The council’s Social Work Services, working in partnership with home care provider Cordia and NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, will implement the reablement service, which is designed to encourage residents to help themselves and increase their independence. 

Under reablement, people who would normally have care tasks completed for them by carers, such as getting washed and dressed or preparing a meal or making a cup of tea, will be encouraged and supported to set goals and do more for themselves with assistance from reablement home carers.

Councillor Matt Kerr, the council’s Executive Member for Social Care, said: “We know that people want to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible. But as we have traditionally performed tasks for people rather than assisting them to do what they could otherwise do for themselves, the current way of working can undermine the potential for independence.

“Reablement is therefore about providing support that builds confidence within the people who require our care.  The focus is very firmly on people’s abilities and what they can and want to achieve, which helps to give them back control over their lives. We have compelling evidence that reablement will deliver better outcomes for both services users and the council as a whole.”

The reablement process begins when hospital ward staff contact Social Work with details of a patient’s discharge date and also their support needs. An occupational therapist and a reablement home care co-ordinator will then the visit the patient within 24 hours of their return from hospital to carry out an assessment of their situation at home.

All three parties will then agree a care plan, which identifies what the service user wants to do for themselves and what steps would be required to develop further skills. The care plan is then reviewed every week for up to six weeks with home carers providing feedback on the how the service user is progressing. A review can conclude with anything from no further action required to devising a long-term care plan.

Frances McMeeking, Cordia’s Head of Care Services, said: “The way we deliver home care in Glasgow is changing, but reablement will be to the benefit of city residents. Reablement will allow our dedicated home carers to work with clients rather than just do tasks for them.

“It will give our clients greater confidence and also a sense of empowerment, allowing them to adopt a healthier, more positive mindset and develop an even better understanding of their needs and limitations.

”Reablement will also create an even better understanding in the most vital relationship – that of the client and their home care professional.”

In Glasgow the reablement programme will initially be available in the north east of the city for people being discharged from hospital. It is anticipated that up to 600 people will be targeted for the reablement process in the next six months following their discharge from hospital.

The service will then be rolled out in the south of the city from April 2012 and in the north-west from October 2012. All people who require a home care service will eventually go through reablement. 

Anne Harkness, Director of Rehabilitation and Assessment for NHS Greater Glasgow and Clyde, added: “Being discharged from hospital is often an anxious time for older people and this new service will allow them to feel supported while they quickly get back to their normal daily routines.”

Almost 7000 people currently receive home care support in Glasgow overall.

The city’s reablement programme is being supported by £650k funding from the Scottish Government’s Change Fund to assist with the transition away from the traditional model of home care.

Cordia is a limited liability partnership (LLP) created by Glasgow City Council and to the work of the former Direct and Care Services (DACS) department. It is the council’s largest arm’s length external organisations (ALEO), providing a range of catering, support, cleaning and janitorial services.