Domiciliary care services for adults in Northern Ireland

Domiciliary care services for adults in Northern Ireland

Published 19 December 2023

Theme: Social Care - Domiciliary care
Purpose: For information
Authors (statisticians): Louise Walker, Lee Beattie, Malcolm Megaw
Publication date: 19 December 2023
Issued by: Community Information Branch, Information and Analysis Directorate, Department of Health, Stormont Estate, Belfast, BT4 SQ
Email: cib@health-ni.gov.uk

1. Key findings

During the survey week in September 2023:

Contact hours

• An estimated 294,353 contact hours of domiciliary care were provided by HSC Trusts in Northern Ireland, a decrease of less than 1% (-2,114) from the survey week in 2022.

• The statutory sector provided 24% of domiciliary care contact hours, with 76% provided by the independent sector.

• An average of 12.7 domiciliary care contact hours were provided per client, a decrease compared to 2022 (13.1).

Clients receiving domiciliary care

• HSC Trusts provided domiciliary care services for 23,249 clients, an increase of 3% (674) from the survey week in 2022 (22,575).

Domiciliary care visits

• 590,838 domiciliary care visits were provided to clients; 23% from the statutory sector and 77% from the independent sector.

•10,828 clients received a domiciliary care visit lasting 15 minutes or less; just under half, (47%) of all clients receiving domiciliary care.

• Just over half, (54%) of all domiciliary care visits provided to clients were between 16 and 30 minutes long. Almost one third, (32%) visits were 15 minutes or less and approximately 1 in 7 (14%) were more than 30 minutes long.

Clients receiving intensive domiciliary care

• 9,746 clients received intensive domiciliary care services, which is defined as 6 or more visits and more than 10 contact hours during the survey week; an increase of 3% compared to the survey week in 2022 (9,453).

2. Domiciliary care contact hours

Contact hours: the number of hours staff are in contact with or directly serving the client (excluding travel time) during the survey week.

Contact hours by sector

During the survey week in 2023, an estimated 294,353 contact hours of domiciliary care were provided by HSC Trusts in Northern Ireland, a decrease of less than 1% (-2,114) from the survey week in 2022 (296,467).

Figure 1 below shows that just under a quarter (24%) of domiciliary care contact hours were provided by the statutory sector with the independent sector providing just over three quarters (76%).

Figure 1: Estimated number of domiciliary care contact hours provided, by sector (2023)

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Contact hours by sector and HSC Trust

Higher proportions of domiciliary care contact hours were provided by the independent sector than the statutory sector in all five HSC Trusts. This ranged from approximately 6 in 7 (86%) in the Belfast HSC Trust, to just under three fifths (58%) in the Southern HSC Trust as shown in Figure 2 below.

Figure 2: Estimated number of domiciliary care contact hours provided by sector and HSC Trust (2023)

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For a breakdown of estimated domiciliary care contact hours provided by sector and HSC trust, see Table 3 in the Appendix.

Contact hours per client by sector and HSC trust

During the survey week in 2023 an average of 12.7 domiciliary care contact hours were provided per client, a decrease compared to 2022 (13.1).

The average number of domiciliary care contact hours provided during the survey week in 2023 was higher for the independent sector (12.5) than for the statutory sector (9.6). This difference may be due to more intensive domiciliary care packages being contracted out to independent providers.

All five of the HSC Trusts had a higher average number of domiciliary care contact hours per client provided by the independent sector than the statutory sector during the survey week in 2023. The gap between the two sectors is biggest in the Belfast HSC Trust, although the figures are similar to those published in 2022. The Southern HSC Trust has the smallest gap between the two sectors.

For a breakdown of average domiciliary care contact hours provided per client by sector and HSC trust see Table 4 in the Appendix.

Figure 3: Average number of domiciliary care contact hours provided per client by sector and HSC trust (2023)

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Contact hours by time when care provided

Of the 294,353 domiciliary care contact hours provided during the survey week in 2023, just over two thirds (67%) were provided during ‘normal hours’, just over one quarter (26%) were provided ‘out of hours’ and less than 1 tenth (7%) were provided during ‘overnight, live in and 24 hour services’ as shown in Figure 4 below. These proportions are similar to those reported in the 2021 and 2022 surveys.

Times when care provided:
Normal hours refers to domiciliary care services provided during office hours or the normal working day. The normal working day should be counted as 8am to 6pm.
Out of hours refers to services which are provided outside of the normal working day.
Overnight services refer to night sitting services which are carried out on a regular or adhoc basis.
Live-in services refer to where the care worker lives, either permanently or temporarily, in the home of the client, working for the HSC Trust directly or under contract. Exclude informal care arrangements with relatives or friends.
24 hour services refer to round the clock domiciliary care services provided by several workers on a shift basis.

Figure 4: Number of domiciliary care contact hours provided by time when care provided (2023)

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Contact hours by sector and times when care provided

The statutory sector provided just under a quarter (24%) of domiciliary care hours while the independent sector provided just over three quarters (76%). Figure 5 below shows the proportion of domiciliary care services provided by the statutory and independent sectors at times when care was provided.

Figure 5: Percentage based on number of domiciliary care contact hours provided, by sector and times when care provided (2023)

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Statutory

Of the 70,625 domiciliary care hours provided by the statutory sector:

71%: (just over 7 in 10) were provided during ‘normal’ working hours

25%: (approximately one quarter) were provided ‘out of hours’

3%: (approximately 1 in 30) were provided during ‘overnight, live in and 24 hour services’

Independent

Of the 223,728 domiciliary care hours provided by the independent sector:

66%: (approximately two thirds) were provided during ‘normal’ working hours

26%: (just over one quarter) were provided ‘out of hours’

9%: (approximately 1 in 11) were provided during ‘overnight, live in and 24 hour services’

For a breakdown of domiciliary care contact hours provided by sector and times when care was provided, see Table 7 and Table 8 in the Appendix.

3. Domiciliary care clients

Number of clients by sector (2019 - 2023)

During the survey week in 2023, HSC Trusts provided domiciliary care services for 23,249 clients, an increase of 3% (674) compared to the survey week in 2022 (22,575). 7,336 clients received domiciliary care services from the statutory sector and 17,843 from the independent sector.

Since the survey week in 2019, the number of clients receiving domiciliary care from the statutory sector has decreased by 17% (-1,498) while the number of clients receiving domiciliary care from the independent sector has increased by 7% (1,103).

In the 2023 survey, HSC Trusts reported that 1,930 clients received domiciliary care services from both the statutory and independent sectors, a decrease of -10% (-219) since the 2019 survey, as shown in Figure 6 below.

Figure 6: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services by sector (2019 to 2023)

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For a trend breakdown (2021 to 2023) of clients receiving domiciliary care by sector and HSC Trust, see Table 9 in the Appendix.

Number of clients by client group

During the survey week in 2023, just over four fifths (81%) of clients receiving domiciliary care services were in the elderly client group; approximately 1 in 9 (11%) had a physical disability; approximately 1 in 20 (5%) had a learning disability and approximately 1 in 30 (3%) had mental health needs. A small proportion (less than 1%) of other clients received domiciliary care services (see Figure 7 below).

Figure 7: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services by client group (2023)

23,249: Clients receiving domiciliary care services
(excludes double counting).

Note: Individual categorical elements may not sum to the total value, as the age and client group of some of the clients are unknown.

