The NHS Information Centre has published a report showing that in 2007-2008, the number of people receiving local authority-funded residential care fell, whilst the number receiving community care services – such as domiciliary care – increased. Entitled ‘Community Care Statistics 2007/8: Referrals, Assessments and Packages of Care for Adults, England’, the report is based on information about adult care services provided by local authorities. Key findings include:
- The number of adults receiving care in the 2007-2008 year was around 1.8 million, which was similar to the number in the previous year 2006-2007.
- 10% fewer adults (around 25,000) received care in local authority-run care homes in 2007-2008 than in the previous year.
- 3% fewer adults received nursing care than in the previous year.
- There was a 2% increase (around 11,000) in first assessments of new care clients in 2007-2008.
Robert Lake of the NHS Information Centre explained that the findings were expected and continue recent trends in care provision, commenting: ‘Fewer people are now receiving council-funded care in a residential or nursing home compared to previous years. This is not unexpected, given the government’s aim for more people to receive care in their own homes.’
The report also gives information on related areas such as direct payments, care plans and the assessment of carers’ needs. It can be downloaded from the NHS Information Centre’s website.
posted by Cheselden Continuing Care at
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