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Community Care Statistics 2001: Home help/ home care services, England
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Last modified date:8 February 2007
National Statistics on home care services purchased or provided by Local Authorities in England, for a survey week in September 2001 were published in a Statistical Press Notice. Further information at the local level is presented here.
Main findings
During the survey week in September 2001
- An estimated 2.88 million contact hours were provided to around 381,200 households (or 395,500 clients). Compared with 2000 this represents an increase in the number of contact hours of 3 per cent and a fall in the number of households receiving home care of 4%. This suggests that Local Authorities are providing more intensive services for a smaller number of service users, continuing the trend seen in recent years.
- Around 76,400 households (20% of households)* received intensive home care in 2001 (defined as more than 10 contact hours and 6 or more visits during the week). This represents a 6% increase from the 2000 figure of 72,300**.
- Around 39% of households who received home care received 6 or more visits and more than 5 hours of care. In 2000, around 36% of households receiving care had 6 or more visits and over 5 hours care.
- 21% of households receiving care had only a single visit during the week compared with 22% in 2000. In the vast majority of cases the visit lasted 2 hours or less.
- Around 19,600 households were receiving home care from both the Local Authority directly and the independent sector, a slight increase on 2000.
- Three fifths of the total contact hours of home care were provided by the independent sector to 205,300 households (around 19,600 of these households may also be receiving home care from Local Authorities directly). This reflects the increase of the commissioning of home care by Local Authorities from the independent sector.
Between September 1992 and September 2001
- The number of contact hours has increased by 71% while the number of households receiving services has decreased by 28%.
- The proportion of contact hours provided by the independent sector has increased from 2% to 60%.
- The average number of contact hours per household has more than doubled (from 3.2 hours in 1992 to 7.6 hours in 2001). Over the period, the proportion of households receiving home care and receiving over 5 contact hours and 6 or more visits has increased from 11% to 39%. More than half of households received 6 or more visits during the week in 2001, compared with 16% in 1992. The proportion of households receiving home care and only one visit of 2 hours or less in duration has decreased from 42% in 1992 to 17% in 2001.
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