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For a breakdown of clients receiving domiciliary care by client group and HSC trust, see Table 10 in the Appendix.

Number of clients by age group

During the survey week in 2023, over 4 in 5 (85%) clients receiving domiciliary care services were aged 65 and over, with just under 1 in 5 (15%) of clients were aged 18 to 64, as shown in Figure 8 below.

Figure 8: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services by age group (2023)

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Across HSC trusts, similar proportions of clients receiving domiciliary care services were aged 65 and over. This ranged from just under 9 in 10 (88%) in the Northern HSC trust to approximately four fifths (80%) in the Belfast HSC trust.

For a breakdown of clients receiving domiciliary care by age group and HSC trust, see Table 11 and Table 12 in the Appendix.

4. Domiciliary care visits

Number of visits by sector

During the survey week in 2023, 590,838 domiciliary care visits were provided to clients.

Figure 9 below shows that just under one quarter (23%) of domiciliary care visits were provided by the statutory sector and just over three quarters (77%) were provided by the independent sector.

Figure 9: Number of domiciliary care visits provided by sector (2023)

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Number of visits by sector and HSC Trust

Higher proportions of domiciliary care were provided by the independent sector in all HSC Trusts. This ranged from approximately 6 in 7 (85%) in the South Eastern HSC Trust to just under three fifths (57%) in the Southern Trust, as shown in Figure 10 below.

Figure 10: Number of domiciliary care visits provided by sector and HSC trust (2023)

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For a breakdown of domiciliary care visits by sector and HSC trust, see Table 14 in the Appendix.

Number of visits by length of visit

Of the 590,838 domiciliary care visits made to clients during the survey week in 2023, just over half (54%) were between 16 and 30 minutes long, almost one third (32%) were 15 minutes or less, and approximately 1 in 7 (14%) were more than 30 minutes long as shown in Figure 11 below.

Figure 11: Number of domiciliary care visits provided by length of visit (2023)

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Proportion of visits by length of visit and HSC trust

Figure 12 below shows that the proportion of visits lasting 15 minutes or less varied between HSC trusts. This ranged from 56% in the Northern HSC Trust to 4% in the Western HSC Trust. The proportion of 16 to 30 minute visits ranged from 80% in the Western HSC Trust to 39% in the Northern HSC Trust. The proportion of visits over 30 minutes ranged from 36% in the Southern Trust to 6% in the Northern HSC Trust.

Figure 12: Proportion of domiciliary care visits provided, by length of visit and HSC Trust (2023)

Note: Components may not add to 100% due to rounding.

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For a breakdown of domiciliary care visits by sector, length of visit and HSC trust, see Table 18 in the Appendix.

Proportion of visits lasting less than 15 minutes by sector

Of the 191,009 domiciliary care visits provided lasting less than 15 minutes during the survey week in 2023, just over one fifth (22%) were by the statutory sector and just under four fifths (78%) were by the independent sector, as shown in Figure 13 below.

Figure 13: Percentage of domiciliary care visits provided lasting less than 15 minutes by sector (2023)

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Proportion of clients receiving visits lasting less than 15 minutes

During the survey week in 2023, 10,828 clients received domiciliary care visits lasting less than 15 minutes, just under half (47%) of all clients who received domiciliary care. Of these 10,828 clients, 3,064 received a visit from the statutory sector and 8,280 received a visit from the independent sector. Please see notes below.

Figure 14: Breakdown, by sector, of the proportion of clients receiving domiciliary care visits lasting less than 15 minutes, by number of visits (2023)

Notes: The total number of clients receiving domiciliary care visits lasting less than 15 mins may not equal the sum of clients receiving domiciliary care lasting less than 15 minutes from the statutory and independent sectors, as some clients may have received care from both sectors
Clients may also have received domiciliary care lasting more than 15 minutes.

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Statutory sector 15 minute visits

Figure 14a above shows that of the 3,064 clients who received domiciliary care visits lasting less than 15 minutes from the statutory sector, just under two fifths (38%) received between 6 and 12 visits. Approximately 3 in 10 (30%) received between 13 and 20 visits, just over one quarter (27%) received 20 visits or more, and approximately 1 in 20 (5%) received between 1 and 5 visits, all of which lasted less than 15 minutes.

Independent sector 15 minute visits

Figure 14b above shows that of the 8,280 clients who received domiciliary care visits lasting less than 15 minutes from the independent sector, approximately two fifths (40%) received 20 visits or more; just under one third (31%) of clients received between 13 and 20 visits, approximately one quarter (25%) received between 6 and 12 visits, and approximately 1 in 25 (4%) received between 1 and 5 visits, all of which lasted less than 15 minutes.

For a breakdown of clients who received domiciliary care visits by sector, length of visit, number of visits and HSC Trust, see Table 19 and Table 21 in the Appendix.

Percentage of visits lasting 16 to 30 minutes by sector

Of the 316,430 domiciliary care visits made lasting 16 to 30 minutes during the survey week in 2023, approximately one fifth (20%) were made by the statutory sector and approximately four fifths (80%) were by the independent sector, as shown in Figure 15 below.

Figure 15: Percentage of domiciliary care visits provided lasting 16 to 30 minutes, by sector (2023)

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Proportion of clients receiving visits lasting 16 to 30 minutes

During the survey week in 2023, 18,398 clients received domiciliary care visits lasting 16 to 30 minutes, almost four fifths (79%) of all clients who received domiciliary care. Of these 18,398 clients, 5,379 received a visit from the statutory sector and 13,968 received a visit from the independent sector (see notes below).

Figure 16: Breakdown by sector of the proportion of clients receiving domiciliary care visits lasting 16 to 30 minutes, by number of visits (2023)

Notes: The total number of clients receiving 16 to 30 min visits may not equal the sum of clients receiving 16 to 30 min visits from the statutory and independent sectors, as some clients may have received domiciliary care from both sectors.
Clients may also have received domiciliary care visits lasting less than 16 minutes or more than 30 minutes.

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Figure 16a above shows that of the 5,379 clients who received 16 to 30 minute domiciliary care visits from the statutory sector, almost half (48%) received between 6 and 12. Just under one quarter (23%) received between 13 and 20, just under one fifth (18%) received 20 or more, and approximately 1 in 9 (11%) received between 1 and 5 visits. All of which were between 16 and 30 minutes.

Figure 16b above shows that of the 13,968 clients who received 16 to 30 minute domiciliary care visits from the independent sector, just over one third (34%) received 20 or more. Just over one third (34%) received between 6 and 12, just over one quarter (26%) received between 13 and 20 and almost 1 in 15 (6%) received between 1 and 5. All of these visits were between 16 and 30 minutes.

For a breakdown of clients who received domiciliary care visits by sector, length of visit, number of visits and HSC Trust, see Table 20 and Table 22 in the Appendix.

Percentage of visits lasting more than 30 minutes

Of the 83,399 domiciliary care visits made lasting more than 30 minutes during the survey week in 2023, just over one third (35%) were provided by the statutory sector and almost two thirds (65%) were provided by the independent sector, as shown in Figure 17 below.

Figure 17: Percentage of domiciliary care visits lasting more than 30 minutes, by sector (2023)

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For a breakdown of clients who received domiciliary care visits by sector, length of visit, number of visits and HSC Trust, see Table 20 and Table 22 in the Appendix.

