Video case study: Joined up working with rehab at the centre

A new CSP case study video highlights the effectiveness of local authority and NHS colleagues working together to provide joined up, rehab-centred intermediate care.  

In Leeds, the Active recovery pilot is improving patient outcomes, getting people out of hospital with more efficiency and helping them return home and regain their independence. The pilot sees staff employed by the local authority and NHS community trust working closely together – both to plan people’s discharges from hospital and to support them once they are home.   

The pilot is taking place in a part of Leeds where there is higher-than-average levels of deprivation. It sees physiotherapists and occupational therapists visiting people in their homes alongside social care staff on their first day home from hospital. This means therapeutic interventions and rehabilitation can begin with minimal delay. People are able to regain strength, mobility and independence sooner. 

As physiotherapist  Rachel Livingston says:  'In the NHS, we are all too often tied to our waiting lists. With the Active recovery pilot, we’ve been given the freedom that we would like to deliver the care we want.'

This way of working is yielding results. Fewer hospital discharges are cancelled or delayed, both social care and NHS staff report greater satisfaction in their work, and people discharged from the service need markedly fewer hours of domiciliary social care.  

The Leeds Active recovery pilot is an excellent example of NHS England’s Intermediate Care Framework (ICF) in action. The ICF, and corresponding new model for community rehabilitation, show a concerted attempt to make rehab a key part of NHS planning and service delivery.
 
The framework and the new model of rehab have strong national support but are guidance, and the recommendations aren’t mandatory. To turn the model into reality will require CSP members and other rehab partners to make the case and help this to happen.

Find out how you can further the implementation of the ICF in your local health system