Community care of the elderly in Britain: value for money?

An increased emphasis on community care for the elderly has been apparent in Britain for some time. However, if appropriate levels of care are provided at home and like patients are compared with like, residential care can be cheaper than community care. Nevertheless, if society places a value on maintaining the elderly in the community, rather than caring for them in institutions, then community care may well be value for money in this wider sense. However, we must not lose sight of the fact that value for money, and not just cheaper alternatives, is what we should always strive to attain.