Scottish Government

Statistics Release HOME CARE SERVICES, SCOTLAND 2002

A Scottish Executive National Statistics Publication

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Introduction

The purpose of this Statistics Release is to present the latest national figures for home care services provided or purchased by local authorities in Scotland. All local authorities in Scotland provide Home Care services which give people the support, practical help and personal care that they need to live as independently as possible in the community.

All figures relate to the week ending 31 March 2002 and are provisional, as such, may be subject to change. The final figures will be published in 'Scottish Community Care Statistics 2002'.

Main points

Comparisons with 2001 show: -

• While the number of home care clients has decreased this year (by 3 per cent), the number of hours provided to clients has increased (by 9 per cent). This has resulted in the overall hours per client increasing from 6.0 in 2001 to 6.8 in 2002 (an increase of 13 per cent).
• The estimated number of older people (aged 65 and over) receiving intensive home care (more than 10 hours per week) has increased from 12.6 clients per 1,000 population of older people in 2001 to 13.5 in 2002 (an increase of 7 per cent).
• The proportion of service provided solely by the voluntary and private sectors continues to increase. It rose from 14 per cent in 2001 to 19 per cent in 2002.

Information collected on home care services shows that: -

• One in 5 clients received more than 10 hours service per week.
• The majority of clients (64 per cent) received services on weekdays only, whilst 35 per cent received services on weekdays and at the weekend.
• Almost three-quarters of services were provided in the morning / early afternoon (between 7am and 2pm).

The groups of people who used home care services in 2002 are similar to last year: -

• 83 per cent of clients were aged 65 years and over.
• Gender splits show 71 per cent were female and 29 per cent were male
• Three-quarters of clients had physical disabilities (including frailty associated with ageing).
• Most people using the service (76 per cent) lived alone.

Information collected on staffing shows: -

• There were an estimated 10,533 whole-time equivalent home care staff directly employed in local authorities providing a total of 325,930 hours of direct contact.

Chart 1: Hours of Home Care Service by Provider, 1998 - 2002

Provider and Purpose of Home Care Services

There was an estimated 429,261 hours of service provided to around 63,541 clients in 2002. The number of home care clients has fallen steadily over the past 5 years, while the number of client hours dropped initially. Since then however, it has increased to a maximum over this period. In 1998 and 1999 clients received, on average, 5.1 hours of home care per week. This has risen steadily to 6.8 hours for 2002 (See Table 1).

Table 1: Number of Home Care Clients and Hours Provided / Purchased

The estimated number of older people receiving intensive home care (more than 10 hours per week) has increased over the 5-year period. In 2002, 13.5 clients per 1,000 population aged 65 or over received intensive home care - compared with 12.6 in 2001 (See Table 1).

Of the estimated 63,541 clients who received a home care service provided or purchased by a local authority in 2002, 15 per cent received at least part of their home care service from a private or voluntary provider - compared to 13 per cent in 2001 (See Table 2).

The average number of contact hours per client for those receiving local authority provided services only was 5.7 hours, compared to 13.2 hours for those receiving home care from a private or voluntary provider only (See Table 2).

Table 2: Number of Home Care Clients and Hours Provided / Purchased by Provider of Service

Just under 80,900 hours (19 per cent) were provided solely by the private / voluntary sector. Additionally, over 40,000 hours (9 per cent) were provided by some combination of local authority, private and voluntary provision (See Table 2 & Chart 1).

The proportion of service provided solely by local authorities has been decreased from 89 per cent in 1998 to 72 per cent in 2002. The majority of this decrease is due to the increase in service provided or purchased solely from the voluntary and private sectors (see Table 3).

Table 3: Distribution of Home Care Hours Provided / Purchased by Provider of Service, 1998 - 2002

Profile of Clients Receiving Home Care Services

Approximately 76 per cent of clients receiving home care services provided or purchased by local authorities were people with physical disabilities (including frailty associated with ageing). New information on gender shows that 71 per cent of clients were female. Eighty-three per cent of all clients were aged 65 years or over (See Table 4).

