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DHSSPS publishes results from home care survey

Date published: 
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
News source: 
DHSSPS
Region: 
Northern Ireland

The Department of Health, Social Services and Public Safety (DHSSPS) (Northern Ireland) has today published the ‘Domiciliary Care Module - Continuous Household Survey 2008/09’.

The DHSSPS commissioned a module of questions on domiciliary care with a view to collecting information on people who said they needed help with certain everyday activities. They were then asked whether they received help with these activities from a friend(s), relative(s) or neighbour(s) or from a home help/ care worker. This survey was also used to find out the views of any current home care service users about the service they receive and their own particular circumstances.

Key Facts and Figures:

· Of the 4,009 respondents to the survey, 532 (13%) stated that they had difficulty carrying out one or more of the activities shown.
· Of those respondents who reported having difficulty, 51% had difficulty with 2 or less of the activities.
· Just over half of those with difficulties (56%) were over 65 years old.
· 61% of respondents reported difficulty with getting up and down stairs / steps, 61% doing housework and 55% doing the household shopping.
· 76% of respondents said that they have a friend(s), relative(s) or neighbour(s) helping them carry out one or more of the activities.
· 15% of respondents indicated that a home help / care worker had visited their home in the last year.
· Of those receiving home care, over four fifths (83%) said that some or all of their care was provided by social services.
· Of those who had at one time received home care but do not currently, the most popular reason for stopping was that the respondent felt that they no longer required home care (22%).
· Almost nine in ten respondents (87%) rated the care they received from their home help/ care worker as very good (44%) or good (43%)
· 12% of respondents had heard of direct payments. Of those, 32% were using this method to pay for their care.

This publication is available online at http://www.dhsspsni.gov.uk/index/stats_research/stats-cib-3/statistics_and_research-cib-pub/adult_statistics-1.htm

 

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