Intermediate Care

Intermediate Care is a generic term that covers a wide range of services that help prevent unnecessary admission to hospital, or help facilitate early discharge. As such, the term refers to a very important range of services that can help reduce delayed discharges.

Definition of Intermediate Care

Intermediate Care services enable people to improve their independence and aim to provide a range of enabling, rehabilitative and treatment services in community settings. The term has been defined as a "range of integrated services to promote faster recovery from illness, prevent unnecessary acute hospital admission, support timely discharge and maximise independent living". (NSF for Older People, DOH, June 2002).

By definition, services will be time-limited and timescales will be dependent on the needs of individuals or patients and the nature of the individual's condition.

A further definition is "those services that do not require the resources of a general hospital but are beyond the scope of the traditional primary care team" (Oxford and Anglia Intermediate care Project, 1997). This includes:

  • Intermediate Care which substitutes for elements of hospital care and
  • Intermediate Care which integrates a variety of services for people whose health care needs are complex and in transition.

The term Intermediate Care has not been as commonly used or defined in Scotland in the past. However, local partnerships are increasingly identifying the potential benefits that could be realised by developing Intermediate Care services in Scotland that bring ongoing rehabilitative and enabling services closer to communities.

You can download a copy of our Definitions paper here:

Intermediate Care – Agreeing a Common Definition

Effective Delivery

Intermediate Care services are more effective when planned and delivered in partnership between primary and secondary health services, local authorities, and the voluntary and independent sectors. This whole-system approach to care provision seeks to provide better outcomes for users and carers, whilst also making more effective use of capacity within the wider health and social care system.

What's JIT currently doing to support Intermediate Care services?

We’re currently involved in a range of work to support the development of Intermediate Care services across Scotland. One of these is our Learning Network which anyone is welcome to join. You can find out more about our current projects via the right hand panel on this page, or by contacting us.

We’re developing a handbook that will provide a range of resources for partnerships to use in developing local services. We’re aiming to publish the completed handbook early in 2008 but in the meantime you can download relevant papers via the right hand panel on this page.