Long-time Shepherds Bush resident Gerardo Gallego (left) at home with his carer
Hammersmith & Fulham Council is continuing to offer free care at home to all residents – and is still the only council in the country to do so.
This includes the outstanding support delivered by our ‘reablement’ team, who work intensively with residents for up to six weeks when their health or ability to function changes, such as after a hospital stay. Between May 2021 and May 2022 H&F provided reablement support to 2,193 people.
“Offering free care at home is one of the ways the council is supporting residents in the cost-of-living crisis,” said Cllr Coleman, Deputy Leader of H&F.
“We think that having support and care to keep living at home or to recover after illness or injury shouldn’t be a financial worry for people, which is why we abolished all home care charges when first elected and have committed to keeping this support free.”
A helping hand
Retired casino worker and long-time Shepherds Bush resident Gerardo Gallego, 84, recently received reablement care to support his discharge from hospital.
“I’m very healthy. I can work the phone, do the shopping and go to the bank. I can do everything,” said his wife Maria, who is 86.
“But I couldn’t manage looking after Gerardo because it was a lot of work. We have two grown up sons. They live in London and were fantastic at visiting us every week, but I still couldn’t do it all myself.”
Mr Gallego had gone into hospital after a bad fall where he had fractured his ankle, resulting in surgery and a stay in the inpatient rehabilitation ward.
He was referred for his reablement care by the hospital when it was clear that the retired couple would benefit from short term, personalised support in their home.
Reablement officers supported Mr Gallego with all aspects of his care and recovery, ensuring he was strong and well enough to continue his independent lifestyle after their care ended.
“His team were very nice, we were incredibly happy with them, they were fantastic. They came four times every day and cleaned and changed his catheter, they also helped him to practice standing up and moving with his walking stick,” said Mrs Gallego.
“He recovered very quickly with them. We were very grateful for the care.”
A history of dedication
You can read more about the fantastic work our reablement team does here:
Josephine’s reablement care experience.
Oliver’s and Patrick’s reablement care experiences.
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