The elderly at home: service needs and provision

This paper arises from research to develop a profile of the elderly living in the community. Data are presented from interviews with a stratified random sample of 1406 elderly people living in the Trafford area of Greater Manchester. The findings suggest that in reality community care for the elderly means care by lay carers. Assistance with all tasks ranging from intensely personal care, for example bathing and dressing, to the practical household tasks, such as cooking and cleaning, was more often provided to the elderly by spouses and daughters/daughters-in-law than by the statutory services.It is suggested that some form of eligibility criteria may be used either consciously or unconsciously by general practitioners and other health care workers when referring elderly people to the nursing and social services which may mean that the statutory services do not complement the care given by lay carers. Furthermore, the presence of a lay carer may prevent the situation coming to the attention of the primary health care team.