Many people with disabilities, mental ill health, learning difficulties or other serious illnesses or conditions, need a break from time to time. They might need to recharge their batteries or just enjoy a change of scene. Families and carers also need the occassional break from caring too.
Like the Scottish Government and the local councils, we believe that service users and carers are the experts when it comes to planning their short breaks or respite care.
(Short breaks is another name for respite care.)
With this in mind, Shared Care Scotland has developed this Online Short Break Planning Pack to help people to be more in control of all aspects of their short break service. We hope the guidance and information contained in the Pack will help people to think about what’s available or possible, and to get the short break they both need.
Raising expectations?
We are raising expectations! We make no apologies for this. Sometimes this is necessary to produce the pressure that's needed to move obstacles out of the way and make things happen.
This Pack is for people who already receive short break services and want to get the best from them. However it is also for those trying to get services who can use the information, advice and the experiences of others to support their efforts.
"If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them."
Henry David Thoreau
You can download a complete paper version of the Planning Pack by clicking here (50 pages in Microsoft Word). Feel free to use or adapt the Pack as you wish but please mention that the source material is from Shared Care Scotland. If you would like a version that you can edit, please contact us.
Your Feedback
We would very much appreciate your thoughts about how we could improve this pack. Please go to the 'Feedback' section to send us your comments and any ideas. Click here.
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