Social care keeps people out of hospital at end of life
- 17 Oct
Research has found that Investment in social care appears to keep people out of hospital at the end of life, highlighting the risks of care cuts to patient outcomes and NHS budgets.
Source: Community Care and Nuffield Trust 16/10/2012
A government-funded Nuffield Trust study found a statistically significant inverse relationship between spending on social and hospital care for people in the last year of life: the higher the social care spending, in all age groups, the lower the spending on hospital care. Suggesting that social care may help prevent hospital admission.The study anonymously linked the individual health and social care records of 73,243 people who died across seven areas from 2007-10, and compared patterns of hospital and council-funded social care use in the last year of life.
Here are some of the findings:
- 27.8% of people used council-funded social care and 89.6% hospital care in the last year of life.
- There were considerable variations in rates of social care use between areas.
- Total hospital costs for the sample were double total social care costs.
- But for those who use a service, unit social care costs were £12,500 in the last year compared with £7,400 for hospital care.
- Hospital costs per person rose sharply in the last few months of life while social care costs rose gradually
The researchers found that the use of social care at the end of life varied between conditions (for example people with dementia, falls and stroke used considerably more than those with cancer) and between local authorities, even when adjusted for age and sex. Individuals with the highest social care costs tended to have low average hospital costs.
The full report and study is available here.
You can also read the article from Community Care here.
Related articles
- 01 Sep
Older people need more male carers
Professor Martin Green has said that the government needs to do more to recruit males into front-line adult social care roles, reports the BBC.Prof Green has said that with the increasing number of...
- 25 Aug
Survey finds older people have better quality of life in retirement villages than care homes
Chief executive of Audley Retirement, Nick Sanderson, has said that demand for his form of extra-care housing was so strong he could not build homes fast enough, reports the Guardian.He said: “I...
- 12 Aug
Older people’s Commissioner disappointed by Welsh Government
Sarah Rochira, Wale’s Commissioner for older people has said she is “extremely disappointed” at the response from the Welsh Government to its call for action to protect residents in care homes,...
- 31 Jul
Charity warns of loneliness in older people
The Campaign to End Loneliness charity want a “range of support” for older people to help them fight loneliness, reports the BBC. The charity says that transport and technology are essential to...
- 27 Jul
New housing for older people promised
Members of Kensington and Chelsea’s cabinet have decided to create 150 new homes for older people on the site of a care home that closed down in 2014 due to Legionella, reports Get West...
- 22 Jul
New drug provides hope for older people with Parkinsons
Scientists have found that people taking glitazone pills were less likely to develop Parkinson’s than people taking other diabetes drugs. However, they have cautioned that the drugs could have...
- 15 Jul
Lack in dignity when caring for older people in hospital
In a poll from 2012 it has been found that poor care is most likely to be experienced by people over the age of 80, reports the BBC. Over a third of patients who need help at mealtimes did not...
- 09 Jul
New housing development for older people in Sunderland
A 16.3m housing and care scheme has been opened by the Leader of Sunderland Council, reports Sunderland Echo.The accommodation provides 158 two-bedroom apartments for older people and 17 one bed...
- 07 Jul
Social care cuts leaving older people stranded
Age UK is calling on Chancellor George Osborne to put an end to cuts to social care funding due to the increasing rate the older population is growing, reports the Yorkshire Post. Age UK has...
- 01 Jul
Charity wants priority for older people in housing
Erosh represents organisation providing housing and support to 120,000 older people and has written to new government ministers in opposition, reports Inside Housing.The letter calls on ministers to...
How to Fund Housing Support and Social Care Sevices Extremely informative, excellent speaker. Alison Halstead - Riverside ECHG
