Reablement care is a temporary support service designed for individuals experiencing a sudden decline in health, helping them regain independence and reducing the need for ongoing care services by up to 60%. The program typically lasts four to six weeks, tailoring care to individual needs through assessments and frequent visits from caregivers, including support for basic daily activities. Unlike ongoing care for chronic conditions, reablement focuses on recovery and skill relearning, ultimately promoting mental health benefits through regained independence.

1. My options for care at
home

2. If someone has a sudden deterioration in their health and cannot perform
daily life activities on their own, they may need temporary care to adapt
and live independently again. This temporary care is called reablement
care, intermediate care, or aftercare. Research by SCIE found that
reablement care can reduce the need for care services by 60%. Moreover,
63% of the reablement users didn’t need home care after the program,
while 26% required fewer home care hours.
Reablement is different from ongoing care offered to patients with physical
or mental health conditions that require long-term care.

3. Who Can Benefit From
Reablement Care?
• Service users recovering from an illness or accident can benefit
from reablement care as they leave the hospital and begin to live
independently again. It can take the burden off the family and
encourage the service user to function without support.

4. Individuals who can benefit from reablement care the most:
• Physically weak patients who need support in daily activities during the recovery
• People who require assistance to adjust to new circumstances due to sudden
deterioration of health
• Service users on medication that may cause drowsiness or disorientation
• People who need to relearn basic life skills such as dressing, washing, or moving
about
• Service users at risk of readmission to the hospital unless they receive
meticulous care at home
• Ill or injured patients with disorientation who can be at risk if left alone.

5. How Long Does
Reablement Take?
• The length of the reablement program depends on the extent of care a
patient might need. Usually, reablement lasts between four to six weeks from
commencement, in most cases, six weeks is enough to help the individuals
regain independence and become confident with the need for minimal
support.

6. What Happens During Reablement Care?
• Once a service user is accepted for reablement, they get care tailored
to their unique needs, including physiotherapy or occupational
therapy as required. The reablement process typically includes the
following:

7. 1.Assessment: Healthcare professionals assess the patient’s mobility, retained skills, physical
strength, and ability to perform basic day-to-day activities.
2.Frequent Visits: The carer may visit frequently and stay longer than a traditional care
worker. Instead of taking over the service users’ tasks, they encourage the service user to
perform all tasks themselves with minimal assistance.
3.Prognosis Assessment: The reablement team assesses the service user often and optimises
support to push the patient to complete all tasks without any help from carers.
4.Aids and Adjustments: If necessary, the carer may recommend adjustments or assistive
aids such as stairlifts or support bars to help the patient function independently.
5.Forward Planning: This plan details the service users’ care after the reablement is
complete. The plan involves the service user, healthcare providers, and friends and family
involved in aftercare if required.

8. What Services Does Reablement Care Include?
The reablement team usually includes support workers/care workers,
physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. The services depend on the
extent of support required by the service user. Following are a few of the
services included in reablement care.
• Personal care (washing, bathing, dressing, etc.)
• Mobilising around the house and going out
• Taking medication
• Practical care (Housework, cleaning, meal preparation, etc.)
• Shopping
• Reconnecting with the local community

9. Ongoing Care: How Does It Differ
From Reablement Care
• Unlike reablement, ongoing care is for service users that are deemed
to require long-term support or that have a higher ongoing care need.
Reablement care is beneficial because it sets clear goals for your
recovery and means you have a specific aim to work towards.
• For example, service users recovering from cancer may require
ongoing care during recovery and rehabilitation. Similarly, some
conditions such as dementia or those with complex care needs may
require ongoing support to live with dignity in their homes for as
long as possible.

10. • Ongoing care can last much longer than reablement, and the carers
will be more involved in the care in order to support the service
users perform their daily activities.
• Whether you need reablement or ongoing care, you can choose a
perfect carer for yourself through Pair my Care and get the proper
support. We don’t believe in limiting our service users’
independence for the sake of getting tasks done more quickly; we’d
rather wait as long as it takes so that our customers feel a sense of
self-achievement and are able to meet their reablement goals. The
benefits to someone’s mental health from reaching and becoming
independent again should never be underestimated.

11. Source page:
https://axelacare.co.uk/what-are-my-options-for-care-at-home-2/
For more intresting stuff like this subscribe to axelacare.co.uk newsletter.