Your Care Rating 2015 Survey Report

Ipsos and Your Care Rating have published the 2015 Your Care Rating survey report, and results continue to paint a very positive picture of life in residential care. For the first time this year, a pilot survey was launched for relatives and friends of residents in participating care homes to gauge their views, results for which are also included in the report. The positive results from the 2014 survey have broadly been maintained or improved, with the survey-high OPR score of 878 recorded this year (more detail on how this score is calculated is provided in the report). The equivalent OPR score among relatives and friends is 833, suggesting that both residents and their relatives and friends alike are exceedingly positive about the care and the service they receive in their care home. The 2016 survey will be the fifth full residents’ survey, and it is likely that results from the relatives and friends’ survey will be published for the first time. A staff survey will be developed and piloted later this year to complete the picture, allowing the views of residents, relatives and staff to be triangulated.  The sign-up window for both surveys is now open, with further information provided on the Your Care Rating website (www.yourcarerating.org), which will be updated throughout the year.

Technical note: Survey of residents Fieldwork was conducted between August and October 2015. A total of 20,520 residents took part in the survey across 1,040 care homes and 37 providers. Results in the report are shown for all valid responses (excluding blank responses to questions). In 2014, 21,300 residents took part across 1,034 care homes and in 2013, 21,190 residents took part across 1,055 care homes. The survey uses a postal self-completion methodology, with packs of questionnaires and freepost return envelopes sent to care homes. All responses to the survey are processed by Ipsos. Survey of relatives and friends Fieldwork was conducted between November and December 2015. A total of 8,184 relatives and friends took part in the survey across 422 care homes. This comprised 7,846 postal responses and 338 online responses. The survey used a mixed postal and online methodology in which paper questionnaires were sent by post directly to the addresses of (individual) named relatives and friends, with an invitation to complete the survey online sent by email to those for whom an email address was also provided. For further information on the methodology and how results are calculated, see the full report or visit www.yourcarerating.org.