Standards of care in home care services: A comparison of generic and specialist services for older people with dementia

Abstract

Current policy in England emphasises both the importance of caring for highly dependent older people for as long as possible in their own homes, and the development of specialist care services for people with dementia. However, the differences between specialist and generic home care services for people with dementia are poorly understood. This cross-sectional postal survey describes the standards of home care services for people with dementia in the North West of England, and investigates the differences in quality standards between specialist and generic home care services. Forty-six percent of identified services provided information on a range of quality indicators. Most services provided only a few of the indicators utilized by the study, and there was little evidence of services adopting national minimum standards. Few differences were found between the two service types, although generic services appeared to offer a greater degree of flexibility than specialist services. These results help to inform the understanding of home care service mix and provision, and the uptake of national minimum standards. They provide key material for shaping the future provision of home care for older people with dementia.

Acknowledgements

This work was undertaken by the PSSRU, which receives funding from the Department of Health. The views expressed in the publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the Department of Health. The study has been supported by funding from the North West NHS Executive. The authors are grateful to Irene Pedersen, Gill Dunkerley, Mandy Bryant, and Dr Sally Jacobs for their valuable contributions.