Organisational impact of developing reablement services

Abstract

Under the Community Act, Local Authorities have a legal responsibility to provide an assessment of need to people that require assistance and subsequently commission services that will meet the assessed needs. In 1997 Central Government started to implement a number of social care reforms which prioritised independent living, the building of sustainable communities and empowering service users to have more control and say about the services that they wished to use and access. As part of these changes Central Government made it compulsory through the National Health Act for Local Authorities and the National Health Service to work closely together to deliver services through partnership working. One of the joint strategic aims is to develop reablement and prevention services to increase people’s level of independence thereby reducing the demand for traditional long term care support. Reablement services are designed to offer short term intensive support which aim to maximise an individual’s ability for independence thereby reducing reliance on the need for either residential or nursing care. The development of reablement services presents a massive challenge for the Local Authority and the National Health Service as the change means that two very different organisations have to find a way to overcome a number of organisational barriers to enable workers from both organisations to work successfully together. This study will analyse the impact of developing reablement services through partnership working and critique how different Primary Care Trusts and Local Authorities are working together to deliver reablement services. This will involve examining different models of reablement, identifying what is required to make a successful model work and determining how the organisations overcome organisational and cultural differences. The study is based on Liverpool City Council and its work with Allied Health Professionals to deliver reablement services the study will also undertake a comparison exercise with 2 other Local Authorities within England.