I would like some information on the care home sector in your council area.
For consistency, unless otherwise stated, where a question has requested a response based on “in your council” then we provide information on Devon County Council (DCC) clients, costs and activity. For questions that reference “in your health board” then we have looked to include combined DCC and NHS information obtained by data sourced from the Devon Independent Living Integrated Service (DILIS).
The DILIS service is for people in a community setting with an assessed health or social care need who reside, or are registered with an NHS Devon GP, within the Devon County Council boundary. The service provides delivery and installation, servicing and maintenance, and collection of equipment that has been ordered by an authorised health or social care prescriber.
To provide a response to questions 2 & 6 we have used the most recent report available from DILIS which provides details of equipment currently present the address of clients aged 18 or over, the report is as at 30/06/2024. We have used this same date to answer question 1 as this is then used with question 2 to answer question 4.
1. How many people in your council receive care at home by nursing or care staff?
As at 30/06/2024, Devon County Council was funding, in whole or part, Domiciliary Care (including personal care) to 2678 clients.
2. How many people in your health board have a profiling bed in their home? (By profiling bed I mean a community bed not a hospital bed).
As at 30/06/2024 the DILIS records 3327 clients having a profiling bed at home. These have been ordered by authorised health (NHS) or social care (DCC) prescribers.
3. What qualifies a person to receive a care package at home? (Looking for a definable metric/measure of a person’s condition if possible).
It would be determined by assessment of their Care Act eligible needs and how they would be best met.
4. Of the people receiving care at home, what percentage of people have a profiling bed? (By profiling bed I mean a community bed not a hospital bed).
Of approximately 21% of the profiling beds identified in question 2, Devon County Council prescribed 557 which represents 21% of the 2678 Devon County Council clients having Domiciliary Care detailed in question 1.
5. How many people in your council have pressure care mattresses at their own home?
As at 30/06/2024 the Devon Independent Living Integrated Service (DILIS) records 1267 clients having DCC prescribed pressure care mattresses, overlays or underlays.
6. What is the annual spend on equipment for moving and handling in a person’s home? (For clarity, I am looking to understand what your annual spend per user would be on moving and handling equipment to allow them to stay at home? What the cost of the equipment might be rather than moving them to a care home).
For the purposes of this question we have used information for DILIS, not just Devon County Council.
In the full financial year 2023/24, the spend through DILIS on equipment delivered categorised as being for Moving and Handling was £1,333,532, averaging £422.41 per client.
7. What is the annual spend on equipment for people to allow them to remain independent and not need to have carers in?
– please list the main large spend items that would be recommended (main items over £500). (Again for clarity, In order to remain independent, or to prevent the need for carers to come into the home to help with everyday tasks, what is the cost of this per year per person across the your council?)
In the full financial year 2023/24, the spend through DILIS to allow clients to remain independent was £8,452,379. In that period items were delivered to 15,070 individuals giving an average cost of £561 per person.
The most frequently prescribed items costing over £500 each fall into the following categories: Ramps, Profiling Bed / Mattress, Hoists & Track, Chairs (bariatric, rise & recline), Moving & Handling Equipment, Toileting & Bathing Aids.
8. Who are the top 5 (in terms of total number of items purchased or rented) distributors of equipment for the ‘care at home’ setting in your council?
For the purposes of this question we have used information for DILIS, not just Devon County Council.
- Ultimate Healthcare
- Drive Devilbiss Healthcare
- Aidapt Ltd
- R82 Uk Ltd
- Sunrise Medical Limited
9. What are the top 5 (in terms of number of items used/purchased/rented) core pieces of moving and handling equipment that your council buy in and hold as stock items for use for caring for people at home?
- 85 x 200cm MAXI FITTED Base sheet for single bed – IM4107S
- 200 x 140cm MIDI Draw Sheet – IM4115S
- 200 x 200cm MAXI Draw Sheet – IM4121S
- 140 x 200cm MIDI FLAT base sheet for single bed – IM4113S
- Transfer – Ambiturn (Sit to Stand) – PT001
10. How much does cost for nursing staff to care for someone at home? (for example 4 x home visits per day).
For Domiciliary Care, it would depend on the size of the care package and the time required for the visits, however the council’s banded rates are £25.96 (Band 1) and £28.80 (Band 2) per hour for 2024/2025. Nursing care would be commissioned by the NHS.