“Right people, right skills, right support” with AbleMe service
A service which provides care to residents who need help to rehabilitate from injuries or health condition has been described as 'the best thing that happened to us' by a local family.
AbleMe offers short term support through home visits from trained practitioners and social care staff. Alongside advice and guidance they support the person needing care and the people around them too.
Launched in July 2024, AbleMe is run in-house by Wirral Council.
Six months since launching the service, which has 18 care staff, has supported more than 100 residents with personal care, household tasks, taking medication, avoiding falls and more.
We spoke to Tom* about his mum Anita* and the support their family received from AbleMe when her care needs changed.
Speaking of his mum, Tom said:
Mum has a few conditions. She has dementia but she has also had mobility issues for a number of years. Last year she became anaemic and this, coupled with her other issues, meant she quickly became less mobile and her health plummeted resulting in a couple of hospitalisations. It was a really difficult time for us, we all know the challenges the NHS is facing and the staff were brilliant but it’s not the place you want to be with your vulnerable parent.
Around this time, our GP made a referral to adult social care who put us in touch with the AbleMe team. This turned out to be the best thing that could’ve happened to us.
Tom and Anita were soon receiving a package of short-term emergency care. Even though Tom, who is in his 50s, had left his job to care for his mum full-time, Anita’s case was complex, requiring two carers to visit her four times a day. The carers would stay between five minutes to an hour, depending on what help and support she needed.
Tom said:
Over the weeks we met many of the service’s different carers and every single one of them was amazing. They have the right people, with the right skills and the right support all in one place. It sounds simple, but that’s not always the case especially with complex needs like my mum’s. But I can’t fault a single thing.
AbleMe’s carers provided Anita, who is in her 80s, help with personal care, mobility around her home while also making sure her son was being supported.
Tom said:
They didn’t just help my mum, they helped me. Emotionally, physically, mentally. If you’ve ever had really good customer care, you’ll know that the person providing that care thinks of things that you haven’t. That is what AbleMe did for us. They were so proactive, they were spotting problems and providing solutions I hadn’t even thought of. They spotted gaps in the aids around the home and put them in place for us.
Alongside practical support, Tom says the team provided ‘humanised’ care.
Tom said:
They were there to help us and help preserve her dignity. When things first changed [with mum’s personal care needs], mum didn’t want me helping her in that way, it was a hard thing for her to get used to.
But while the carers helped her physically, I think they did just as much for her mental health and social life. In the lead up to Christmas, the carers had her singing Christmas carols – and despite the fact she couldn’t carry a tune, it was such a special moment. They were so human and lovely. And that type of thing was happening every day – every carer poured their heart and soul into their job – it was humanised care.
If you hadn’t already guessed it, Tom says he would recommend the service to anybody who needs a bit of help for themselves or a loved one. As a full-time carer, even with a lot of support from his sister, he told us the team were invaluable and the care was life-changing.
Tom said:
Through some of the hardest times of my life they were there, offering a shoulder to lean on, and it steadied me and kept me going. I didn’t expect that. Every single carer we met went above and beyond the call of duty.
So far, 63% of the residents AbleMe has supported have regained their independence completely. The rest, like Anita, have gone on to tailored care packages with different adult social care teams – with advice from AbleMe about their specific needs.
To be eligible for some support from AbleMe, you should:
- have the potential to become more independent.
- be willing to work on a plan to get better and stick to it.
- have not received care, or been assessed as requiring long term care, in the past year.
- be 18 or older and a Wirral resident
To check if you, a family member or a person you support, are eligible for AbleMe, please contact the Central Advice and Duty Team (CADT) which is part of Adult Social Services. A full assessment of health and social care needs will be carried out.
• call 0151 606 2006
• email cadt@wirral.gov.uk
For more information visit www.wirral.gov.uk/ableme.
*Tom and Anita’s names have been changed to protect their anonymity.
