What Is Intermediate Care?
Intermediate Care, sometimes called reablement care is a form of respite care that supports someone to remain in their own home while they recover from an illness, accident or hospital stay.
Intermediate Care can also be helpful if you are starting to find certain household tasks more difficult than they used to be and need some short-term help with them. While intermediate care can be provided in your own home or a residential care home, there are many advantages to remaining at home to receive support. Being in familiar surroundings can make you feel calmer and more comfortable which can have a positive effect on you both physically and emotionally.
Additionally, having beloved people, pets and possessions nearby can lift your mood and make a wealth of difference to your recovery. Intermediate Care at home can also reduce pressure on the wider healthcare system by avoiding the need for unnecessary hospital stays, or in the case of an unavoidable stay, getting you home quicker.
Request a callback Email usHow Is Intermediate Care Different to Other Healthcare Support?
Intermediate Care differs from other types of care in that it is only for a short duration, usually a maximum of around 6 weeks. In this time the carer will often be part of an integrated care team for the customer that includes other healthcare professionals such as the GP, physiotherapist and district nurse, for instance. We will work with you to devise a package of care that supports you to your exact requirements, meaning that you get the most out of your care and recover as quickly as possible. We will also produce a personalised support plan to accompany your care that shows how you like things done and respects your routines continuously.
In the case of crisis response, sometimes also called emergency care, your care will begin more quickly than it would in a non-emergency situation, due to the exceptional circumstances. This emergency response could be caused by a regular carer needing to take time off in a hurry, a family member who cares for you falling ill themselves, or perhaps an unanticipated discharge from hospital. In the case of emergency care, Helping Hands can have a carer in your home ready to support you within 24 hours.
What to Expect with Intermediate Care?
Before your care starts you will have an assessment with one of our professional care managers, that takes into account your abilities, needs and wishes. There will be involvement with your family if you wish, or a decision maker or advocate, if appropriate. Discussions will include whether intermediate care will be suitable for you and which setting it will be provided in; for instance, your loved ones may suggest you stay with them rather than be alone in your own home.
With Helping Hands, you will have the choice of either visiting care or live-in care, depending on your preferences, and with visits starting from just 30 minutes a week, we can support anyone who needs intermediate care at home.
You’ll receive a personalised support plan which will detail the care that you have requested and will contain appropriate risk assessments, plus aims and outcomes of what you hope to get from the service. It’s really important to have an end goal in mind when receiving intermediate care, as the service is meant to be temporary and you should always be working towards an outcome that you feel is achievable. This could be something practical such as being able to walk unassisted or perhaps a wider goal of becoming independent again.
Your support plan will detail how you and your carer, as well as the wider integrated care team, will help you achieve your goal and the smaller manageable steps that will support it.
Intermediate Care from Helping Hands
Having Intermediate Care from Helping Hands means that you will receive the highest quality home care in the place you love most, from a company with over 30 years’ experience. Our carers can provide you with either visiting or live-in care, and whichever you choose you will have access to some of the most experienced and compassionate carers in the industry.
Our carers really are the heart of our business and that’s why we look after them, with comprehensive training when they join us and continuous opportunities to develop their professional skills. Added to that is the fact that we’re fully regulated by the Care Quality Commission and Care Inspectorate Wales, so you know that you’re receiving care from a company who is committed to exceeding industry regulations for care delivery standards.
How to Arrange Intermediate Care
Arranging Intermediate care is as easy as picking up the phone or accessing our website. Our friendly and knowledgeable customer care specialists are available seven days a week to help, or you can contact us via our website and we’ll be happy to call you back.
Page reviewed by Jackie Geary, Regional Clinical Lead on April 1, 2021