Scottish Government

Scottish Community Care Statistics 2001

Day Care

The day care figures included in this publication cover private and voluntary day centres registered with social work registration and inspection units and day centres run by local authorities. Day care which is provided outwith traditional day centre settings is not included here although it is expected that this will be included in future years. For definitions on which day care data are collected, please refer to the notes in annex A.

This data series has returned to an annual collection after a period of triennial collection.

Tables 1.8 and 1.9 contain information on day centres primarily intended for older people. Figures for day centres for other client groups are included in chapters 2-5.

In 1998 a new methodology was introduced for dealing with non-response. Care should be taken when comparing time series data before and after 1998 as the figures may not be directly comparable. Please refer to annex A for more details.

In 2001, a new survey of day care services took place. The figures for "number attending" in 2001 are not comparable with previous years. In 2001, information was collected on numbers attending day centres during the census week. In previous years, the numbers attending related to all persons who regularly attended regardless of whether they were there during census week.

Table 1.8: Number of Day Centres ¹ for Older People, Places and People Attending, 1980-2001

Includes centres with four places or less (which are usually attached to residential homes).
² No survey took place in 1999 and 2000.

Source: SEHD Community Care Statistics - D1-B Return

It can be seen from table 1.8 that the number of centres in Scotland increased by 13 per cent since 1998 whilst the number of people attending has been steadily declining. The number of places has remained stable for the last 6 years; there were 7,744 places available in 2001.

Table 1.9 presents the number of day centres, places and people attending for each local authority in 2001.

Local authorities run nearly two-thirds of day centres for older people. The proportion of places in the local authority sector in 2001 was 68 per cent compared to 24 per cent in the voluntary sector, and 7 per cent in the private sector.

The number of attendees per 1,000 of the population aged 65 and over is approximately 15, for Scotland as a whole. The Shetland Islands have 53 attendees per 1,000 of the population aged 65 and over, the highest in Scotland. In contrast, the lowest rate (3 attendees per 1,000 of the 65 and over population) for Scotland is in East Ayrshire and Stirling.

Table 1.9: Number of Day Centres ¹ for Older People, Places and People Attending by Sector, 2001

Includes centres with four places or less (which are usually attached to residential homes).

Source: SEHD Community Care Statistics - D1-B Return