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Statistics Release
HOME CARE SERVICES, SCOTLAND 2004

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 2004 and are provisional, as such, may be subject to change. The final figures will be published in future publications.

Main points

Comparisons with 2003 show that: -

• The number of home care clients has increased by 4 per cent this year. The number of hours provided to clients has also increased (by 9 per cent). This has resulted in the overall hours per client increasing from 7.4 in 2003 to 7.8 in 2004 (an increase of 5 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 15.4 clients per 1,000 population of older people in 2003 to 16.9 in 2004 (an increase of 10 per cent).
• The proportion of service provided solely by the voluntary and private sectors has continued to increase for the sixth year running. It rose from 22 per cent in 2003 to 25 per cent in 2004 (See Chart 5).

Information collected on home care services shows that: -

• Nearly a quarter (24 per cent) of all clients received a service of 10 hours or more per week.
• Just over half of clients (51 per cent) received services on weekdays only. This is down from 58 per cent in 2003. 48 per cent of clients received services on weekdays and at the weekend (up from 40 per cent last year).
• 56 per cent of services were provided in the morning / early afternoon (between 7am and 2pm).

Chart 1: Home Care Clients and Hours Provided, 1998- 2004

The groups of people who used home care services in 2004 are similar to last year: -

• 83 per cent of clients were aged 65 years and over.
• Gender splits show 70 per cent were female and 30 per cent were male
• Over four-fifths (81 per cent) of clients had physical disabilities (including frailty associated with ageing).
• Nearly two-thirds of people using the service (65 per cent) lived alone.

An estimated 12,836 whole-time equivalent home care staff were directly employed by local authorities. They gave 377,811 hours of direct contact. That represents a 5 per cent increase in staffing levels in the past year.

Home Care Services

There was an estimated 548,588 hours of service provided to around 70,014 clients in 2004. The number of clients dropped from 79,294 in 1998 to 64,546 in 2002, but has since increased to 70,014 in 2004 (see Chart 1). Despite an initial fall in 1999, the number of client hours has increased by 37 per cent since 1998. In 1998 and 1999 clients received, on average, 5.1 hours of home care per week. This has risen steadily to 7.8 hours for 2004 (See Annex 2 and Chart 2).

Chart 2: Average Number of Hours Provided per Client, 1998-2004

The estimated number of older people receiving intensive home care (more than 10 hours per week) has increased over the 6-year period. In 2004, 16.9 clients per 1,000 population aged 65 or over received intensive home care - compared with 15.4 in 2003 and 9.5 in 1998 (See Annex 2).

Chart 3: Clients aged 65+ receiving 10 hours + per 1,000 population aged 65+, 1998-2004

Of the estimated 70,014 clients who received a home care service provided or purchased by a local authority in 2004, 19 per cent received at least part of their home care service from a private or voluntary provider - compared to 16 per cent in 2003. (See Table 1 and Annex 3).

Chart 4: Number of Home Care Clients by Provider, 1998-2004

Chart 5: Hours of Home Care Service by Provider, 1998 - 2004

The average number of contact hours per client for those receiving local authority provided services only was 6.3 hours per week, compared to 14.4 hours for those receiving home care from a private or voluntary provider only (See Table 1).

Table 1: Number of Home Care Clients and Hours Provided / Purchased by Provider of Service, 2004

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

135,830 hours were provided to clients receiving home care services solely from the private or voluntary sector. This has increased by 22 per cent since 2003 when 110,999 hours were provided.

Additionally, 58,144 hours (11 per cent) were provided by some combination of local authority, private and voluntary provision (See Table 1 & Chart 5).

The proportion of service provided solely by local authorities has been decreasing steadily from 89 per cent in 1998 to 65 per cent in 2004. The majority of this decrease is due to the increase in service provided or purchased solely from the voluntary and private sectors (see Annex 3).

Profile of Clients Receiving Home Care Services

Approximately 81 per cent of clients receiving home care services provided or purchased by local authorities were people with physical disabilities (including frailty associated with ageing). An estimated 70 per cent of clients were female and 83 per cent of all clients were aged 65 years or over (See Table 2). 5 per cent of home care clients were classified as being in 'other vulnerable groups'.

Table 2: Age, Client Group and Gender of Clients Receiving Home Care Services, 2004

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

Approximately 65 per cent of clients in receipt of a home care service were living alone; an additional 12 per cent were living in households where 2 or more people received the service (See Table 3).

Table 3: Living Arrangements of Clients Receiving Home Care Services

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

Levels and Timing of Home Care Services Provided

24 per cent of clients of home care services received at least 10 hours of service provided or purchased by a local authority in 2004. This has increased by 1 per cent since 2003 (See table 4). This percentage has gradually increased over the last 7 years. The number of clients receiving less than 4 hours has decreased over the same period (See Chart 6). This indicates a gradual shift towards a more intensive level of service.

Table 4: Number of Home Care Clients by Level of Service Received

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

Chart 6 Level of Service 1998-2004

Chart 7 and Table 5 illustrate the provision of home care services by time of day and part of week.

51 per cent of clients received a home care service on weekdays only. This figure has been decreasing since 1999 when it stood at 80 per cent (see Annex 6). The number of clients receiving a service during both weekdays and weekends has increased to a maximum since 1998 of 48 per cent. Only 1 per cent received services at the weekends only (See Chart 7).

Chart 7 Home Care by Part of Week 1998-2004

56 per cent of hours of service were delivered in the morning / lunchtime period, i.e. between 7am and 2pm. This is down from 66 per cent in 2003. An additional 21 per cent were delivered in the evening / overnight period, i.e. between 7pm and 7am. This is up from 16 per cent in 2003 (See Table 5).

Table 5: Provision of Home Care Service Hours by Time of Day and Part of Week

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

Staff Providing Home Care Services

There were 12,836 whole-time equivalent (WTE) staff employed within Scottish local authorities to provide home care services. This has increased by 5 per cent since 2003 (12,256 WTE staff). They provided a total of 377,811 direct contact hours (See Table 6).

Table 6: Local Authority Employed Home Care Staff

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

For local authority staff providing home care services, the average number of client contact hours per whole-time equivalent staff was estimated to be 29.4 hours in 2004. 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 2004, 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.

A return was received from each local authority in Scotland, except Eilean Siar. Eilean Siar 2003 figures were carried forward this year. A small amount of information on the number of client/hour data had to be estimated for some local authorities. Five local authorities had difficulty in providing information on the gender of clients. Gender splits were included in the return for the first time in 2002. Care should therefore be taken when interpreting figures in this area of provision as a considerable amount of data has been estimated.

It should be noted that when comparing the 2003 and 2004 releases, a more up to date set of figures has been used for the 2004 release.

Total hours may not add up to the sum of components due to rounding.

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'.

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 3.WR
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 15 ^th December 2004.

ANNEX 1: Total Number of Home Care Clients and Hours of Service Provided by Local Authority, 2002-2004

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

ANNEX 2: Number of Home Care Clients and Hours Provided/Purchased, 1998-2004

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

ANNEX 3: Home Care Clients by Level of Service, 1998-2004

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

ANNEX 4: Distribution of Clients by Level of Service, 1998-2004

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

ANNEX 5: Home Care Clients and Hours Provided by Provider of Service, 1998-2004

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

ANNEX 6: Provision of Home Care Service, Clients by Part of Week, 1998-2004

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1

ANNEX 7: Local Authority Employed Home Care Staff, 1998-2004

Source: Home Care Statistical Return H1