ELDERLY people in the Isle of Man will be encouraged to live independently in their own homes for as long as possible instead of going into residential care.

It's part of a "fundamental and profound" rebalancing project which is being implemented by the Department of Social Care.

Over the next 20 years the number of people aged 65 and over in the Island is expected to increase by 50 per cent.

The department has said it will not be able to meet the increasing demand for services that this increase will bring if it continues to focus predominantly on providing residential care.

According to figures released by the department it would cost an extra £700,000 each year, on top of existing costs, if the current service model was retained.

By changing the system so that more care is provided in people's own homes the department says it will be able to deliver greater choice, flexibility and better value for the taxpayer.

Social Care Minister Chris Robertshaw MHK explained: "The Isle of Man's service proposition to our elderly is skewed significantly to residential services and to some degree is flying in the face of the wishes and aspirations of many older people which is effectively to stay at home as long as possible.

"In a nutshell the proposition is that we continue to improve and reinvest in our residential services where we need to retain them but to significantly enhance the future services to those who wish to stay in their own home.

"The target then is to significantly improve the quality of residential care that we provide and expand and develop home care and re-ablement services."

Statistics released by the Department of Social Care show that it costs £39,000 per year, per person, for general residential care whereas home care costs £6,700 per year, per person.

The statistics also show that 76 per cent of the department's resources for older people are spent on providing residential care when this only represents 15 per cent of service users. 19 per cent of the department's resources for older people are spent on providing homecare when this serves 70 per cent of service users. 

Chris Corlett, the chief executive of the Department of Social Care, said changing the system was a "win-win" scenario.

He explained: "If you reduce just a small number of general residential care beds you're freeing up a much larger budget for home care services - so that enables us to cope with this growth in the number of older people and provide a much larger range of services.

"People are saying that they want to stay in their own home, they want someone to come and assist them to help them remain there, and the cost of that is substantially lower. This is better care for the individual that is more tailored to their stated needs and wants."

Mr Corlett added that the closure of the Glenside residential home in Douglas in 2014, as part of the "programme for change", would enable the home care services to be provided "largely from existing budgets".

He also said that the department was trying to move away from "being the market" in care provision and that the support of the private sector and third sector was crucial in delivering the home care services.

He continued: "We're moving away from a one size fits all state service to a much more complex marketplace of care which is fantastic.

"The department is trying to pull back from being the market, to helping to manage the market and helping to regulate the market, to ensure that people are getting adequate care because that is a legitimate concern.

"We are trying to stimulate a market in care where we work in partnership with the private and third sector to deliver a range of services that offer best value for individuals and best value for the taxpayer. 

"We see this being an evolution towards a more complex and more effective model of care than simply everyone reliant on a one size fits all state model."

Mr Robertshaw added: "This is counterintuitive – we sound as if we are talking about budgetary issues, we sound as if we are being negative, but in fact what we are talking about is a very exciting concept that we all passionately believe is the right thing to do."

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Also see: Social Care Minister to meet Glenside staff

              Glenside residential home in Douglas to close