The National Development Team for Inclusion (NDTi) has launched a new research programme to find out about care options for older people and want to hear from social care commissioners and care providers about the care options available in their local areas.

NDTi’s past work has highlighted the need to raise awareness of issues surrounding the models of housing and support that are available to older people: for a number of reasons older people are increasingly reluctant to move care homes and families are wary about family members going into them.

The social care conversation focus on residential care needs to be shifted, they say, because the large majority of older people live in their own home.

Social care is regularly featured in the news and there are some shocking statistics to be found:

• Almost 170,000 hours per week of home care couldn’t be delivered because of a shortage of care workers during the first three months of 2022.
• In 2021, 332,000 people aged 65+ who asked for social care support received no support.
• Age UK say 2.6 million people in England aged 50+ are unable to get care.
• The Association of Directors of Adult Social Services (ADASS) say 0.5 million people are waiting to have their care needs assessed.

Paul Gutherson, Development Lead for Ageing and Older People at NDTi, said: “We know that nine million out of 11 million people over 65 live in their own home but we don’t know how local authorities and communities make sure people get the support and care they need.

“We think it is important to understand why there is not a greater take up of the full range of care and support options available to people. Is it that people do not have information about the options available to them? Is it because commissioners do not know about the range of models available and therefore don’t commission them? Is it because there is no perceived demand for alternative options?”

If you’re a commissioner or care provider do please fill in their short survey by the end of March 2023.

Click here to fill in the commissioner survey.

Click here to fill in the provider/practitioner survey.

Alternatively, drop a line to helen.bown@ntdi.org.uk or paul.gutherson@ndti.org.uk