People discharged from hospital to be offered intensive care for seven days in council trial

The pilot will initially focus on elderly patients

Residents who are discharged from hospital could get 22 hours of intensive help in their first week back at home.

Islington Council has launched a six-month pilot for people who may not need a six-week reablement support package.

Initially the scheme is aimed at older residents, but the council is considering extending it to people with mental health conditions and disabilities.

Social services bosses were keen to stress it would not replace longer care for residents who need it, and that people with complex needs would still go straight onto reablement support.

They told councillors at the adult social care scrutiny committee this week that the aim is to offer tailored care and more flexibility for residents. It follows similar schemes in Gateshead and Haringey.

Director of social care Stephen Taylor said the intensive working can help people get their confidence and skills back and it can be easier to assess them at home rather than in hospital.

“We can go in, get people settled back into their own home and quite often that’s enough for people,” he explained.

He said the scheme means more people will get face-to-face attention, with 22.5 hours of care over the seven days.

Studies of similar schemes have reported a reduction in home care by 22 per cent after one year and 30 per cent after two years.

The council is considering whether to use external companies, run the scheme entirely in house, or use a mix of the two.

Residents getting care recently told councillors they sometimes see different people every day. They said it can be frustrating having to explain their feelings to a different person every day, as well as getting undressed in front of them.

Cllr Claire Zammit wanted to know what is being done to reduce this.

Taylor said: “We are working to reduce the number of people residents see.”

Cllr Mick Gilgunn wanted assurance that there are sufficient staff to cope with the intensive way of working.

He was told there is not a problem recruiting people, and that staff carrying out the seven-day model need “less expertise” than those looking after residents with more complex needs.

Social services will report back to the scrutiny committee about the pilot’s progress.