Social care and hospital use at the end of life

Authors:
BARDSLEY Martin, GEORGHIOU Theo, DIXON Jennifer
Publisher:
Nuffield Trust
Publication year:
2010
Pagination:
32p.
Place of publication:
London

In England there are gaps in the available information on the quality, volume and cost of health care provided outside hospitals for people in the last year of life. This includes care provided by NHS primary care or community services, the voluntary sector, or social services. The briefing reports on a cohort of 16,479 people who died across three primary care trust (PCT)/local authority areas in England in 2007. The main objective of the work was to describe patterns in use of health and social care by individuals, and to identify areas for further analysis as to the quality of care that may increase the potential for appropriate substitution and greater efficiency in the use of resources. Key findings show that, on average, 30% of the people in the study group had some form of local authority funded social care service in the 12 months prior to death. For older people this proportion exceeded 40%. Seven per cent of the group accessed only social care, 49% accessed hospital inpatient care and 23% used both types of services. Also, the use of social care differs according to the presence of certain long‐term conditions – people with mental health problems, falls and injury, stroke, diabetes and asthma tended to use more

Subject terms:
hospitals, older people, palliative care, service uptake, social care, social care provision, health care;
Content type:
research
Location(s):
England
Link:
Register/Log in to view this resource

Key to icons

  • Free resource Free resource
  • Journal article Journal article
  • Book Book
  • Digital media Digital media
  • Journal Journal

Give us your feedback

Social Care Online continues to be developed in response to user feedback.

Contact us with your comments and for any problems using the website.

Sign up/login for more

Register/login to access resource links, advanced search and email alerts