5. Domiciliary care service intensity

Number of clients by number of visits (2019 to 2023)

During the survey week in 2023, of all the clients receiving domiciliary care services, just over 9 in 10 (92%) received 6 or more visits; almost 1 in 15 (6%) received 2 to 5 visits, while a small proportion (2%) received one visit.

Figure 18 below shows that since the survey in 2019, the number of clients receiving 6 or more visits during the survey week had decreased in 2020, before returning to prior levels in 2021 and 2022 and slightly increasing in 2023. The number of clients receiving two to five visits and one visit has decreased since 2019.

Figure 18: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services by number of visits (2019 to 2023)

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Percentage of clients by number of contact hours received and HSC Trust

Figure 19 below shows that just over one fifth (22%) of all clients receiving domiciliary care services in the South Eastern HSC Trust received 20 hours or more, compared with approximately 1 in 10 (10%) of all clients in the Northern HSC Trust.

Just under two fifths (38%) clients in the Western HSC Trust received less than 5 hours of domiciliary care during the survey week compared with almost one quarter (24%) of all clients in the South Eastern and Southern HSC Trusts.

Figure 19: Percentage of clients receiving domiciliary care services by number of contact hours received and HSC trust (2023)

Note: Components may not add to totals due to rounding.

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For a breakdown of clients receiving domiciliary care by number of visits, contact hours, sector and HSC Trust see Table 25, Table 26 and Table 29 in the Appendix.

6. Clients receiving intensive domiciliary care

For the purposes of this survey, an intensive domiciliary care service is defined as 6 or more visits and more than 10 hours during the survey week

Number of clients by sector (2019 to 2023)

During the survey week in 2023, 9,746 clients received intensive domiciliary care services, an increase of 3% compared to the survey week in 2022 (9,453). Clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services accounted for just over two fifths (42%) of all 23,249 clients receiving domiciliary care, a similar proportion when compared to the 2022 survey (42%).

Between the survey weeks in 2019 and 2023, the number of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services from the statutory sector decreased by 2% (-52) while those receiving intensive domiciliary care services from the independent sector increased by 15% (958), as shown in Figure 20 below.

Note: The number of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services from the statutory and independent sectors may not sum to the total for Northern Ireland, because clients may be receiving services from both sectors. Similarly, a number of clients may become an intensive case if the number of domiciliary care contact hours and visits from both sectors are totalled.

Figure 20: Number of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services by sector (2019 to 2023)

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For a trend breakdown (2021 to 2023) of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care by sector and HSC Trust, see Table 30 in the Appendix.

Number of clients by client group

During the survey week in 2023, just over four fifths (81%) were in the elderly client group, approximately 1 in 9 (11%) had a physical disability, almost 1 in 15 (6%) had a learning disability, and a small proportion (2%) had mental health needs. A small proportion (less than 1%) of other clients received intensive domiciliary care services (see Figure 21). These proportions are similar to those reported in the 2021 and 2022 surveys.

Figure 21: Proportion of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services, by client group (2023)

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For a breakdown of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care by client group and HSC Trust, see Table 31 in the Appendix.

Percentage of clients by age group and HSC Trust

During the survey week in 2023, just under 6 in 7 (84%) clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services were aged 65 and over, with approximately 1 in 6 (16%) clients aged 18 to 64, as shown in Figure 22 below. These proportions are similar to those reported in the 2021 and 2022 surveys.

Figure 22: Percentage of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services by age group (2023)

Note: Individual categorical elements may not sum to the total value, as the age and client group of some of the clients are unknown.

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Across HSC Trusts, the proportion of clients aged 65 and over receiving intensive domiciliary care services ranged from just under 9 in 10 (89%) in the Southern Trust to approximately four fifths (80%) in the Belfast HSC Trust.

For a breakdown of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care by age group and HSC Trust, see Table 32 and Table 33 in the Appendix.

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Glossary

Domiciliary care

Domiciliary care is defined as the range of services put in place to support an individual in their own home. In essence, the provision of personal care and associated domestic services necessary to maintain an individual in a mutually agreed measure of health, hygiene, dignity, safety and ease in their home.

This includes:

• Traditional home help services, including home help services provided by the voluntary sector which were commissioned by HSC Trusts

• Overnight, live-in, and 24 hour services

• Services which assist the client to function as independently as possible and or continue to live in their own homes. For example:

  • routine household tasks within or outside the home
  • personal care of the client
  • shopping

• Domiciliary care services must include three key elements:

  • provision must be in or centred on the client’s own home
  • some definite manual activity and or social or emotional support is involved, and
  • service must be funded wholly or partly by the Social Services Department

• Home care provided in sheltered or supported housing, although this should not include care provided as part of the sheltered housing package (e.g. services provided by the warden or sheltered housing staff)

Social or emotional support

Social or emotional support in most cases is delivered on a regular schedule, as part of the Trust’s domiciliary care ordering service; i.e. home care specifically for older people with dementia, or some mental health clients to ensure that they for example take tables, eat or don’t walk out of the house.

In some Trusts this has always been regarded as ‘traditional’ home care but this is not consistently applied across the region. Social or emotional support does not include a ‘casual, drop-in’ type service where a care manager may ‘drop in’ to see how a client is getting on.

Contact hours

Contact hours refers to the number of hours staff are in contact with or directly serving the client, excluding travel time, during the survey week.

Intensive domiciliary care

For the purposes of this survey, an intensive domiciliary care service is defined as 6 or more visits and more than 10 contact hours during the survey week.

Times when care provided

Normal hours refers to domiciliary care services provided during office hours or the normal working day. The normal working day should be counted as 8am to 6pm.

Out of hours refers to services which are provided outside of the normal working day.

Overnight services refer to night sitting services which are carried out on a regular or adhoc basis

Live-in services refer to where the care worker lives, either permanently or temporarily, in the home of the client, working for the HSC Trust directly or under contract. Exclude informal care arrangements with relatives or friends.

24 hour services refer to round the clock domiciliary care services provided by several workers on a shift basis.

Measuring the data

Domiciliary care

Domiciliary care is defined as the range of services put in place to support an individual in their own home. Services may involve routine household tasks within or outside the home, personal care of the client and other associated domestic services necessary to maintain an individual in an acceptable level of health, hygiene, dignity, safety and ease in their home. ‘People First’, the Department of Health’s (DoH) vision for community care was published in 1993 with six core objectives, including the development of domiciliary care services to enable more people to continue to live in their own homes. When introduced, it focused solely on ‘care management’ cases; although, over time the interpretation of the term ‘care management’ deviated, with a wide variance established across the legacy HSS Trusts. These differing interpretations were highlighted further during the Review of Public Administration (RPA) when HSS Trusts were merged into the current Health and Social Care (HSC) Trust areas. In addition, as the data collection process at that time focused only on ‘care managed’ cases, a substantial number of people receiving less complex domiciliary care packages were not being counted. To rectify inconsistencies with information on domiciliary care, the DoH discontinued the collection of domiciliary care via the CC7 statistical return from 30 September 2007, and introduced a new statistical return, CC7b, in 2008 that would provide a comprehensive picture of all domiciliary care services provided in the community, regardless of their complexity. For 2023, information collected on the CC7b return related to the survey week, 3 to 9 September 2023. The survey gathered information on the number of contact hours of domiciliary care provided, the number of clients receiving these services, the number of domiciliary care visits provided and the length of these visits during the survey week, broken down by sector providing the service and HSC Trust. The DoH would like to sincerely thank all HSC Trust staff who assisted in the provision of this information.

