Reablement event
Published on 15 January 2013 10:30 AM
Older people in Wales need more services to help them maintain their independence and wellbeing, according to campaigners.
Age Alliance Wales and the Wales Reablement Alliance will be taking this message to the Senedd today.
Robert Taylor, Chair of Age Alliance Wales, and Chief Executive of Age Cymru explains:
"Reablement is about helping people to do things for themselves to maximise their ability to live life as independently as possible.
"Reablement services help people regain the skills they need to do the things they would like to be able to do for themselves.
"This could be anything from washing and dressing to preparing meals, going to leisure centre or social activities and may include adaptations or any other intensive, short term support to help older people to get their lives back on track after they've been ill.
"Services can be life-changing and life-enhancing and are a vital part of the rehabilitation process that older people go through after illness or a hospital stay.
"A lack of access to reablement services can lead to depression, isolation and delayed transfers of care, but when services are well coordinated, the impact on a person's wellbeing and independence can be great."
Age Alliance Wales and the Welsh Reablement Alliance are calling for reablement services to provide support for the whole person, including any emotional and social needs.
The ‘Wales: Are we doing enough?' event takes place at the Oriel in the Senedd between 12.00 midday and 2.00pm.
Older people from across Wales will be attending it, along with representatives 25 organisations from and the Welsh Reablement Alliance.
Ruth Crowder, Chair of the Welsh Reablement Alliance says:
"It's about supporting the whole person not by doing things for people but by enabling them to do things themselves and addressing their physical, social and emotional needs, and that person using the services to set their own goals while being supported by a reablement team to achieve these goals over a period of time.
"Reablement reduces hospital admission rates; reduces delays in leaving hospital; makes life better for older people and it saves money.
"However there is a tendency for bodies that provide reablement services to concentrate on services that focus on improving physical wellbeing, to the detriment of those which address emotional and social wellbeing."
David Pritchard is 71 and lives in Monmouth with his wife Marlene.
He has had both legs amputated and is speaking at today's event about his experiences of reablement services.