Respite Care in Caterham: Costs, Funding and 59 Local Agencies (Oct 2026)

Types of respite care

There are three main routes. A carer can come to the home for a few hours while you get out, or live in for days or weeks (live-in respite) while you are away. A care home can offer a short stay, usually a week or two and often booked well in advance for holidays. Ask the 20 registered care homes in Caterham whether they take short stays. Or there are day centres run by charities or the council.

Paying for respite yourself

Paying privately? Check each agency's shortest visit and how much notice it needs, and ask care homes if they hold rooms for short stays. Visit the home first, and pass on the care plan, the list of medicines and daily routines to help the stay go well.

Ask for a carer's assessment

Funded breaks, personal budgets for carers and other support can all follow from a carer's assessment. As a carer you are entitled to one from Surrey council, free and apart from any assessment of the person you look after; it focuses on how caring affects your life. For advice, call Carers UK free on 0808 808 7777. How to ask Surrey council for an assessment.

What the register shows for Caterham

Silver Blue Services Ltd T/A Springday Healthcare is the most recently registered, joining the CQC register in September 2026. By specialism, 180 of 214 list physical disabilities, 116 of 214 list learning disabilities and 126 of 214 list mental health conditions. Dementia appears on 174 of 214 registrations here (81%), compared with 84% in Surrey as a whole. Home Instead Senior Care Reigate & Tandridge has the oldest rating still in force, from March 2018. 2 Outstanding agencies are covering Caterham, against 16 across Surrey. Of Caterham and the 6 nearest towns we cover, Caterham ranks 4th for the share of all listed agencies rated Good or Outstanding (61%); Oxted is highest at 80%. 91% of rated agencies covering Caterham are Good or Outstanding, compared with 91% of those rated among the 1,091 we list across Surrey. Two-year-old ratings or newer: 21% covering Caterham, 23% across Surrey.

What respite care costs in Caterham

Prices typically seen across England in 2026
Visiting care	around £32–£34 an hour
Live-in care	around £1,540–£1,610 a week
Residential care home	£1,450 a week
Nursing home	£1,695 a week

What Surrey County Council pays providers: 2025/26 guide prices for older people's care homes: residential £806.45, residential enhanced £867.78, nursing £930.25, nursing enhanced £991.58 per week (nursing excluding FNC); home care uplifted 3.5% (no hourly rate published) (source).

The gap between agencies is bigger than the gap between regions. Ask for prices in writing, and check what weekends and bank holidays cost. Homecare Association figure for 2026/27: a sustainable council rate for home care in England starts at £34.42 an hour. Source: Lottie Care Index, Q3 2026. Work out a weekly cost · What would we pay?

Questions about respite care in Caterham

Which home care agencies offer respite care in Caterham?

59 agencies on the CQC register have an office within 7 miles of Caterham, and 135 hold a Good or Outstanding rating. Which of them provide respite care is not recorded by CQC: ask them.

Is there free respite care?

Free or low-cost sitting services are run by charities and carers' centres. The council can also arrange or fund breaks when a carer's assessment, which you request from Surrey council, shows you are eligible.

When should we book a respite stay in a care home?

Several weeks if you can, and longer for school holidays. Not every home keeps rooms for short stays, so ask when you first call.

How are agencies covering Caterham rated?

Of 149 agencies with a CQC rating, 135 (91%) are Good or Outstanding. Dementia is a specialism for 174, and 46 have a rating or inspection from the past two years.

Arranging respite care in Caterham?

Tell us what's needed once. Up to three agencies that take enquiries through us reply to you directly, by email.

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Provider details from the Care Quality Commission register, updated Oct 2026. Contains CQC data licensed under the Open Government Licence v3.0. The Care Panel is not a care provider.

Respite care in Caterham