Social Care News

New study shows care for older people at home cut by a third in five years

A new study by academics from the London School of Economics has revealed that care for older people in their homes in England has been cut by a third in the last five years.

The group which commissioned the study, the Care and Support Alliance, an umbrella group of 75 charities working with elderly and disabled people, says new analysis (January 14) of figures it released in December reveals: 

• Overall adults receiving community-based care fell by almost a third (31%) since 2008.
• Over the same time people receiving care support in a residential or nursing home fell by only 8%.
• The numbers of older people receiving help at home and in their community fell by 36%.
• The numbers of working aged people with a physical disability receiving help at home and in their community fell by 29%.

The squeeze on the number of frail and elderly people receiving care at home comes at a time when the number of older people is rising faster than that of the general population. Between 2005 and 2012 the number of over-65s in England leapt by a million – or 12.5 per cent – to 9.1 million.

The study of NHS figures in England was carried out by academics from by the London School of Economics and the University of Kent under the auspices of the Personal Social Services Research Unit (PSSRU). It relates to care provided in England where the UK Government's Care Bill is currently (January 14) being scrutinised by MPs. 

The study figures - read more

The study by the Personal Social Services Research Unit (2013), Changes in the patterns of social care provision in England: 2005/6 to 2012/13, London: London School of Economics, is available online at: http://www.pssru.ac.uk/archive/pdf/dp2867.pdf

• Read more on this story in the Daily Telegraph: NHS care at home for elderly and disabled quietly slashed
• Read the Care and Support Alliance - news and blog