Carers breaks / respite

[Ahl134]

How many unpaid carers get a break from their caring role?
How do you actually get a break from your role, get some "me" time and how do you manage your mental health?
Lots of changes happening in our LA and they are now saying we have to pay to get a break or respite.
Does anyone have any experience of this, and how many respite nights per year are the norm?

Have you had a Carers assessment?

I care for a family member with learning disabilities. Personally we have 2 separate weeks respite a year. At times I feel like we need more, and it is available, but the changes to routine causes a lot of issues with his disabilities and the stress it causes takes away the impact of the break. We previously had more regular respite which was needed due to our personal situation. We had to fight for the funding for this, even though he was eligible. When they told me originally he had to pay, I it simple and said they either paid for the respite or had to find and fund a full time care placement.
Which local authority are you under? You should have had a care assessment and a financial assessment. Care, including for respite, should be means tested. It might be that they are eligible for all of the care costs paid, part of the costs paid or they may need to find it all themselves. The financial assessment should be for the person needing the care, not the carer and any costs should fall on the person needing the care. If you're having issues with this, it might be worth seeking some advice from carers UK.
Hope this helps. They can make it really difficult for unpaid carers to get a break sometimes. They forget the burden that we take off of local authority services.