What is the difference between Reablement Care and Traditional Home Care?

Reablement is a type of care, which supports individuals to retain or regain their day-to-day coping skills, dignity and confidence to manage and do things for themselves after a period of illness.

The reablement Model of Care is a 'doing with' model, which is different from the traditional Home Care model of 'doing for.’

The aim is to give individuals the tools they need to lead the qualitative and fullest possibles lives, which might have been compromised or lost through illness, injury or acquired disability.

Reablement support workers are trained to observe, encourage prompt and where necessary assist the individual to learn new skills or re-learn skills they may have lost within a 6 weeks’ timeframe.

Supporting individuals to carry out activities of coping and doing for themselves initially takes more time than the traditional care. Therefore, reablement support workers are likely to visit more frequently and stay for longer than a traditional home care worker, who may have done the task more quickly on behalf of individuals needing traditional care.

Throughout the 6 weeks period, a reablement support worker will observe, encourage and prompt the individual to learn or re-learn skills they may have lost, after spending a long recovery with restricted mobility, to rehabilitate in their personal care and other related activities. This takes place through practical guided instruction and demonstrative learning in the comfort of the individual own home.