Care home census for adults in Scotland
Statistics for 2013 to 2023

About this release

This release by Public Health Scotland (PHS) provides information on the number of care homes, registered places, residents, admissions and discharges at Scotland and Local Authority level, covering the period from 2012/13 to 2022/23.  This publication reports on all care home residents from the annual Care Home Census for Adults, regardless of the source of the funding.  It differs to the care home information in PHS’s Insights into Social Care publication, which reports only on care home stays which are fully or partially publicly funded by the Local Authority.

Main points

All care homes for adults in Scotland: 31 March 2023 compared with 31 March 2013:

• On 31 March 2023, there were 1,037 care homes for adults and 40,502 registered places – 19% and 5% less, respectively, compared with 31 March 2013.
• On 31 March 2023, there were an estimated 34,365 residents aged 18 years and over in care homes – 6% less than on 31 March 2013 (36,578).
• The estimated percentage occupancy on 31 March 2023 was 85%, compared to 86% on 31 March 2013.
• On 31 March 2023, residents in care homes for older people accounted for 92% of residents in all care homes for adults (31,459 out of 34,365).

The figure is an infographic. It shows that, from 31 March 2013 to 31 March 2023, the number of care homes in Scotland decreased by 19%, the number of registered places decreased by 5%, the estimated number of residents decreased by 6%, and the estimated percentage occupancy decreased by 1 percentage point.

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Care homes for older people (65 years and over) in Scotland:

• Most care home provision is delivered by the private sector. The estimated number of residents in private sector care homes for older people increased by 456 (2%) between 31 March 2013 and 31 March 2023. Over the same period, the estimated number of residents decreased by 1,073 (33%) in the voluntary or not for profit sector, and by 812 (20%) in the Local Authority/Health Board sector.
• On 31 March 2023, there were an estimated 30,129 long stay residents in care homes for older people. Of these, an estimated 18,931 (63%) had dementia (either medically or non-medically diagnosed).
• The estimated number of admissions for long stay residents to care homes for older people increased by 16% in 2022/23, compared to 2012/13. Over the same period, the estimated number of admissions for respite residents decreased by 71%. This decrease is particularly noticeable during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a 19% reduction from 2012/13 to 2018/19 and a 70% reduction from 2018/19 to 2021/22. There has been a 21% increase between 2021/22 and 2022/23.

Background

All care homes for adults aged 18 years and over in Scotland are invited to participate in the annual Care Home Census. Data are provided by care homes via the Care Inspectorate’s eForms system. Of the 1,037 care homes for adults open on 31 March 2023, there were 818 (79%) care homes that submitted data for at least part of the Census and 219 (21%) care homes that did not submit any data. Census data not submitted by care homes are estimated by PHS using methodology described in the Data Quality section of the dashboard. No data is presented for 2019/20, when the Care Home Census was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.