Early intervention
Early intervention & prevention
Definition
Prevention is about preventing the loss of activities, such as getting up and dressed, which prevents people entering the social care system, in particular residential care, or even the NHS, through preventing hospital admission. It is about making sure people remain independent for as long as possible.
Early intervention is about nipping things in the bud before they become a far bigger problem.
Making a Strategic Shift Towards Prevention and Early Intervention – Sets out a framework for definign prevention. It categorises ‘prevention’ in the following three ways:
- Primary prevention – Maintaining the wellbeing and independence of people who have no particular social car or health need.
- Secondary prevention – Early identification to reduce risk.
- Tertiary prevention – Minimising disability or deterioration from established health conditions or complex social care needs.
Good practice examples
- Leicestershire County Council’s Homecare Assessment and Reablement Team (HART)
- Torquay’s Flip Flops Scheme
Association of Social Care Communicators 