COVID-19 impact on domiciliary care

Health & Social Care (HSC) Trusts have reported changes to their provision of domiciliary care packages from 2020 onward due to the impact of COVID-19. The following list of points indicate the background to these changes and may apply to all, or only a single HSC Trust. It is not possible to apportion specific issues to specific changes in reported provision.

• Domiciliary care continued to be provided during the COVID-19 pandemic, however some domiciliary care packages were suspended at various stages to reduce the risk of contact and transmission of the virus.
• While many packages were recommenced after suspension, it was indicated previously that some families terminated packages themselves with the intention that they will be reinstated after the pandemic.
• Some new domiciliary care referrals and assessments may have been delayed due to staff shortages. Earlier in the COVID-19 pandemic it was also indicated that some new domiciliary care packages due to commence were declined due to concerns about the risks of contact with staff. Additionally, where deemed safe and where possible, it was previously indicated that some service users were taken to stay and be cared for in family homes during the course of the pandemic.
• Increased domiciliary care provision has been required where individuals have not been able to attend other forms of care or visit with family due to COVID-19 restrictions. Increased domiciliary care provision has also been required to support discharges from hospital where interim residential care would usually be provided, as this service has been limited by the impact of COVID-19 restrictions and isolation measures.
• Some domiciliary care providers have experienced COVID-19 related staffing shortages, in terms of recruitment, and absence periods, which led to changes in service provision. For example, in some cases reconfiguring service provision across geographical areas, prioritising service users or amalgamating visits was needed.
• Statutory and independent sector domiciliary care providers have liaised closely with the Trusts to maintain service provision and some independent providers have taken on increased provision. Some staff employed in Trusts services which have been affected by COVID-19 restriction e.g. day care services, have been redeployed into independent sector domiciliary care roles. In other instances HSC Trusts have taken on packages normally dealt with by the independent sector to ensure coverage was met.

Data collection

The information presented in this publication derives from the CC7b survey on domiciliary care services provided for adults in Northern Ireland. Completed surveys were provided by each of the five HSC Trusts in Northern Ireland to Community Information Branch (CIB) in the Department of Health. In 2023, the CC7b survey covered the period 3 to 9 September 2023 inclusive. It gathered information on the number of domiciliary care contact hours provided, the number of clients receiving domiciliary care, the number of domiciliary care visits provided and the number of clients receiving 15 minute domiciliary care visits during the survey week.

The CC7b information return together with the associated guidance note can be found (‘https://www.health-ni.gov.uk/publications/domiciliary-care-survey-template-and-guidance’).

Data quality

On receipt of CC7b information returns from each HSC Trust, statisticians in CIB conduct internal consistency checks. They also use historical data to monitor annual variations and/or emerging trends, both regionally and across HSC Trusts. Queries arising from validation checks are presented to HSC Trusts for clarification and if required returns may be amended and re-submitted. The HSC Trusts are also asked to provide appropriate explanations for any inconsistent or missing information. Only data deemed to be of sufficient quality have been published.

Data changes

Since the CC7b information return was introduced in 2008, a breakdown of information by client group and age group was requested from the HSC Trusts only for clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services. From 2014, HSC Trusts are also required to provide a breakdown of client group and age group for all clients receiving domiciliary care (see Table 10 in the Appendix). Due to an increased information need, a number of questions were added to the 2015 CC7b information return to capture information on the provision of 15 minute domiciliary care visits.

Amendments

The cut-off point for amendments to data was 1 December 2023. Any amendment notified by HSC Trusts after this date will not have been included.

Disclosure conventions

Our policy statement on disclosure and confidentiality can be found in the DoH Statistics Charter on our website.

Rounding conventions

Percentages have been rounded to whole numbers and as a consequence some percentages may not sum to 100. 0% may reflect rounding down of values under 0.

Revisions policy

These data are revised by exception. If revisions are required, background circumstances are reported and revision dates are noted in subsequent publications of these series of statistics. The general revisions policy for Official Statistics produced by the DoH can be found in the DoH Statistics Charter on our website.

Statement of administrative sources

A detailed Statement of Administrative Sources is available on our website. This statement describes the administrative/ management sources which the DOH currently uses to produce official statistics, or which have the potential to be so used.

Future publications

The next release of these statistics, for a survey week in September 2024, is scheduled for December 2024.

User information

Target audience

Social Services Directors, Directors of Adult’s Services, Chief Executives of HSC Board and Trusts in Northern Ireland, health care professionals, academics and social care stakeholders.

Main uses of document

Data presented in this publication helps to meet the information needs of a wide range of internal and external users. Within DoH these figures are used to monitor the delivery of domiciliary care services to adults, to help assess HSC Trust performance, for corporate monitoring, to inform and monitor related policy, for Ministerial briefing and to respond to Private Office enquiries and parliamentary/assembly questions.

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Statistics and research for the Department of Health is provided by the Information and Analysis Directorate (IAD). IAD is responsible for compiling, processing, analysing, interpreting and disseminating a wide range of statistics covering health and social care.

The statisticians within IAD are outposted from the Northern Ireland Statistics & Research Agency (NISRA) and the statistics are produced in accordance with the principles and protocols set out in the Code of Practice for Official Statistics.

IAD comprises four statistical sections: Hospital Information, Community Information, Public Health Information & Research and Project Support Analysis. This publication is produced by Community Information Branch.

Our vision and values

• Provide up-to-date, quality information on children and adult social services and community health;
• To disseminate findings widely with a view to stimulating debate, promoting effective decision making and improvement in service provision; and
• Be an expert voice on social care information.

About Community Information Branch

The purpose of Community Information Branch (CIB) is to promote effective decision making in children and adult social services by providing quality information and analysis. We collect, analyse, and publish a wide range of community information that is used to help monitor the delivery of personal social services policy. Information collected by CIB is used to assess HSC Trust performance, for corporate monitoring, policy evaluation, and to respond to parliamentary/assembly questions. Information is widely disseminated through a number of regular key statistical publications and ad hoc reports, details of which are available online.

Appendix

Additional tables

Please note tables have been reformatted from previous publications. Tables 1 to 3 correspond to Table 1 in publications prior to 2021.

Table 1: Estimated number of domiciliary care contact hours provided, by sector and HSC Trust (2021)

Notes: Components may not add to totals due to rounding

HSC Trust	Statutory	Statutory %	Independent	Independent %	All sectors
Belfast	7,613	15	41,532	85	49,145
Northern	23,651	38	39,206	62	62,857
South Eastern	17,708	21	68,610	79	86,318
Southern	24,916	41	36,328	59	61,244
Western	7,106	18	33,154	82	40,260
Northern Ireland	80,994	27	218,830	73	299,824

Table 2: Estimated number of domiciliary care contact hours provided, by sector and HSC Trust (2022)

Notes: Components may not add to totals due to rounding

HSC Trust	Statutory	Statutory %	Independent	Independent %	All sectors
Belfast	7,539	15	43,587	85	51,126
Northern	22,821	37	38,365	63	61,186
South Eastern	20,681	24	66,632	76	87,313
Southern	24,930	42	33,736	58	58,666
Western	6,796	18	31,380	82	38,176
Northern Ireland	82,767	28	213,700	72	296,467

Table 3: Estimated number of domiciliary care contact hours provided, by sector and HSC Trust (2023)

Notes: Components may not add to totals due to rounding

HSC Trust	Statutory	Statutory %	Independent	Independent %	All sectors
Belfast	6,951	14	43,893	86	50,844
Northern	14,772	26	41,718	74	56,490
South Eastern	17,126	19	71,962	81	89,088
Southern	24,998	42	34,244	58	59,242
Western	6,778	18	31,911	82	38,689
Northern Ireland	70,625	24	223,728	76	294,353

Table 4: Average number of domiciliary care contact hours provided per client, by sector and HSC Trust (2021 to 2023)

Select the tab to view data by sector or by year.

