The Role of Day Care in the Provision of Integrated Services for Older People

Introduction: Day care services have a long history in the support of older people, both internationally and in England. However, despite their longevity there is no consensus about the aims of day care services and their contribution to integrated care is unrecognised. This paper defines day care as community building-based services that provide care and/or health related services and/or clubs and activities specifically for older people (65+) with care and support needs, which support wellbeing and health, and/or support people to remain living at home and/or enable informal carers to sustain care.

Methods: The paper draws on qualitative data collected in a national study to reimagine day care services for older people in England. Eight sites participated, all from the voluntary sector.

Results: Day care services act as both a site of, and facilitator to, integrated care and whilst settings experienced many of the challenges faced by voluntary sector organisations, including a reliance on limited and uncertain funding, they had developed a range of strategies to partially manage them.

Conclusions: Collective forms of day care services have the potential to play a more significant role in the provision of local place based integrated care in England.