Ensuring best care for older people living at home
Draft guideline to help home care services provide highest level of supports to older people living at home.
In 2011, 1 in 6 people in England and Wales were aged 65 or over. and expected to grow to about 1 in 4 by 2035. UK society is ageing as more people live longer, so effective, quality home care services will will be more important than ever.
The Care Quality Commission 2013 review of home care services found about 74% of those inspected met required national standards of care. However, a report published last year by the Local Government Information Unit highlighted concerns about some working practices in the home care system that may affect the quality of care.
Official figures show about 470,000 people in England receive some support from local authority-funded home care services. The National Audit Office says many councils are prioritising care services to those with greatest levels of need and the amount spent on social care services by local authorities fell by 8% between April 2010 and March 2013[
This shows that council-funded adult social care services now care for less people while demand is increasing. …more