20 April 2023

How Many Care Home Residents Have Previously Used Home Care?

According to our research, home care services were previously used by many of the care seekers who enquired about our partners' care homes.

Key Takeaways

Around 50% of people looking for a care home will have used home care previously
36% of those who had received home care previously received it for 12+ months, 35% for 6-12 months, and 28% for less than 6 months.
There is huge value in residential services building a referral partnership with local home care providers, given that 50% of their residents will have previously had home care.

Home Care vs No Home Care

Have you used home care before?	No. Enquirers
No	45%
Yes	55%

Our findings indicate that 55% of people enquiring about a care home have used home care services previously. This would suggest that care providers can expect that 1 in 2 people enquiring about their care home will have used home care services before.

Possible reasons for the high percentage of care seekers receiving home care prior to moving into a care home include cost factors, the service users' wish to maintenance independence, level of care requirements change (falls, illnesses, ageing), and loss of a spouse/primary carer.

Cost

Home care is known for being a less expensive option to care homes often making it more favourable for service users and their families, particularly if they are self-funding their care. Find out more about home care costs.

Care Requirements

Home care service users may find that their care needs have increased despite previously being able to remain at home with home care. They may need full-time care in a residential setting at this point. Factors such as general aging, illness, and injury can increase the amount of care required.

Independence

The majority of older people value their independence and home care provides them with the opportunity to remain independent in their own homes with some assistance from carers.

Loss of a spouse/primary carer

A spouse or relative is often the primary caregiver for an ageing loved one. Initially, they may be able to manage their needs at home with the assistance of home caregivers. Nevertheless, if the service user's care needs exceed the capabilities of their primary caregiver, or if they become ill or pass away, a care facility may be the best option to meet their needs.

Duration of Home Care

We asked care seekers that had used home care services previously, how long they used them.

If yes (home care), for how long?	No. Enquirers
12+ months	36%
6-12 months	35%
Less than 6 months	28%

Our data suggest that 36% of people enquiring about care homes had used home care for longer than 1 year, 35% had used it for between 6-12 months and 28% had used it for less than 6 months.

Considering that around 50% of care home enquiries have used home care before, we can predict that around 17% of all of your care enquiries will have used home care for 12+ months, 6-12 months and less than 6 months.

For further insights, or to find out more about our data and what we do, please contact hello@trustedcare.co.uk.

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