Eleven per cent of home care clients were classified as being in 'other vulnerable groups'. It is expected that this group will include some clients who would have been classified as 'older people' under the previous classification system (See Table 4).

Table 4: Age and Client Group of Clients Receiving Home Care Services

Approximately 76 per cent of clients in receipt of a home care service were living alone; an additional 8 per cent were living in households where 2 or more people received the service (See Table 5).

Table 5: Living Arrangements of Clients Receiving Home Care Services

Levels and Timing of Home Care Services Provided

Twenty per cent of clients of home care services received more than 10 hours of service provided or purchased by a local authority in 2002 (See Table 6). This percentage has gradually increased over the last 5 years. The number of clients receiving less than 4 hours has decreased over the same period (See Chart 2). This indicates a gradual shift towards a more intensive level of service.

Table 6: Number of Home Care Clients by Level of Service Received

Chart 2: Time Series of Levels of Service 1998-2002

Chart 3 and Table 7 illustrate the provision of home care services by time of day and part of week.

Sixty-four per cent of clients received a home care service on weekdays only, whilst only one per cent received services at the weekends only (See Chart 3).

Chart 3: Provision of Home Care by Part of Week

Almost three-quarters of hours of service were delivered in the morning / lunchtime period, i.e. between 7am and 2pm, an additional 11 per cent were delivered in the evening / overnight period, i.e. between 7pm and 7am (See Table 7).

Table 7: Provision of Home Care Service Hours by Time of Day and Part of Week

Staff Providing Home Care Services

There were 10,533 whole-time equivalent (WTE) staff employed within Scottish local authorities to provide home care services. They provided a total of 325,930 direct contact hours (See Table 8).

Table 8: Local Authority Employed Home Care Staff

For local authority staff providing home care services, the average number of client contact hours per whole-time equivalent staff was estimated to be 31 hours in 2002. The average standard working week for corresponding staff was around 37 hours.

Equivalent information on staffing within private and voluntary organisations providing home care services is not available.

Background Information on the Collection of Home Care Services

Data was collected with respect to the week ending 31 March 2002, although some local authorities provided information for a different week, which was thought to be more typical.

A revised home care statistical collection was introduced in 1998. Local authorities are asked to provide details of all home care services provided by their own staff, and in addition, services bought in from other local authorities, and private / voluntary organisations. Further information on home care services is published in 'Scottish Community Care Statistics 2001'.

A number of authorities had difficulty in providing information on home care services, whether provided or purchased from private and voluntary providers. Glasgow City and Eilean Siar were only able to return partial complete information. Gender splits were included in the return for the first time, only 80 per cent of authorities could complete this section. Care should therefore be taken when interpreting figures in this area of provision as a considerable amount of data has been estimated.

There is external evidence that the amount of home care services provided without local authority involvement, e.g. purchased privately by families, has grown significantly in recent years. Statistical information on such activity in Scotland is not currently available, and therefore is not included in this analysis.

Unpaid carers also provide help and care for disabled and older people. Information on carers is available in Chapter 6 of 'Scottish Community Care Statistics 2001'.

Further Information

Further details and analysis of the data presented in this Statistics Release are available on request from the address given below. The Statistics Release is available on the Internet by accessing the Scottish Executive web site ( www.scotland.gov.uk).

Information at a disaggregate local authority level showing number of clients receiving a service and number of hours service provided or purchased is shown in annex 1 to this Statistics Release.

Social Work Statistics
Room 2N.08
St Andrew's House
Edinburgh
EH1 3DG

Contact: Steven Gillespie
Tel: 0131 244 3777
E-mail: SWStat@scotland.gov.uk

This statistics release was published on 27 November 2002.

ANNEX 1: Total Number of Home Care Clients and Hours of Service Provided by Local Authority

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1