Reablement
What is Reablement?
'Services for people with poor physical or mental health to help them accommodate their illness by learning or re-learning the skills necessary for daily living.'
Department of Health's Care Services Efficiency Delivery (CSED) Programme
Reablement services operate differently in different localities, but all offer personalised support services over a short period of time (often 6 weeks) to people leaving hospital or residential care following illness or an accident. By providing such coordinated services, the aim is to speed recovery and aid confidence thereby delaying or preventing the need for intensive, long-term home care packages or admission to residential care.
In November 2010 Andrew Lansley MP, Health Secretary announced specific funding for Reablement, rising to £300 million pa by financial year 2014/15. Monies will be given to PCTs to develop joint plans with local authorities to spend the fund in the most appropriate way for their area.
What is the role of telecare?
Telecare can play an important role in the Reablement process, contributing to assessment, managing risk and offering low cost, ongoing support throughout the reablement period. Telecare provides a means of unobtrusively monitoring a person's environment 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. Wireless sensors placed around the home raise the alarm if they detect a possible problem, such as smoke, by communicating with a central Lifeline unit which in turn automatically creates an alert at a monitoring centre, where trained operators can the arrange an appropriate response.
What is the role of telehealth?
Telehealth helps to support people with long term conditions by monitoring a patient’s vital signs from a distance, with the reassurance that if their readings exceed predefined parameters a clinician will be alerted and then be able to respond appropriately.
Telehealth empowers patients to understand their condition and the effects their behaviour has on their health, enabling them to feel more in control. It also provides great reassurance to patients and their carers, reducing anxiety which in itself can improve symptoms.
When telehealth is embedded into care pathways it can help to make efficient use of clinicians’ time, allowing them to identify which patients are managing well and which need more support. Existing telehealth services show reduced unplanned hospital admissions and fewer visits to A&E for patients using the service.
NEW Resource
GGI Board Assurance Prompt - telecare supported reablement
Tunstall has a range of resources available to helps its customers embed telecare into the reablement process effectively. Contact us on 01977 660479 or email sales@tunstall.co.uk to find out more.