Short-term personal care intervention
Information
Edinburgh Health and Social Care Partnership work with older people experiencing a decline in independence at home through age, or following a fall, illness or injury. Reablement services deliver personal care support and work with people for up to 6 weeks to rebuild confidence, learn or relearn skills and maximise independence in their own home.
Reablement services can also support preventative care to avoid admission.
Social care teams work with occupational therapists and physiotherapists to identify positive, person-centred goals that are important to the person needing support. Reablement also assesses a person’s longer-term personal care needs in the community.
We can help with:
- Support to make or prepare meals for themselves.
- Ordering and using aids and equipment to live safely at home.
- Support with bathing and toileting independently.
- Mobility and moving around the home independently.
For same day urgent need, please see Urgent Therapy and Social Care – RefHelp
Who can refer:
This referral route is open to all Primary Care clinicians.
Who to refer:
- People who have not had reablement before.
- People with a temporary reduction in mobility due to illness or injury or who have experienced a fall.
- People recovering from a hospital stay (e.g., surgery, acute illness, or a fracture).
- People who have experienced a sudden deterioration in their ability to manage daily tasks (e.g., after an infection).
- People transitioning back home after a period in a rehabilitation facility or Care home.
- People who need temporary assistance to regain independence (e.g. loss of their main support).
- People who have experienced a stroke but show potential for regaining independence through short-term intervention.
Who not to refer:
- People with significant cognitive impairment who are unable to engage with reablement goals (e.g., advanced Parkinson’s, Severe Dementia Huntington’s Disease).
- People receiving end-of-life care or in the final stages of a terminal illness where the primary goal is comfort and symptom management rather than regaining independence.
- People with rapidly deteriorating conditions for whom reablement would not provide meaningful benefits.
How to refer:
Please contact Social Care Direct, via the email address below, including all relevant information.
Socialcaredirectemergency@edinburgh.gov.uk
The referral is screened and, if accepted, it is aimed that an initial assessment of the patient is carried out within 5 days.