T4 2021

Statutory and independent figures were revised in February 2021

HSC Trust	Statutory 2021	Independent 2021	All sectors 2021
Belfast	5.3	12.2	11.6
Northern	12.4	10.8	12.3
South Eastern	14.2	15.8	16.2
Southern	12.1	13.0	13.2
Western	6.8	11.3	12.0
Northern Ireland	10.5	12.8	13.2

T4 2022

Statutory and independent figures were revised in February 2021

HSC Trust	Statutory 2022	Independent 2022	All sectors 2022
Belfast	5.4	12.7	12.0
Northern	12.9	10.8	12.3
South Eastern	18.3	15.3	16.5
Southern	12.0	12.4	12.7
Western	5.7	11.0	11.1
Northern Ireland	10.9	12.6	13.1

T4 2023

Statutory and independent figures were revised in February 2021

HSC Trust	Statutory 2023	Independent 2023	All sectors 2023
Belfast	5.8	12.9	12.5
Northern	7.9	10.7	10.5
South Eastern	14.9	15.3	15.9
Southern	12.2	12.3	12.8
Western	6.3	10.4	10.8
Northern Ireland	9.6	12.5	12.7

T4 Statutory

Statutory and independent figures were revised in February 2021

HSC Trust	Statutory 2021	Statutory 2022	Statutory 2023
Belfast	5.3	5.4	5.8
Northern	12.4	12.9	7.9
South Eastern	14.2	18.3	14.9
Southern	12.1	12.0	12.2
Western	6.8	5.7	6.3
Northern Ireland	10.5	10.9	9.6

T4 Independent

Statutory and independent figures were revised in February 2021

HSC Trust	Independent 2021	Independent 2022	Independent 2023
Belfast	12.2	12.7	12.9
Northern	10.8	10.8	10.7
South Eastern	15.8	15.3	15.3
Southern	13.0	12.4	12.3
Western	11.3	11.0	10.4
Northern Ireland	12.8	12.6	12.5

T4 All sectors

Statutory and independent figures were revised in February 2021

HSC Trust	All sectors 2021	All sectors 2022	All sectors 2023
Belfast	11.6	12.0	12.5
Northern	12.3	12.3	10.5
South Eastern	16.2	16.5	15.9
Southern	13.2	12.7	12.8
Western	12.0	11.1	10.8
Northern Ireland	13.2	13.1	12.7

Table 5: Number of domiciliary care contact hours provided, by sector and times when care provided (2021)

Note: Components may not add to totals due to rounding

Time when care provided	Statutory hours	Statutory %	Independent hours	Independent %	All sectors hours
Normal	59,709	29	145,544	71	205,253
Out of hours	19,739	27	54,693	73	74,432
Overnight, live in & 24 hour services	1,546	8	18,593	92	20,139
Total	80,994	27	218,830	73	299,824

Table 6: Number of domiciliary care contact hours provided, by sector and times when care provided (2022)

Note: Components may not add to totals due to rounding

Time when care provided	Statutory hours	Statutory %	Independent hours	Independent %	All sectors hours
Normal	60,468	30	141,007	70	201,475
Out of hours	19,720	26	55,015	74	74,735
Overnight, live in & 24 hour services	2,579	13	17,678	87	20,257
Total	82,767	28	213,700	72	296,467

Table 7: Number of domiciliary care contact hours provided, by sector and times when care provided (2023)

Note: Components may not add to totals due to rounding

Time when care provided	Statutory hours	Statutory %	Independent hours	Independent %	All sectors hours
Normal	50,360	25	147,336	75	197,696
Out of hours	17,995	24	57,291	76	75,286
Overnight, live in & 24 hour services	2,270	11	19,101	89	21,371
Total	70,625	24	223,728	76	294,353

Table 8: Percentage of domiciliary care contact hours provided, by sector and times when care provided (2021 to 2023)

Note: Components may not add to totals due to rounding
Select the tab to view data by year or by sector.

T8a 2021

Time when care provided	Statutory 2021	Independent 2021	All sectors 2021
Normal	74	67	68
Out of hours	24	25	25
Overnight, live in & 24 hour services	2	8	7

T8b 2022

Time when care provided	Statutory 2022	Independent 2022	All sectors 2022
Normal	73	66	68
Out of hours	24	26	25
Overnight, live in & 24 hour services	3	8	7

T8c 2023

Time when care provided	Statutory 2023	Independent 2023	All sectors 2023
Normal	71	66	67
Out of hours	25	26	26
Overnight, live in & 24 hour services	3	9	7

T8d statutory

Time when care provided	Statutory 2021	Statutory 2022	Statutory 2023
Normal	74	73	71
Out of hours	24	24	25
Overnight, live in & 24 hour services	2	3	3

T8e independent

Time when care provided	Independent 2021	Independent 2022	Independent 2023
Normal	67	66	66
Out of hours	25	26	26
Overnight, live in & 24 hour services	8	8	9

T8f all sectors

Time when care provided	All sectors 2021	All sectors 2022	All sectors 2023
Normal	68	68	67
Out of hours	25	25	26
Overnight, live in & 24 hour services	7	7	7

Table 9: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by sector and HSC Trust (2021 to 2023)

Note: Total clients figures exclude double counting.
Select a tab to view the data by year or sector

T9 2021

HSC Trust	Statutory 2021	Independent 2021	Both sectors 2021	Total clients 2021
Belfast	1,435	3,411	595	4,251
Northern	1,908	3,615	420	5,103
South Eastern	1,250	4,338	266	5,322
Southern	2,054	2,788	188	4,654
Western	1,039	2,925	601	3,363
Northern Ireland	7,686	17,077	2,070	22,693

T9 2022

HSC Trust	Statutory 2022	Independent 2022	Both sectors 2022	Total clients 2022
Belfast	1,386	3,441	552	4,275
Northern	1,772	3,557	350	4,979
South Eastern	1,128	4,364	213	5,279
Southern	2,077	2,719	193	4,603
Western	1,199	2,864	624	3,439
Northern Ireland	7,562	16,945	1,932	22,575

T9 2023

HSC Trust	Statutory 2023	Independent 2023	Both sectors 2023	Total clients 2023
Belfast	1,195	3,395	515	4,075
Northern	1,860	3,894	391	5,363
South Eastern	1,152	4,694	249	5,597
Southern	2,057	2,784	204	4,637
Western	1,072	3,076	571	3,577
Northern Ireland	7,336	17,843	1,930	23,249

T9 Statutory

Clients receiving domiciliary care from the statutory sector

HSC Trust	Statutory 2021	Statutory 2022	Statutory 2023
Belfast	1,435	1,386	1,195
Northern	1,908	1,772	1,860
South Eastern	1,250	1,128	1,152
Southern	2,054	2,077	2,057
Western	1,039	1,199	1,072
Northern Ireland	7,686	7,562	7,336

