Key messages

Reablement focuses on restoring independence rather than resolving health care issues.
Research findings are positive and show that reablement is cost-effective compared with conventional home care.
It is the intention of the Secretary of State for Health that clinical commissioning groups should embrace reablement.
While reablement usually begins in hospital, this is not inevitable as people can be referred from the community, for instance by general practitioners (GPs) and social workers.
A multidisciplinary team activates a reablement plan with clear objectives and an analysis of likely outcomes. The team could be organised around clusters of practices, with combined health and social care input.
Flexibility and reassessment throughout the intervention period is necessary to ensure improvements in outcomes. Strategies and services should be deployed that lead to improvements in independence and self-care after an illness.
People using reablement must be consulted to assess satisfaction and measure quality of life indices through and after the reablement period.