Reablement

What is reablement?

Reablement provides adults with the opportunity, motivation and confidence to:

• Relearn or regain some of the skills they may have lost due to poor health, disability, impairment or accident
• Gain new skills that will help them to develop and maintain their independence

We believe everyone should have the chance to be supported to regain or relearn skills to enable them to live as independently as possible, therefore before we help you consider your long term home care needs, we'll provide a period of reablement.  Reablement can take place for a maximum of six weeks, but is often completed in a shorter time period depending on assessed needs. If at the end of that time, you have longer-term eligible care needs we'll help you to decide how these should be met.

As well as the satisfaction people gain from being able to do more things for themselves, reablement helps prevent people becoming dependent on long term services.

How does reablement help you and how does it work?

Reablement provides help with personal social care, activities of daily living and other practical tasks for a limited time. The approach used will enable you to develop and regain both confidence and practical skills to carry out these activities independently.

Trained staff work with you to ensure that you are supported in your own home and to enable you to safely practice those skills.

An action plan is agreed with you. Your plan is based upon assessments carried out by social workers and other appropriate professionals such as occupational therapists.

The service will work with you to set achievable goals. These goals will be based on what is reasonable for you to expect to be able to do for yourself at the end of the reablement programme. They will be recorded as part of your goal plan and kept in your home so that you, your carers and care staff can monitor your achievements and identify new goals to work towards.

To enable you to choose a course of actions that will help you achieve your preferred lifestyle, reablement workers will follow the programme in your goal plan. They will work with you to consider any risks to living in the community and look for ways to minimise these wherever possible. The emphasis for the service will always be to encourage you to do things for yourself.

What type of tasks can reablement help me with?

Reablement can help with a range of tasks including:

• Personal care tasks such as washing, dressing and toileting.
• Domestic skills such as food and drink preparation, shopping, organising and planning daily routines, using transport and laundry.
• Encouraging the necessary confidence to safely move around your home. This could include getting up and out of a chair, or in and out of bed.

What do I do if I think reablement will help me?

If you live in County Durham and think you need care and support, your first step should be to visit our Locate website. Locate hosts a range of information and advice, including organisations to help you live as independently as you can.

What happens next?

You can refer yourself - or the person you care for, with their consent - for a social care assessment (see Get your care needs assessed). If you are eligible for care and support then someone will contact you to discuss the different ways of meeting your needs including reablement. If you are not eligible for support from us, Locate - care and support in County Durham has details of other organisations that can help you.

How much will it cost?

Reablement is free and can take place for a maximum of six weeks, but is often less depending on your assessed care and support needs. Any further care needed to meet eligible social care needs will incur a cost and you will be offered a financial assessment and benefits check to work out what your personal contribution towards this cost will be.