T9 Independent

Clients receiving domiciliary care from the independent sector

HSC Trust	Independent 2021	Independent 2022	Independent 2023
Belfast	3,411	3,441	3,395
Northern	3,615	3,557	3,894
South Eastern	4,338	4,364	4,694
Southern	2,788	2,719	2,784
Western	2,925	2,864	3,076
Northern Ireland	17,077	16,945	17,843

T9 Both

Clients receiving domiciliary care from both sectors

HSC Trust	Both 2021	Both 2022	Both 2023
Belfast	595	552	515
Northern	420	350	391
South Eastern	266	213	249
Southern	188	193	204
Western	601	624	571
Northern Ireland	2,070	1,932	1,930

T9 Total

Total clients receiving domiciliary care excluding double counting

HSC Trust	Total 2021	Total 2022	Total 2023
Belfast	4,251	4,275	4,075
Northern	5,103	4,979	5,363
South Eastern	5,322	5,279	5,597
Southern	4,654	4,603	4,637
Western	3,363	3,439	3,577
Northern Ireland	22,693	22,575	23,249

Table 10: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by client group and HSC Trust (2023)

Note: [s] indicates counts suppressed to avoid disclosure of personal data

Client group	Belfast	Northern	South Eastern	Southern	Western	Northern Ireland
Elderly	3,085	4,558	4,515	3,739	2,891	18,788
Physical under 65	510	478	491	441	410	2,330
Physical over 65	64	[s]	81	33	[s]	189
Learning disabled under 65	181	91	362	175	103	912
Learning disabled over 65	45	[s]	66	45	[s]	222
Mental health under 65	116	53	64	54	30	317
Mental health over 65	64	128	18	129	109	448
Other under 65	10	12	0	21	0	43
Total under 65	817	634	917	691	543	3,602
Total over 65	3,258	4,729	4,680	3,946	3,034	19,647
Totals	4,075	5,363	5,597	4,637	3,577	23,249

Table 11: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by client group (2023)

Notes: Components may not add to totals due to rounding

Client group	Number of Clients	% of total clients
Aged 18 to 64	3,602	15
Client with a physical disability (aged 18 to 64)	2,330	10
Client with a learning disability (aged 18 to 64)	912	4
Client with mental health needs (aged 18 to 64)	317	[u]
Other (age 18 to 64)	43	[u]
Aged 65 and over	19,647	85
Total	23,249	100

Table 12: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by age group and HSC Trust (2023)

HSC Trust	18 to 64	65 and over
Belfast	817	3,258
Northern	634	4,729
South Eastern	917	4,680
Southern	691	3,946
Western	543	3,034
Northern Ireland	3,602	19,647

Table 13: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services per 10,000 population aged 18 & over, by sector and HSC Trust (2021 to 2023)

Notes:
Information is based on the population aged 18 & over within each HSC Trust (Source: Mid-Year Population Estimates, NISRA). Note that information for 2020 to 2022 use 2020 mid-year population estimate as 2021 data was not yet available at date of publication.
Figures presented for ‘All Sectors’ are derived from the sum of those clients receiving domiciliary care from the statutory sector (Table 2A of the CC7b return) and those clients receiving domiciliary care from the independent sector (Table 2B of the CC7b return).
They therefore include double counting of clients and differ from the total number of clients receiving domiciliary care presented in Table 9.
Rates per 10,000 population aged 18 & over.
Click the tab to view data by sector

T13 statutory

HSC Trust	Statutory 2021	Statutory 2022	Statutory 2023	Statutory % change 2022 to 2023
Belfast	49.9	48.2	41.5	-14
Northern	51.3	47.7	50.0	5
South Eastern	43.7	39.4	40.3	2
Southern	70.2	71.0	70.3	-1
Western	45.2	52.1	46.6	-11
Northern Ireland	52.4	51.5	50.0	-3

T13 independent

HSC Trust	Independent 2021	Independent 2022	Independent 2023	Independent % change 2022 to 2023
Belfast	118.6	119.6	118.0	-1
Northern	97.2	95.7	104.7	9
South Eastern	151.7	152.6	164.1	8
Southern	95.3	92.9	95.1	2
Western	127.1	124.5	133.7	7
Northern Ireland	116.3	115.4	121.5	5

T13 all sectors

HSC Trust	All sectors 2021	All sectors 2022	All sectors 2023	All sectors % change 2022 to 2023
Belfast	168.5	167.8	159.6	-5
Northern	148.6	143.3	154.8	8
South Eastern	195.4	192.0	204.4	6
Southern	165.4	163.9	165.4	1
Western	172.3	176.6	180.3	2
Northern Ireland	168.7	166.9	171.5	3

Table 14: Number of domiciliary care visits provided, by sector and HSC Trust (2023)

HSC Trust	Statutory	Statutory %	Independent	Independent %	All sectors
Belfast	17,469	16	94,360	84	111,829
Northern	39,849	27	107,620	73	147,469
South Eastern	21,316	15	123,005	85	144,321
Southern	42,503	43	56,945	57	99,448
Western	15,229	17	72,542	83	87,771
Northern Ireland	136,366	23	454,472	77	590,838

Table 15: Number of domiciliary care visits provided, by sector and HSC Trust (2023). Length of visit is 15 minutes or less

HSC Trust	Statutory	Statutory %	Independent	Independent %	All sectors
Belfast	8,846	17	42,759	83	51,605
Northern	22,724	28	59,291	72	82,015
South Eastern	8,499	20	33,578	80	42,077
Southern	1,725	14	10,402	86	12,127
Western	1,098	34	2,087	66	3,185
Northern Ireland	42,892	22	148,117	78	191,009

Table 16: Number of domiciliary care visits provided, by sector and HSC Trust (2023). Length of visit is 16 to 30 minutes

HSC Trust	Statutory	Statutory %	Independent	Independent %	All sectors
Belfast	7,488	15	43,786	85	51,274
Northern	14,616	26	42,612	74	57,228
South Eastern	11,195	13	74,742	87	85,937
Southern	20,249	39	31,306	61	51,555
Western	10,613	15	59,823	85	70,436
Northern Ireland	64,161	20	252,269	80	316,430

Table 17: Number of domiciliary care visits provided, by sector and HSC Trust (2023). Length of visit is more than 30 minutes

HSC Trust	Statutory	Statutory %	Independent	Independent %	All sectors
Belfast	1,135	13	7,815	87	8,950
Northern	2,509	31	5,717	69	8,226
South Eastern	1,622	10	14,685	90	16,307
Southern	20,529	57	15,237	43	35,766
Western	3,518	25	10,632	75	14,150
Northern Ireland	29,313	35	54,086	65	83,399

Table 18: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services; visits provided by length of visit and HSC Trust (2023)

HSC Trust	15 mins or less	15 mins or less %	16 to 30 mins	16 to 30 mins %	More than 30 mins	More than 30 mins %	All visits
Belfast	51,605	46	51,274	46	8,950	8	111,829
Northern	82,015	56	57,228	39	8,226	6	147,469
South Eastern	42,077	29	85,937	60	16,307	11	144,321
Southern	12,127	12	51,555	52	35,766	36	99,448
Western	3,185	4	70,436	80	14,150	16	87,771
Northern Ireland	191,009	32	316,430	54	83,399	14	590,838

Table 19: Number of clients who received domiciliary care visits, by sector and HSC Trust (2023). Length of visit is 15 minutes or less

Note: Total column excludes double counting.

