Website of the Department of Health

Main findings

During the survey week in September 2003

Between September 1999 and September 2003

The number of contact hours provided has increased by 16% while the number of households receiving services has decreased by 11%.

The proportion of contact hours provided by the independent sector has increased from 50% to 66%.

The number of households receiving home care from the independent sector has increased by 35%. In 2003, 226,500 households received care from the independent sector compared to 167,900 in 1999.

In 2003, the average number of contact hours per household was 8.6 hours. This is about 1.4 times the average number of contact hours provided in 1999 (6.3 hours). More than half of households received 6 or more visits during the week in 2003, compared with 48% in 1999. In 2003 44% of all households had over 5 contact hours of home care and 6 or more visits, an increase from 34% in 1999. The proportion of households receiving home care with only one visit has decreased from 24% in 1999 to 18% in 2003.

Background

The purpose of the Community Care Reforms of 1993 was to enable more people to continue to live in their own homes as independently as possible. New statistical returns, including the HH1 form, were introduced in 1992 to monitor and evaluate these changes. Information is presented here on home help/home care services provided since 1992.

Home care is defined as services that assist the client to function as independently as possible and/or continue to live in their own home. Services may involve routine household tasks within or outside the home, personal care of the client or respite care in support of the client's regular carers. It excludes services such as day care, meals, transport and equipment. Clients receiving home care through direct payments are also excluded from the HH1 return.

For 2003, information was collected on the HH1 form and generally related to the sample week of 15th to 21st September 2003. Some Councils with Social Service Responsibilities (CSSRs) provided information for an alternative week that they considered more representative.

Details were collected on the number of contact hours of home care and the number of households receiving these services. The data are broken down by the sector providing the service. In addition for each sector, a matrix of total contact hours by total number of visits during the week was collected. Information was not collected on the age or client group of people as this is being collected on the Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care (RAP) return.