The cost of providing home care

Although a key service in maintaining older people in their own homes, there is a dearth of good information about the unit costs of home care services in the public domain. In an effort to improve providers’ and commissioners’ understanding of the impact of contract requirements on the costs of providing care a study funded by the Department of Health was undertaken by Tribal Secta on behalf of the UK Home Care Association (UKHCA). A costing model was developed designed to help home care providers estimate their own costs. We used this model as part of a wider study of home care to improve our understanding of the costs of home care.