HSC Trust	Statutory	Independent	Total
Belfast	713	2,396	2,888
Northern	1,425	2,919	4,139
South Eastern	628	1,927	2,471
Southern	183	868	1,050
Western	115	170	280
Northern Ireland	3,064	8,280	10,828

Table 20: Number of clients who received domiciliary care visits by sector and HSC Trust (2023). Length of Visit is 16 to 30 minutes

Note: Total column excludes double counting.

HSC Trust	Statutory	Independent	Total
Belfast	748	2,306	2,905
Northern	1,371	3,010	4,283
South Eastern	812	3,494	4,212
Southern	1,551	2,234	3,729
Western	897	2,924	3,269
Northern Ireland	5,379	13,968	18,398

Table 21: Number of clients who received domiciliary care visits lasting less than 15 minutes, by sector, number of visits and HSC Trust (2023)

Note: [s] indicates counts suppressed to avoid disclosure of personal data
Click to view data by sector

T21 statutory

HSC Trust	Statutory 1 to 5 visits	Statutory 6 to 12 visits	Statutory 13 to 20 visits	Statutory 20 visits or more
Belfast	65	294	231	123
Northern	37	473	378	537
South Eastern	[s]	232	232	[s]
Southern	[s]	92	41	[s]
Western	[s]	72	38	[s]
Northern Ireland	166	1,163	920	815

T21 independent

HSC Trust	Independent 1 to 5 visits	Independent 6 to 12 visits	Independent 13 to 20 visits	Independent 20 visits or more
Belfast	101	588	781	926
Northern	65	668	657	1,529
South Eastern	54	404	774	695
Southern	81	334	312	141
Western	14	69	71	16
Northern Ireland	315	2,063	2,595	3,307

Table 22: Number of clients who received domiciliary care visits lasting 16 to 30 minutes, by sector, number of visits and HSC Trust (2023)

Click to view data by sector

T22 statutory

HSC Trust	Statutory 1 to 5 visits	Statutory 6 to 12 visits	Statutory 13 to 20 visits	Statutory 20 visits or more
Belfast	234	330	99	85
Northern	78	883	267	143
South Eastern	75	332	197	208
Southern	170	574	395	412
Western	53	461	254	129
Northern Ireland	610	2,580	1,212	977

T22 independent

HSC Trust	Independent 1 to 5 visits	Independent 6 to 12 visits	Independent 13 to 20 visits	Independent 20 visits or more
Belfast	178	756	583	789
Northern	94	1,562	789	565
South Eastern	182	866	876	1,570
Southern	198	706	746	584
Western	188	821	661	1,254
Northern Ireland	840	4,711	3,655	4,762

Table 23: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by number of visits and contact hours (2021)

Notes: Components may not add to totals due to rounding
[s] indicates counts suppressed to avoid disclosure of personal data

Total number of contact hours	1 visit	2 to 5 visits	6 or more visits	1 or more visits
Less than 5 hours	524	1,163	5,662	7,349
5 hours to less than 10 hours	29	204	6,717	6,950
10 hours to less than 20 hours	[s]	[s]	6,030	6,228
20 hours or more	[s]	[s]	4,169	4,236
Total	584	1,601	22,578	24,763

Table 24: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by number of visits and contact hours (2022)

Notes: Components may not add to totals due to rounding
[s] indicates counts suppressed to avoid disclosure of personal data

Total number of contact hours	1 visit	2 to 5 visits	6 or more visits	1 or more visits
Less than 5 hours	536	1,174	5,690	7,400
5 hours to less than 10 hours	48	235	7,413	7,696
10 hours to less than 20 hours	[s]	[s]	5,159	5,325
20 hours or more	[s]	[s]	4,013	4,086
Total	598	1,634	22,275	24,507

Table 25: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by number of visits and contact hours (2023)

Notes: Components may not add to totals due to rounding
[s] indicates counts suppressed to avoid disclosure of personal data

Total number of contact hours	1 visit	2 to 5 visits	6 or more visits	1 or more visits
Less than 5 hours	505	996	5,910	7,411
5 hours to less than 10 hours	41	219	7,850	8,110
10 hours to less than 20 hours	[s]	[s]	5,331	5,485
20 hours or more	[s]	[s]	4,103	4,173
Total	552	1,433	23,194	25,179

Table 26: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by contact hours provided and HSC Trust (2023)

Notes: In these groupings the categories are more than the lower figure and include the higher figure. For example, 5 to 10 means more than 5 and up to and including 10. Components may not add to totals due to rounding
The total figures in this table will differ to those in Tables 9 and 10 as the double counting of clients receiving domiciliary care from both statutory and independent services have not been excluded.
Click to view hours or percentages

T26 hours

HSC Trust	0 to 5 hours	5 to 10 hours	10 to 20 hours	Over 20 hours	Total
Belfast	1,671	1,286	755	878	4,590
Northern	1,616	2,388	1,176	574	5,754
South Eastern	1,391	1,689	1,469	1,297	5,846
Southern	1,154	1,462	1,266	959	4,841
Western	1,579	1,285	819	465	4,148
Northern Ireland	7,411	8,110	5,485	4,173	25,179

T26 percent

HSC Trust	0 to 5 hours %	5 to 10 hours %	10 to 20 hours %	Over 20 hours %
Belfast	36	28	16	19
Northern	28	42	20	10
South Eastern	24	29	25	22
Southern	24	30	26	20
Western	38	31	20	11
Northern Ireland	29	32	22	17

Notes for Tables 27 to 29

Figures presented in Tables 27 to 29 for ‘All sectors’ are derived from the sum of those clients receiving domiciliary care from the statutory sector (Table 2A of the CC7b return) and those clients receiving domiciliary care from the independent sector (Table 2B of the CC7b return). They therefore include double counting of clients and differ from the total number of clients receiving domiciliary care presented in Table 9 of this publication.

Table 27: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by sector, contact hours provided and HSC Trust (2021)

Click the tabs to view data by sector

T27a statutory

HSC Trust	Statutory less than 5 hours	Statutory 5 hours to less than 10 hours	Statutory 10 hours to less than 20 hours	Statutory 20 hours or more
Belfast	912	358	95	70
Northern	671	802	325	110
South Eastern	439	410	275	126
Southern	524	559	583	388
Western	514	322	156	47
Northern Ireland	3,060	2,451	1,434	741

T27b independent

HSC Trust	Independent less than 5 hours	Independent 5 hours to less than 10 hours	Independent 10 hours to less than 20 hours	Independent 20 hours or more
Belfast	978	946	749	738
Northern	943	783	1,402	487
South Eastern	870	1,165	1,204	1,099
Southern	616	797	722	653
Western	882	808	717	518
Northern Ireland	4,289	4,499	4,794	3,495

T27c all sectors

HSC Trust	All sectors less than 5 hours	All sectors 5 hours to less than 10 hours	All sectors 10 hours to less than 20 hours	All sectors 20 hours or more
Belfast	1,890	1,304	844	808
Northern	1,614	1,585	1,727	597
South Eastern	1,309	1,575	1,479	1,225
Southern	1,140	1,356	1,305	1,041
Western	1,396	1,130	873	565
Northern Ireland	7,349	6,950	6,228	4,236

