More than one fifth of all adults plan to cocoon for the foreseeable future, according to HCCI research

• 65+ year olds willing to contribute 25% towards the cost of a home care package – an increase of 4% from last year’s survey findings
• Family (76%) and health (59%) identified as the two most important things in life
• 15% of all adults planning to cocoon longer term and 23% of 65+ year olds say home care would support them to do so
• HCCI calls for home care pilot scheme^[1] to be activated as soon as possible

 Home care is more than just surviving in the home; it can and should support living in the community, says HCCI Chief Executive

More than one fifth (22 percent) of all adults (18-65+ year olds) are planning to cocoon for the foreseeable future according to the annual Home and Community Care Ireland (HCCI) Survey.  Home care help was identified by 15 percent of all adults planning to do so as a support that would make cocooning feasible longer term. This increases to 23 percent for 65+ year olds.  Home deliveries of shopping (62% for all adults, 72% for 65+ year olds), virtual social meetings with family or friends (61% for all adults, 66% for 65+ year olds), access to safe quality of life services such as hairdressing (46% for all adults, 55% for 65+ year olds), virtual medical consultations (43% for all adults, 50% for 65+ year olds) and home deliveries of medication (41% for all adults, 45% for 65+ year olds) were also identified as important cocooning supports.

The findings also reveal that the average financial contribution people are willing to pay to fund a home care package enabling them to remain living in their own home is 25 percent – an increase of 6 percent from last year’s survey findings.  65+ year olds would be willing to contribute the same amount, up 4 percent from the 2019 survey findings.

Joseph Musgrave, CEO, HCCI said: The current nursing home centric-model is broken.  COVID-19 has been to healthcare what the financial crisis in 2008 was to banking – a massive wake-up call.  We need to get creative about how we better care for vulnerable people. This survey shows that people need more supports to live in their communities, and not just survive at home.

We should ensure a closer integration of technology supports for all vulnerable people, and a more responsive, adaptive, home care service.  Work stopped on the statutory home care pilot when COVID-19 swept onto our shores.  Let’s get that back up and running, and look at an imaginative pilot scheme to test out new approaches.

Musgrave added, Home is proving the safest place to be with 66 cases of the virus recorded among HCCI members’ 20,000 clients at the moment.  This low rate of infection is testament to the dedication of home carers, home care providers and the Irish people.  This is the great unsung success story of the pandemic – home really is the safest place to be.

HCCI is calling on the Government to activate the home care pilot programme as soon as possible and establish a steering group for this scheme so that the home care service of the future can be developed.

[1] The home care pilot was being developed by the Department of Health, the HSE and stakeholders prior to the onset of COVID-19.  Four pilot sites were identified for the scheme to be tested but the locations or pilot details have not been published. Work has been paused since the start of the COVID-19 outbreak.