Costs of packages of care for older people with dementia

A study conducted by the National Institute of Social Work examined the level and types of care packages being received by older people with dementia and their carers. This paper formed a chapter in the report of this study that examined the implications of these service packages for the costs of care. The paper starts by describing the underlying principles of costing and the estimation process, before outlining the results in terms of costs of services and packages received. The focus is on the initial package that was put into place immediately after the case was assessed. Including living expenses, the average cost of care in the community for people with dementia appeared similar to the cost of residential based care. The average picture concealed considerable variation in service package costs, however. Short-term care home and hospital respite care costs were identified for the period of the study, in addition to the period<p><p>preceding their assessment. This meant it was possible for those who died during the study period to identify retrospective lifetime costs of short-term care. There was considerable variation in the costs of short stay care, both for those who survived and those who died. The variation was due to differences in the length of each stay, the frequency of stays and the characteristics of the venue.