the floor and laundry (using washing machine)
- Higher-level care tasks: Examples include simple wound dressing, stoma care and tracheostomy suctioning
- Light activities prescribed by a therapist: To maintain your loved one’s wellbeing
This service is provided from Mondays to Sundays, including public holidays. There are two shifts:
- Day shift: 8am to 8pm
- Night shift: 10pm to 8am
Do note that:
- You can choose to use a combination of day, night or double shifts depending on your needs.
- There is a limit to the number of shifts available per care recipient in their lifetime:
- Home palliative care patient: Up to 30 single shifts
- Compassionate discharge patients: Up to 14 consecutive days of shifts
How to apply
To find out more about the cost and how to apply, please speak with your home palliative care providers or the medical social worker at the hospital where your loved one is at.
You can also visit an AIC Link to get help with the application.
