In an ideal world, handovers always go smoothly. We plan our travels and the incoming carer arrives on time. We do our handover and get on our way.

Now back to reality. In these days with restrictions and cancelled flights, everything may be different – and not in a nice way.

It is entirely possible that you may have had a flight cancelled, while the incoming carer is still planning on coming to her client. You may not be able to go anywhere and with your homebound flight cancelled you may find yourself in a quandary.

What on earth do you do?

Fortunately, since lockdown rules have eased, many care agencies are opening their accommodation for carers again. This should be your first option even though you still do need to pay an accommodation fee.

If you know that the incoming carer is determined to show up and you are pressured to leave you need to contact your agency right away to discuss accommodation.

If nothing else, you will have a place to stay until you find another placement or manage to get back home on a repatriation flight.

Your second option – if you are not working through an agency – is to find yourself somewhere cheap to stay until you can either find another placement or fly home.

Air B&B are starting to open again, and they are cheap compared to some hotels. If you must choose a hotel you may be able to negotiate a deal for staying longer.

Don’t rule out private accommodation

If you find yourself in this unpleasant position, you may want to start looking on the several carer forums. During the lockdown there have still been some people who are happy to offer a room for a carer in need.

There are carers who have their own accommodation in the UK and are prepared to let other carers use it while they are away. You may even find someone who will let you stay there between placements at a good price.

To sum up

If your flight has been cancelled and you can no longer stay at your client, it is important that you start to make alternative arrangements as soon as you can. Don’t leave these to the last minute.

If there is no possibility of you staying at your client, because there is no room, or family simply do not agree, then the sooner you arrange your next step, the better.

Your agency should be your first place to look, and if you do not work through an agency, you should consider places like Air B&B.

Once you know that you need to leave and cannot fly home, start placing posts on some of the carer forums. You will most likely find accommodation here, that will at least give you a breathing space until you can find another placement or get a flight back home.

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