About this release

This publication by Public Health Scotland (PHS) presenting information on the Demand for Care at Home Services.  This includes the total number of individuals waiting for an assessment for social care services, the number of people waiting for a package of care at home and the number of hours of care that are being waited for.  This data collection, which began in August 2021, is under development and work on the consistency of the recording of the information across Health and Social Care Partnerships (HSCPs) is ongoing.

Main points

The number of people waiting on a social care assessment to enable them to live independently at home or in the community is just over 7,200 on 20 March 2023. 

The number of people assessed and waiting for a care at home package is just under 4,400 on 20 March 2023. 

 

Image caption People waiting for a social care assessment or assessed people waiting for a care at home package in Scotland (estimated).

Background

Local Authorities provide social care services to enable people to live independently and at home or in a homely setting in their community. This includes people who are frail, have long term conditions or disabilities.

Care at Home, also called home care, home help or home support, is care tailored to the needs of an individual that is provided in a person’s own home. Packages of care can include support with personal care but also support with other tasks around the house (for example cleaning or meal preparation).

Care at Home services are planned and delivered by Health and Social Care Partnerships, and are delivered through Local Authority in-house teams, independent providers and the Third Sector. Each Partnership plans its services based on the needs of the local population and on the existing support services available in the Local Authority, such as housing services. Therefore, the services that come under the heading of Care at Home varies across the country.

Health and Social Care partnerships provide PHS with a weekly snapshot of the current demand for Care at Home services. The data includes information on the number of people requiring a social care assessment (excluding those waiting for specialist assessments) or waiting on the care at home service. Comparison between Partnerships is not advised as this data is under development and the services can vary in each area. Details of known issues are available in the Data Quality tab of the Care at Home Dashboard

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Older versions of this publication

Versions of this publication released before 16 March 2020 may be found on the Data and Intelligence, Health Protection Scotland or Improving Health websites.

Last updated: 21 March 2024
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