Table 28: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by sector, contact hours provided and HSC Trust (2022)

Click the tabs to view data by sector

T28a statutory

HSC Trust	Statutory less than 5 hours	Statutory 5 hours to less than 10 hours	Statutory 10 hours to less than 20 hours	Statutory 20 hours or more
Belfast	844	379	97	66
Northern	630	728	324	90
South Eastern	383	395	226	124
Southern	549	564	574	390
Western	707	311	139	42
Northern Ireland	3,113	2,377	1,360	712

T28b independent

HSC Trust	Independent less than 5 hours	Independent 5 hours to less than 10 hours	Independent 10 hours to less than 20 hours	Independent 20 hours or more
Belfast	947	976	738	780
Northern	874	1,483	739	461
South Eastern	908	1,236	1,140	1,080
Southern	645	812	692	570
Western	913	812	656	483
Northern Ireland	4,287	5,319	3,965	3,374

T28c all sectors

HSC Trust	All sectors less than 5 hours	All sectors 5 hours to less than 10 hours	All sectors 10 hours to less than 20 hours	All sectors 20 hours or more
Belfast	1,791	1,355	835	846
Northern	1,504	2,211	1,063	551
South Eastern	1,291	1,631	1,366	1,204
Southern	1,194	1,376	1,266	960
Western	1,620	1,123	795	525
Northern Ireland	7,400	7,696	5,325	4,086

Table 29: Number of clients receiving domiciliary care services, by sector, contact hours provided and HSC Trust (2023)

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T29a statutory

HSC Trust	Statutory less than 5 hours	Statutory 5 hours to less than 10 hours	Statutory 10 hours to less than 20 hours	Statutory 20 hours or more
Belfast	717	323	83	72
Northern	669	784	317	90
South Eastern	419	382	238	113
Southern	534	561	565	397
Western	559	341	134	38
Northern Ireland	2,898	2,391	1,337	710

T29b independent

HSC Trust	Independent less than 5 hours	Independent 5 hours to less than 10 hours	Independent 10 hours to less than 20 hours	Independent 20 hours or more
Belfast	954	963	672	806
Northern	947	1,604	859	484
South Eastern	972	1,307	1,231	1,184
Southern	620	901	701	562
Western	1,020	944	685	427
Northern Ireland	4,513	5,719	4,148	3,463

T29c all sectors

HSC Trust	All sectors less than 5 hours	All sectors 5 hours to less than 10 hours	All sectors 10 hours to less than 20 hours	All sectors 20 hours or more
Belfast	1,671	1,286	755	878
Northern	1,616	2,388	1,176	574
South Eastern	1,391	1,689	1,469	1,297
Southern	1,154	1,462	1,266	959
Western	1,579	1,285	819	465
Northern Ireland	7,411	8,110	5,485	4,173

Table 30: Number of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services, by sector and HSC Trust (2021 to 2023)

Notes: The number of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services from the statutory and independent sectors may not sum to the total for Northern Ireland, because clients may be receiving services from both sectors. Similarly, a number of clients may become an intensive case if the number of domiciliary care contact hours and visits from both sectors are totalled.
Click to view data by year or sector

T30a statutory

HSC Trust	Statutory 2021	Statutory 2022	Statutory 2023
Belfast	164	163	155
Northern	434	414	407
South Eastern	391	341	342
Southern	969	960	955
Western	203	181	172
Northern Ireland	2,161	2,059	2,031

T30b independent

HSC Trust	Independent 2021	Independent 2022	Independent 2023
Belfast	1,458	1,491	1,454
Northern	1,844	1,169	1,317
South Eastern	2,235	2,158	2,363
Southern	1,270	1,161	1,161
Western	1,231	1,134	1,108
Northern Ireland	8,038	7,113	7,403

T30c total clients

HSC Trust	Total clients 2021	Total clients 2022	Total clients 2023
Belfast	1,726	1,746	1,689
Northern	1,711	1,602	1,757
South Eastern	2,656	2,531	2,748
Southern	2,267	2,149	2,149
Western	1,483	1,425	1,403
Northern Ireland	9,843	9,453	9,746

T30d 2021

HSC Trust	Statutory 2021	Independent 2021	Total clients 2021
Belfast	164	1,458	1,726
Northern	434	1,844	1,711
South Eastern	391	2,235	2,656
Southern	969	1,270	2,267
Western	203	1,231	1,483
Northern Ireland	2,161	8,038	9,843

T30e 2022

HSC Trust	Statutory 2022	Independent 2022	Total clients 2022
Belfast	163	1,491	1,746
Northern	414	1,169	1,602
South Eastern	341	2,158	2,531
Southern	960	1,161	2,149
Western	181	1,134	1,425
Northern Ireland	2,059	7,113	9,453

T30f 2023

HSC Trust	Statutory 2023	Independent 2023	Total clients 2023
Belfast	155	1,454	1,689
Northern	407	1,317	1,757
South Eastern	342	2,363	2,748
Southern	955	1,161	2,149
Western	172	1,108	1,403
Northern Ireland	2,031	7,403	9,746

Notes for tables 31 to 33

Some shorthand is used in these tables: [s] indicates counts suppressed to avoid disclosure of personal data and [u] indicates values under 1%

Table 31: Number of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services, by client group and HSC Trust (2023)

Client group	Belfast	Northern	South Eastern	Southern	Western	Northern Ireland
Elderly	1,294	1,430	2,186	1,819	1,155	7,884
Physical under 65	240	217	225	168	155	1,005
Physical over 65	20	[s]	39	11	[s]	72
Learning disabled under 65	79	38	231	53	37	438
Learning disabled over 65	18	[s]	43	19	[s]	105
Mental health under 65	21	[s]	19	13	[s]	68
Mental health over 65	12	46	5	58	36	157
Other under 65	5	[s]	0	8	[s]	17
Total under 65	345	269	475	242	197	1,528
Total over 65	1,344	1,488	2,273	1,907	1,206	8,218
Total	1,689	1,757	2,748	2,149	1,403	9,746

Table 32: Number of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services, by age group and client group (2021 to 2023)

Client group	2021	2021 %	2022	2022 %	2023	2023 %
Aged 18 to 64	1,618	16	1,557	16	1,528	16
Client with a physical disability	1,032	10	948	10	1,005	10
Client with a learning disability	418	4	442	5	438	4
Client with mental health needs	157	2	157	2	68	[u]
Clients with no material handicap	11	[u]	10	[u]	17	[u]
Aged 65 and over	8,223	84	7,896	84	8,218	84
Total	9,841	100	9,453	100	9,746	100

Table 33: Number of clients receiving intensive domiciliary care services, by age group and HSC Trust (2021 to 2023)

HSC Trust	2021 aged 18 to 64	2021 aged 65 and over	2022 aged 18 to 64	2022 aged 65 and over	2023 aged 18 to 64	2023 aged 65 and over
Belfast	394	1,332	428	1,318	345	1,344
Northern	271	1,438	241	1,361	269	1,488
South Eastern	472	2,184	448	2,083	475	2,273
Southern	284	1,983	244	1,905	242	1,907
Western	197	1,286	196	1,229	197	1,206
Northern Ireland	1,618	8,223	1,557	7,896	1,528	8,218