A new report launched today will outline a number of key recommendations for how local government, the NHS and their wider partners can deliver improved and consistent care services across Wales.
The report focuses on reablement services, which play an important role in helping people to relearn the ‘daily living’ skills they may have lost through deterioration in health or an increased need for support. It charts service provision across Wales and offers a number of recommendations on how improved service delivery should be shaped in the future.
In 2012, around 23,000 people received ‘reablement’ services, and results show that over 70 per cent of those benefiting from these services did not need further ongoing support.
Cllr Mel Nott, WLGA Spokesman for Health and Social Care said:
“Wales’ social care services are already creaking under the combined pressures of reduced financial resources and an unsustainable increase in demand. Focussing on the delivery of preventative care, and delivering more consistent reablement services across Wales will help people to maintain their independence at home, while also helping to reduce demand on acute hospital services and the need for long term institutional care. It will be a crucial step in shaping a sustainable social care system for Wales that is capable of meeting the considerable demands that will be placed on it in the future.
“This report is an example of how local government in Wales continues to lead on reshaping care services in Wales. While many community reablement services are already in operation, some projects are more established than others, and this important report offers a clear recommendation that the NHS and local government must continue to work closely together to ensure that everyone in Wales can benefit from reablement services within their local area. This will require more integrated working and strategic ‘pooling’ of not only financial budgets, but also the skills of practitioners and senior managers across both sectors.
Phil Evans, President of the Association of Directors of Social Services Cymru, added:
“We are really pleased to see the increased number and range of reablement services, and also the outcomes being achieved by schemes in Wales. We are determined to take forward this work at scale and at pace, as part of our work to drive the delivery of new service models that better reflect what people want and need if they are to remain independent.
“The report very helpfully describes the challenges and opportunities for improvement to reablement services, and offers a number of recommendations for how these services can be expanded across Wales to ensure that all communities receive similar levels of service in the future. This will require strong leadership across all sectors at a national, regional and local level. Being able to draw on clear examples of effective practice between health and local authorities in this area means that we can now accelerate our combined efforts to refashion the way care services are shaped and delivered in Wales.”
Ruth Crowder, Chair of Welsh Reablement Alliance added:
“The Welsh Reablement Alliance campaigns to promote the benefits of consistent, effective, integrated services which enable people to maximise their ability to live as independently as possible. This excellent report shows how high quality reablement services have meant that 70% of people in Wales don’t need ongoing services after their reablement programme. The secret ingredients which make reablement services so effective is the way people work together: the person is a full partner with staff from statutory services, voluntary and independent sectors all aiming to help people reach maximum independence and control over their lives.”
The report can be viewed at www.ssiacymru.org.uk/reablement
