Reablement and Positive Ageing

Australia’s sweeping aged care reforms mandate a wellness and reablement (W&R) approach, emphasising reablement's critical role in improving older people's physical and mental health and wellbeing.

This shift in focus requires aged care providers to adjust their way of working with clients, empowering seniors to remain active and independent for as long as possible.

In this article, we discuss reablement under the Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards.

We also explore how MePACS monitored personal alarms can help aged care providers to demonstrate compliance with Outcome 3.2: Delivery of care and services.  

Reablement and Aged Care

The aged care sector is continuously evolving to meet the changing needs of older people. Globally, seniors are living longer, with most desiring to live in their own homes and local communities for as long as possible.

Research increasingly highlights the positive outcomes associated with fostering independence in older adults. Australian and international studies indicate that lifestyle choices, rather than genetics, have a greater influence on age-related decline. People who remain independent for as long as possible have been found to live better and longer.

Traditional aged care service delivery models tend to focus on an older person’s limitations instead of their capabilities. This approach can lead to an over-reliance on services and potentially accelerated functional decline.

Reablement is a person-centred, holistic approach that focuses on an individual’s strengths, goals and preferences to help them regain or maintain their functional capacity and independence.

Strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards: Care and Services

Standard 3 of the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards describes the way providers must deliver funded aged care services.

Standard 3: Outcome 3.2: Delivery of care and services under the strengthened Aged Care Quality Standards (Action 3.2.2) requires aged care providers to deliver funded aged care services in a way that optimises the individual’s quality of life, reablement and maintenance of function, where this is consistent with their preferences.

This means that care should be designed to support individuals in regaining lost functions or maintaining existing abilities, where appropriate.

MePACS Personal Alarms and Reablement

MePACS is dedicated to helping people live confidently and independently with peace of mind.

Extensive evidence demonstrates that MePACS monitored personal alarms reduce the strain on the health system and provide a sense of security that empowers seniors to maintain a more active and independent lifestyle.

Landmark research published in the Australian Journal on Ageing shows that our cost-effective service provides older people with the confidence to age independently at home for longer.

A further study found that the MePACS monitored personal alarm service led to a 30 per cent reduction in ambulance callouts, with annual cost savings of $1.5 million to ambulance services alone.

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