Intermediate care is a collection of services that focus on prevention, rehabilitation, reablement and recovery. They can provide an alternative to going into hospital and provide extra support after a hospital stay.

Intermediate care can be provided by a range of different health and social care professionals, including nurses, occupational therapists, care assistants and others. These are time-limited services, usually provided over a few days or weeks. They can be provided in your own home, a care home or other supported accommodation.

Intermediate care services can include:

• reablement
• rapid response community teams
• 'hospital at home' (specialist care delivered at home as an alternative to being treated in an acute hospital environment, overseen by a consultant or other specialist, like your GP)
• enhanced supported discharge

The type of intermediate care provided will vary from area to area. Contact your local council's social care department to find out what's available locally.

The Scottish Government have a leaflet called Ready for Discharge? What happens next? (PDF 271 KB).

Read more from the Scottish Government on intermediate care