SAIL Databank News. Published 13/05/2025
With an aging population and an increasing burden of ill health, the need for support to help people live independently is growing. Intermediate care is short-term care which supports people to recover after an illness, accident or hospital admission, aiming to reduce pressure on acute services by facilitating hospital discharge or preventing the need for an admission. The Welsh Government’s “A Healthier Wales” strategy emphasises the need for an integrated health and social care system, bringing health and social care services care closer to the home, preventing illness, and enabling people to live independently for as long as possible. Reablement care is a form of intermediate care. It is a focused service, provided by local authorities, that helps individuals maintain or regain independence at home.
We spoke with Laura Bentley, Senior Public Health Research Officer at Public Health Wales, to learn more about this important service.
Why is this research needed?
There is currently limited data available on who accesses reablement care. Although some data is reported at a local authority level, each local authority still stores detailed individual-level data separately. Linking these datasets provides a unique opportunity to understand those accessing reablement care better, helping local authorities manage service demands and gain insight into how individuals access these services.
What are the aims of this research?
Research conducted by the Networked Data Lab programme analysed various aspects of intermediate care across the UK (Are intermediate care services stretched too thin? | The Health Foundation). In the Networked Data Lab Wales, research was focused on reablement care provided by local authorities, aiming to explore reablement care in Wales by describing the characteristics and health of people who access reablement services at a local authority level (Insights into individuals accessing reablement care at a local authority level in Wales – Public Health Wales).
How was SAIL Databank used in your research?
Through collaboration with Bridgend and Rhondda Cynon Taf local authorities, anonymised individual-level data on reablement care was acquired into the SAIL Databank. Through linkage to demographic and health data available within the SAIL Databank, the research was able to explore the demographic characteristics and health of those accessing reablement care, the types of services delivered in local areas, the source of referrals to reablement care, and changes in support needs following completion of reablement care packages.
What is the anticipated impact of your research?
This research shows that it is possible to link local authority data with anonymised health records to understand better who is accessing reablement care in Wales.
However, differences in data systems and how information is recorded by local authorities in Wales make it challenging to understand the outcomes fully. This research also hopes to encourage the adoption of common data definitions, collection, and recording standards across local authorities, in alignment with the “A Healthier Wales” goal of a more integrated health and social care system. This would allow for more detailed insights into health outcomes, better helping services to focus on those most in need, to support people to maintain their independence and to evaluate new care models to drive health and social care innovation.
Project partners and funders
The Networked Data Lab programme is funded by The Health Foundation, an independent charity committed to bringing about better health and health care for people in the UK.
Networked Data Lab Wales (NDL Wales) is a collaboration across Public Health Wales (PHW), Swansea University (SAIL Databank), Digital Health and Care Wales (DHCW), and Social Care Wales.
This project was co-developed with the input from a number of local authorities in Wales, namely thanks to those from Bridgend Local Authority, Neath Port Talbot Local Authority, Pembrokeshire Local Authority, Powys Local Authority and Rhondda Cynon Taf Local Authority, who provided both data and expert insight for this analysis.
The full Health Foundation briefing, “Are intermediate care services stretched too thin?” includes analyses from Networked Data Labs in Wales, Grampian, Leeds, Cheshire and Merseyside and North West London.
Read more about the work here:
Insights into individuals accessing reablement care at a local authority level in Wales