scholarly journals Rationed Care: Assessing the Support Needs of Informal Carers in English Social Services Authorities

2002 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-101 ◽  
Author(s):  
HILARY ARKSEY

The passing of the Carers (Recognition and Services Act) 1995 was a step forward in trying to ensure that people who provide informal care to disabled, sick or elderly relatives or friends are properly recognised and properly supported. The Carers Act gave informal carers the right to an assessment of their own needs, and this article is based on a study into the impact of the legislation in four local authority social services departments. It is argued that the vision of supporters of the Carers Act, namely to achieve real benefits for many carers, has yet to be realised. The analysis draws on Klein et al.’s (1996) framework of service rationing strategies to demonstrate that decisions about priority setting and different forms of rationing of social care took place at three different levels: national government, local authority and front-line practitioner. Evidence is presented to show that some carers chose to impose rationing on themselves by reducing their demands. The article concludes with comments on the implications of rationing decisions for policy and practice.

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (3) ◽  
pp. 104-110
Author(s):  
Z. Budayova ◽  
L. Ludvigh Cintulova

The research study analyses the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic and identifies changes in the life satisfaction of seniors in social services facilities. The research sample consisted of 79 seniors in social services facilities, the sample consisted of ten participants, data collection took place in the period from November 2020 to April 2021, where the method of qualitative research was used in empirical research, through semi-structured interviews to determine the impact of Covid-19 on We collected the data collected by open coding and pointed to those dimensions of the lives of seniors that were most marked by pandemic measures against the spread of Covid-19.


2014 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 111-128 ◽  
Author(s):  
Enrico Bracci

Purpose – The aim of the paper is to illustrate the changing structure of accountability under a new public governance agenda introduced in England to deliver social care through personal budgets. Design/methodology/approach – The paper draws on accountability and public governance literature, in particular, the accountability framework proposed by Hupe and Hill. The evidence was gathered from exploratory case studies conducted in two English County Councils. Findings – The introduction of personal budgets has modified the roles of the different actors involved in the co-production of social services. The case studies evidence changes in the accountability and governance process, particularly with respect to the personal budget regime that has devolved responsibility and accountability to the customer. Specifically, the customer's role has shifted and expanded in the accountability chain and thus developed into a partnership. Originality/value – This study is one of the first to analyse the relationship between the personalisation agenda in English social services and the relevant accountability mechanisms involved. Moreover, the paper refines the theoretical framework proposed by Hupe and Hill according to the different role the public now plays.


1999 ◽  
Vol 9 (3) ◽  
pp. 265-271 ◽  
Author(s):  
Valerie Morrison

Whilst there is a considerable literature surrounding predictors of depressed mood in stroke survivors, much less research has been directed towards identifying the impact of a stroke on primary informal carers and the nature of the relationship between patient and carer characteristics, stroke consequences and carer distress. This review attempts to elucidate such relationships so that implications for health and social care provision can be drawn.


Author(s):  
Sabri Sulaiman

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world patterns including economic, human needs, and daily activity. Millions of people have been called to stay at home, keep physical distancing, and many economic activities are closed as a precautionary measure. As a result, many people are unable to work and earn money, especially those who receive a daily salary. For a certain group of people such as homeless children, this situation is bad. Without a proper home, lack of basic needs and social services makes them exposed to multiple deprivations. In this regard, in this conceptual chapter, the researcher will report the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on homeless children in Malaysia. Aside from that, the researcher will also explain the roles of a social services provider to help homeless children meet their needs during the pandemic. This conceptual chapter enables agencies who work with vulnerable children, policymakers, and child social services providers to utilize the input to frame special social care programs for homeless children during the spread of the pandemic.


2017 ◽  
Vol 12 (2-3) ◽  
pp. 72-84 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roger Bullock ◽  
Roy Parker

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to chart the history of personal social services for children and families in the UK and examine the factors that have influenced it. Special attention is given to changing perceptions of rights, the impact of scandals and the contribution of child development research. Design/methodology/approach Analysis of historical documents and research reports using four methods: a timeline of milestones, demarcation of distinct developmental periods, trends in policy and practice and comparisons of children’s needs and experiences at different times. Findings The evolution of services has not been linear. In policy, there have been reform and retrenchment, amalgamation and differentiation. Practice has been shaped by the emergence of new problems and the disappearance of old ones as well as by legislation, extreme events, research and finance, all occurring in specific political, moral and economic contexts. Originality/value An analysis of developments in children’s services in their political, economic, moral and research contexts.


Author(s):  
Ann Marie Gray

This chapter explores the relationship between human rights and health and social care. It begins by setting out the main international mechanisms, at UN, EU and ECHR levels, and the obligations they place on governments. It then discusses the impact of international and domestic human rights instruments through an examination of developments in social care policy, and with regard to reproductive health care rights in Northern Ireland. It also highlights issues relating to devolution and the implementation of human rights in the UK and in particular the role of the Human Rights Act (1998).


