Personalising reablement: inserting the missing link

The purpose of this paper is to highlight the ways in which reablement services can be made more effective by applying the learning from personalisation and person‐centred planning.

The paper draws on the evidence from evaluation of reablement services; and from the evaluation of social rehabilitation services using task‐centred practice.

The paper finds that motivation is key to the success of reablement. Person‐centred approaches can ensure that motivation supports the achievement of outcomes.

Reablement staff can, and should be, trained to identify personal goals with service users and use task‐centred approaches to achieve them. Partnership with voluntary organisations can help to deliver improved outcomes.

The paper brings together the lessons learned from reablement and from person‐centred practice to propose a more effective model of intervention.