Home Care 65+

There is currently ample supply of capacity in Somerset’s home care market meaning that no one is waiting for support that will enable them to remain in their own home. The average time it takes to source a package of care is 2 days from referral to start date.

Home Care providers have increased their staff numbers over the past 2 years, mainly through international recruitment, meaning we have a workforce that is able to meet demand. This has led to a market where people are likely to have a choice of provider and we are able to offer a real person-centred service. They will also be able to remain living in their own homes for as long as it is safe for them to do so.

We have recommissioned the contracts for care at home in Somerset from April 2024 and as part of this we are committed to working with local home care companies. There are currently 63 approved providers on the Somerset Home Care Open Framework and 53 of these are supporting at least one person to remain living at home. As part of the recommissioning we contracted for 6 block contracts in areas that are either high demand or in locations where supply can be difficult and these have successfully delivered services to people in those communities.

Limiting the framework to locally based care providers will ensure that providers know Somerset and are committed to ensuring we are healthy and caring community. This will also protect the market from a saturation level that would impact the financial sustainability of all.

Demand for Home Care has been fairly stable over the past 2 years but we do expect demand to increase steadily as the number of older people in Somerset increases. The predominant users of home care services are those that are over 75 and it is projected that the number of people living in Somerset that are over 75 will increase by 24% between 2025 and 2035. We are confident that the group of providers that are active in the County will be able to meet the anticipated demand in the coming years.

As of January 2025, there are 105 locations in Somerset registered to provide home care (this includes provision for adults of working age and older adults). In terms of quality, 70 home care providers are currently rated as good or outstanding, 8 as requires improvement and 27 do not have a current rating. Only 2 of the providers rated as requires improvement are contracted to provide 65+ home care by Somerset Council and both have worked extensively with Adult Social Care’s Quality Team to ensure services are being provided at the required standards.

Somerset is a very rural county and there will always be certain areas where capacity is a challenge. We are working to improve this via the continuing growth of our community services and Micro Providers.