Author(s):  
Elizabeth M. Starkey ◽  
Jessica Menold ◽  
Scarlett R. Miller

Building prototypes is an important part of the concept selection phase of the design process, where fuzzy ideas get represented to support communication and decision making. However, previous studies have shown that prototypes generate different levels of user feedback based on their fidelity and aesthetics. Furthermore, prior research on concept selection has shown that individual risk attitude effects how individuals select ideas, as creative ideas are perceived to be riskier in comparison to less creative ideas. While the role of risk has been investigated in concept selection, there is lack of research on how risk is related to the selection of prototypes at various levels of fidelity. Thus, the purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of prototype fidelity, concept creativity, and risk aversion, on perceived riskiness and concept selection through a between-subjects study with 72 engineering students. The results revealed that there was a “goldilocks” effect in which students choose concepts with “just the right amount” of novelty, not too much and not too little, as long as quality was adequate. In addition, the prototype fidelity of a concept had an interaction with uniqueness, indicating that unique concepts are more likely to be perceived as less risky if presented at higher levels of fidelity.


2014 ◽  
Vol 27 (7) ◽  
pp. 562-572 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Hurst ◽  
Deirdre Kelley Patterson

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to discuss the issues relating to getting the right health and social care staff with the right skills in the right place at the right time and at the right price. Design/methodology/approach – Key points arising from several master-classes with health and social care managers, supported by a literature review, generated remarkable insights into health and social care workforce planning and development (WP&D). Findings – Flawed methods and overwhelming data are major barriers to health and social care WP&D. Inefficient and ineffective WP&D policy and practice, therefore, may lead to inappropriate care teams, which in turn lead to sub-optimal and costly health and social care. Increasing health and social care demand and service re-design, as the population grows and ages, and services move from hospital to community, means that workforce planners face several challenges. Issues that drive and restrain their health and social care WP&D efforts are lucid and compelling, which leave planners in no doubt what is expected if they are to succeed and health and social care is to develop. One main barrier they face is that although WP&D definitions and models in the literature are logical, clear and effective, they are imperfect, so planners do not always have comprehensive tools or data to help them determine the ideal workforce. They face other barriers. First, WP&D can be fragmented and uni-disciplinary when modern health and social care is integrating. Second, recruitment and retention problems can easily stymie planners’ best endeavours because the people that services need (i.e. staff with the right skills), even if they exist, are not evenly distributed throughout the country. Practical implications – This paper underlines triangulated workforce demand and supply methods (described in the paper), which help planners to equalise workloads among disparate groups and isolated practitioners – an important job satisfaction and staff retention issue. Regular and systematic workforce reviews help planners to justify their staffing establishments; it seems vital, therefore, that they have robust methods and supporting data at their fingertips. Originality/value – This paper stock-takes the latest health and social care workforce planning and development issues.


BMJ Open ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. e024156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jonathan Hammond ◽  
Thomas Mason ◽  
Matt Sutton ◽  
Alex Hall ◽  
Nicholas Mays ◽  
...  

ObjectivesExplore the impact of changes to commissioning introduced in England by the Health and Social Care Act 2012 (HSCA) on cervical screening activity in areas identified empirically as particularly affected organisationally by the reforms.MethodsQualitative followed by quantitative methods. Qualitative: semi-structured interviews (with NHS commissioners, managers, clinicians, senior administrative staff from Clinical Commissioning Groups (CCGs), local authorities, service providers), observations of commissioning meetings in two metropolitan areas of England. Quantitative: triple-difference analysis of national administrative data. Variability in the expected effects of HSCA on commissioning was measured by comparing CCGs working with one local authority with CCGs working with multiple local authorities. To control for unmeasured confounders, differential changes over time in cervical screening rates (among women, 25–64 years) between CCGs more and less likely to have been affected by HSCA commissioning organisational change were compared with another outcome—unassisted birth rates—largely unaffected by HSCA changes.ResultsInterviewees identified that cervical screening commissioning and provision was more complex and ‘fragmented’, with responsibilities less certain, following the HSCA. Interviewees predicted this would reduce cervical screening rates in some areas more than others. Quantitative findings supported these predictions. Areas where CCGs dealt with multiple local authorities experienced a larger decline in cervical screening rates (1.4%) than those dealing with one local authority (1.0%). Over the same period, unassisted deliveries decreased by 1.6% and 2.0%, respectively, in the two groups.ConclusionsArrangements for commissioning and delivering cervical screening were disrupted and made more complex by the HSCA. Areas most affected saw a greater decline in screening rates than others. The fact that this was identified qualitatively and then confirmed quantitatively strengthens this finding. The study suggests large-scale health system reforms may have unintended consequences, and that complex commissioning arrangements may be problematic.


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