UK domiciliary care statistics 2024

Given the UK’s aging population, pressure on NHS services, and lack of hospital beds, it’s no wonder people rely on domiciliary care services.

Almost three-quarters (74%) of home care providers saw demand for their services increase at the start of 2022.

Despite this, a survey by the Homecare Association found over half (54%) of homecare providers delivered less care in 2023 compared to the previous year.

This paints an intriguing picture at a time when those working in the domiciliary care industry are encouraged to plan ahead so they can meet the UK's rising need for adult social care - both now and in the future.

To help with this, here are the latest domiciliary care statistics for the UK, including employment figures and challenges facing the home care industry as a whole.

All figures quoted are the most up to date at the time of publishing.

The UK domiciliary care market at a glance

• The UK has around 14,000 domiciliary care providers (over 12,000 are registered in England).
• Nearly two-thirds (64%) of home care providers have seen demand for hospital discharge services increase since 2022.
• Nearly 1 million people receive domiciliary care across the UK. Over 800,000 of them are thought to live in England.
• The UK’s domiciliary care industry employs nearly 665,000 people in total.
• The adult social care industry in England (which includes domiciliary care) adds £55.7 billion to the economy each year.
• Domiciliary care job vacancies in England are at 13%, over four times the average for all jobs in the UK.

What’s the size of the UK domiciliary care market?

The value of the UK domiciliary care market was estimated at around £11.5 billion in 2021-22, an increase of 12% from 2019-20.

More recently, a 2023 report found that adult social care (which includes home care) adds £55.7 billion per year to the economy in England – up by 8.5% from 2021-22.

That means the domiciliary care industry (and the adult social care sector as a whole) contributes more to the economy than sectors including accommodation and food services.

However, because statistics are gathered by nation, the exact size of the UK domiciliary care market is hard to gauge.

And so the following domiciliary care statistics should be treated as an estimate. You can find more info on each nation’s home care regulatory body’s website.

How many people use domiciliary care?

It’s thought that over 950,000 people receive domiciliary care in the UK. These include patients who are ill, elderly, have long-term medical issues, or have been discharged from hospital care.

While most people access domiciliary care through their local authority, almost a quarter (23.5%) pay for it themselves.

Which home care services are most popular?

The number of QCQ-registered domiciliary care services is particularly high in England (48%), growing from 8,659 to 12,808 between 2016-17 and 2022-23. By contrast, the popularity of private care homes with nursing has decreased by 5% (and 11% without nursing).

While many patients find domiciliary care to be a convenient option, many apply for it because either they - or their families - can’t afford the cost of living in a care home. Other social factors including long waiting lists for community care and the pressing need to free up NHS hospital beds.

This tallies up with research by the Homeware Association, which found that 85% of home care agencies say the people they support found it harder to access healthcare in 2023 than in previous years.

Hospital discharge services are especially popular among patients, with 64% of home care providers seeing increased demand. Live-in care is also increasingly sought after, with 10,000 patients in England needing it.

How many home care agencies are there in the UK?

There are around 14,000 domiciliary care providers registered in the UK. This includes home care agencies that are contracted directly by local authorities as well as independent providers.

Different types of domiciliary care providers include those who specialise in ‘hourly’ or ‘visiting’ homecare, supported living, assisted living, or live-in care.

Each provides domiciliary care under their country’s regulatory body e.g. the Quality Care Commission (QCC) in England or Care Inspectorate (CI) in Scotland.

How many domiciliary care workers are there in the UK?

Nearly 665,000 people make up the UK’s domiciliary care workforce:

What's recruitment like in the domiciliary care industry?

The domiciliary care industry has seen overall job vacancy rates increase significantly since the COVID-19 pandemic.

In October 2022, job vacancy rates reached a record high of 14.1% (pre-pandemic, they were at 9.3%). By March 2023, however, this figure had fallen by 1%, with 200,000 vacancies filled.

Many direct care vacancies were filled with the help of foreign recruitment – an estimated 70,000 roles (of which around 40,000 were in domiciliary care). This is a hefty increase from 2021-22 when only 10,000 jobs were filled by foreign workers.

At the same time, 390,000 people left their jobs between 2022-23, leaving around 152,000 vacancies. Of those, a third found jobs in other sectors while the rest transferred to new roles in adult social care.

Foreign recruits were less likely to leave their jobs, with a turnover rate of 16.5% (compared to 30.7% among UK-born workers).

While the domiciliary care workforce is predicted to grow over the next ten years, Skills for Care estimates that the UK’s social and home care industry will need to employ 440,000 people by 2035 to keep pace with rising demand.

What are the biggest challenges for the home care industry?

Thanks to the increasing strain on NHS services and the UK’s aging population, the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) predicts that 57% more adults aged 65 and over will need home care in 2038 compared to 2018.

While this means the UK domiciliary care industry can expect healthy demand in the future, it’ll need to overcome the shortfalls in long-term public funding and recruitment that have hampered its growth.

Delays clog up the system in the meantime. In August 2023, around 470,000 people were awaiting assessment, review, or the start of a care service. While almost a quarter (24%) of late discharges from hospital are due to patients awaiting domiciliary care.

Now surprise, then, that while home care providers saw high demand for hospital discharge services, 71% reported feeling under pressure to deliver an appropriate care package on time.

Another problem is that people leaving hospital need more complex care than before the COVID-19 pandemic. In fact, 56% of domiciliary care providers agree that more complex tasks are now being commissioned by the NHS.

Upper management recognise the scale of the problem. 91% of adult social services directors in England believe there’s inadequate funding or workforce to meet the care costs of people in their area.

Caring for your own

When you’re in the business of caring for others, it’s only right to think about caring for your business too.

Legally, regulatory bodies like the CQC insist that all home care agencies who register with them have domiciliary care insurance.

Besides that, having the right insurance puts your mind at ease. Our standard package provides cover for accusations of negligence and third-party damage and, if you’re found at fault, will compensate your employees if they get sick or injured.

As an agency supervisor or director, your own work is covered too, including the advice you give to your staff.

For info or advice on domiciliary care insurance, just call our team on 0345 222 5391.

Image used under license from iStock.