A SERVICE helping frail people to stay in their homes rather than in hospital is set to be expanded.

Worcestershire County Council plans to invest £740,000 more in its ‘reablement’ service to help people discharged from care homes and hospital to stay at home.

The ‘reablement’ service looks to get people back to normal and stay independent by helping with everyday tasks such as getting dressed, preparing food and moving safely around the home.

The hope is by helping people to remain independent it will prevent people from frequently returning to hospital or moving into a care home.

The expanded scheme would cost around £740,000 a year and the council plans to use extra money gathered from a pilot scheme which allows the council to keep more of the money it raises from business rates.

District councils around Worcestershire agreed the county council could use the extra business rates money to alleviate pressure on adult and children’s social care.

Councillor Adrian Hardman, cabinet member for adult social care, said: “The idea is that we are going to try and get upstream of the issue by finding those who are on the edge of needing further intervention and by a programme led by an occupational therapist which will hopefully avoid them having to go in the acute or community or hospitals setting or indeed going into care homes.

“This is entirely in line with our absolute prime objective which is to keep people in their own homes and sustain their independence.

“The aim is to reduce the number of admissions into the acute and care homes.”

The council expects to save around £1 million a year through expanding the service once fully established, based on just over half of people not requiring a care package once they have used the reablement service.

The service will most likely be provided by the council as a reliable provider has been difficult to find.

Cllr Hardman said the reablement service would allow the council to build on work it has already done and would be a "step into the future that will improve the health of the people in the county," when speaking to the county council's cabinet on Thursday (July 11).

He said: "It just shows how much minor changes in lifestyle are able to improve people's life curve really quite dramatically."