Unpaid carers across East Sussex will be able to continue benefitting from regular respite breaks after East Sussex County Council agreed to continue supporting the service with additional funding.

The service gives unpaid carers across East Sussex a free respite break from their role by providing a carefully selected and thoroughly vetted volunteer to spend time with the person they care for on a regular basis.

The regular, three-hour respite breaks —­ usually weekly or fortnightly — are delivered by the Association of Carers, which is commissioned by the County Council.

Due to the pandemic, the number of volunteers reduced, and there are a significant number of carers on the waiting list for this service.

As an interim measure, the County Council funded paid support worker time for 12 months to deliver some of these carers breaks while the service worked to rebuild its volunteer base.

The use of paid workers has been very successful in providing breaks to those on the waiting list for a volunteer, particularly in the High Weald, Lewes and Havens areas where volunteer recruitment is a particular challenge.

Additionally, the use of paid workers has enabled the service to support some more complex situations and where there has been reluctance to accept a volunteer, a paid worker has been accepted.

To be eligible for the service, the carer needs to be over 18 and providing substantial levels of care.