High Level Summary of Statistics Trend Last update: Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Free Personal and Nursing Care Services
Over 77,000 older people in Scotland are now receiving personal care services free of charge. This includes people living in care homes and at home.
Care Homes
There are currently around 31,000 long-stay residents, aged 65+, in Care Homes. Prior to the introduction of the free personal and nursing care policy, the majority of these people were receiving these services for free but self-funders in Care Homes would have had to pay for their entire costs.
There are now around 9,500 self-funders in care homes who are benefiting from this policy. These people receive £156 each week for personal care and around two-thirds (6,000 people) receive a further £71 each week for nursing care.
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Source: Scottish Government Health Analytical Services Division, Quarterly monitoring returns
Home Care Services
After the introduction of free personal care the number of older people receiving a home care service increased to 57,900 in 2004/05 before falling to around 51,700 in 2010/11. Over this time we have seen a shift towards more intensive home care provision and an increasing proportion of clients receiving personal care services.
Since 2003/04, there has been an increase in the number of people receiving free personal care (FPC) services at home. The latest figures for 2010/11 show that over 46,700 people are now benefiting by having personal care services provided without charge at home.
In 2003/04, 57% of home care clients received personal care services. This has steadily increased each year to reach 90% in 2010/11.
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Source: Scottish Government Health Analytical Services Division, Home Care Census and Quarterly monitoring returns
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