Published: 16 December 2024
A new analysis of reablement care provision in two local authorities in Wales indicates that such services can result in fewer people needing long term care plans.
Research from the Networked Data Lab (NDL) Wales found that, although reablement services vary in how they are organised and delivered across Wales, fewer people were given long-term care plans after using these services. NDL Wales is a partnership between Public Health Wales, Digital Health and Care Wales, Swansea University, and Social Care Wales. It is one of five analytical teams funded by the Health Foundation to investigate challenges facing health and care through linked data.
NDL Wales worked with Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taf local authorities, linking reablement data with health records, to produce this new data. All data analysis took place in the SAIL (Secure Anonymised Information Linkage) Databank’s Trusted Research Environment (TRE).
Some of the key findings of the data include:
Reablement care plays a vital role in enabling individuals to regain or maintain the skills necessary for independent living. Governed by the Social Services and Wellbeing Act 2014, Welsh local authorities must offer services that prevent or delay the need for long-term care. It has been challenging to understand who uses these services, what their health needs are, and how they access care because the data comes from multiple sources, often collected for different purposes.
Reablement care is essential in supporting independence and reducing long-term care reliance in Wales. Data from StatsWales shows that most reablement care packages did not lead to a need for long-term care, a trend seen across all Local Authorities in Wales. This report shows that it is possible to link local authority data with anonymised health records to understand better who is accessing reablement care in Wales.
This study also highlighted the challenges in data consistency across Welsh local authorities. The differences in how reablement care data is collected and recorded make it harder to gain comprehensive insights into outcomes. By adopting common data standards and definitions, local authorities could get more detailed insights into health outcomes and better evaluate the impact of reablement care. This use of data would help services focus on those most in need, support people to maintain their independence and evaluate new care models to drive health and social care innovation.
Our analysis contributed to the UK Networked Data Lab report by the Health Foundation [Are intermediate care services stretched too thin? | The Health Foundation] which highlighted the complexity of intermediate care across different health and care systems, and the challenges and importance of data sharing to better understand outcomes.
Laura Bentley, Senior Public Health Research officer, said: “This new report highlights the power of data linkage in providing valuable insights into those who access reablement care in Wales.
“We hope these findings demonstrate the importance of combining local authority data with routinely collected electronic health records in the SAIL databank.
“This provides a detailed understanding of those individuals accessing reablement care and helps local authorities understand services in their regions.”
“By understanding who uses these services and how they access them, we can better support local authorities in designing and delivering care that truly meets the needs of their communities.”