An article examined how individual budgets for adult social care impacted on carers and the caring role in England and Wales. It said that receipt of the individual budget had positive impacts on carers' reported quality of life and on social care outcomes.
Source: Karen Jones, Ann Netten, Parvaneh Rabiee, Caroline Glendinning, Hilary Arksey, and Nicola Moran, 'Can individual budgets have an impact on carers and the caring role?', Ageing and Society, Volume 34 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
An article presented a local case study of working carers. Three-quarters of all carers who responded to the survey were of working age: two-thirds were employed, and one-third had been employed previously. The majority of working carers were mid-life extra-resident women. Over one-half of cared-for relatives were elderly parents/parents in law, with physical illness as the primary cause of dependency. One-tenth provided intensive care, and half reported that caring adversely affected their health: both were triggers for leaving employment.
Source: Alisoun Milne, Charlotte Brigden, Ann Palmer, and Elina Konta, 'The intersection of employment and care: evidence from a UK case study', European Journal of Social Work, Volume 16 Issue 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Dec
An article examined the right (under Article 19 of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities) of people with disabilities to live independently, and whether people were able to realize that right through the English administrative justice system. It examined practical examples of the use of discretion in social care decision-making, administration and delivery. It noted that discretion was present in the processes and tools of decision-making, and concluded that practice was not yet wholly aligned with meaningful, Convention-compliant change.
Source: Tabitha Collingbourne, 'Administrative justice? Realising the right to independent living in England: power, systems, identities', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 35 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Nov
The Court of Appeal ruled that the government's decision to close the independent living fund and devolve the funding to local authorities should be quashed, since it did not meet the public sector equality duty.
Source: Stuart Bracking and others v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, Court of Appeal 6 November 2013
Links: Judgement | BBC report | Leonard Cheshire press release | EHRC press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Nov
A think-tank report examined a case study of integrated teams of health and social care professionals, known as community resource teams (CRTs). The report outlined how CRTs worked to co-ordinate care for people living at home and identified key lessons.
Source: Veronika Thiel, Lara Sonola, Nick Goodwin, and Dennis Kodner, Developing Community Resource Teams in Pembrokeshire, Wales: Integration of health and social care in progress, King s Fund
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Oct
A report by the equality and human rights watchdog examined the responses of local authorities in England to a previous report (published in November 2011) into the human rights of older people receiving home care. The work was informed by an online survey of local authorities, the results of which were published alongside the report.
Source: , Close to Home Recommendations Review, Equality and Human Rights Commission | Lorna Adams, Christoph Koerbitz, Liz Murphy, and Mark Tweddle, Older People and Human Rights in Home Care: Local authority responses to the Close to home inquiry report, Research Report 89, Equality and Human Rights Commission
Links: Report | Summary | EHRC press release | Research report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Oct
A report examined approaches in Scotland to providing care for people living with dementia at home, recommending an '8 Pillars' model of support.
Source: Lindsay Kinnaird, Delivering Integrated Dementia Care: The 8 Pillars model of community, Alzheimer Scotland
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Oct
A survey examined attitudes to homecare. It found that time constraints, low pay, and lack of training for frontline staff were considered to be key challenges facing care workers in England. The most important factors for good care were identified as sufficient time, friendly, respectful, capable care workers, and choice about services. The main challenges identified for care providers included council commissioning and a shortage of care workers.
Source: Louise Wheeler and Stuart Newstead, Attitudes to Homecare in England, Department of Health
Links: Report | DH press release | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Oct
A report said that two-thirds of local councils were commissioning 15-minute care visits despite major concerns that they deprived disabled people of essential care. It called for government to use the Care Bill to change commissioning practice.
Source: Ending 15-Minute Care, Leonard Cheshire
Links: Report | Leonard Cheshire press release | UKHCA press release | LGA press release | Daily Mail report | Guardian report | BBC report | ADASS press release | Alzheimer's Society press release
Date: 2013-Oct
A think-tank report said that some domiciliary care workers were being paid as little as £5 per hour – well below the legal minimum wage. Although headline pay rates were set at or above the national minimum wage of £6.19 per hour, in practice the workers often lost at least £1 per hour because they were not paid separately for the time spent travelling between appointments, and because providing decent care often took longer than the time allocated by the employer for each visit. This meant that, over the course of a year, a care worker who spent an average of 35 hours per week at work for 48 weeks would lose pay of more than £1,600.
Source: Matthew Pennycook, Does It Pay to Care? Under-payment of the national minimum wage in the social care sector, Resolution Foundation
Links: Report | Resolution press release | ADASS press release | UNISON press release | Community Care report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined the involvement of governments in the home care sector in Europe. International variation in regulation and governmental funding of personal care and domestic aid were associated with differences in prevailing values on family care, tax burden, and wealth – providing evidence for the obstacles for transferring home care policies between countries.
Source: Nadine Genet, Madelon Kroneman, and Wienke Boerma, 'Explaining governmental involvement in home care across Europe: an international comparative study', Health Policy, Volume 110 Issue 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
The inspectorate for healthcare and social care said that the quality of home care services in England was generally good: but a minority of people were affected by late or missed calls, lack of continuity of care workers, poor care planning, and other problems.
Source: Not Just a Number: Home care inspection programme, Care Quality Commission
Links: Report | CQC press release | EHRC press release | Labour Party press release | Leonard Cheshire press release | UKHCA press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Public Finance report
Date: 2013-Feb
A report examined European policy on home care services. It looked at the links between social services and healthcare systems, the prevailing funding mechanisms, how service providers were paid, the impact of governmental regulation, and the complex roles played by informal caregivers.
Source: Nadine Genet, Wienke Boerma, Madelon Kroneman, Allen Hutchinson, and Richard Saltman (eds), Home Care across Europe: Current structure and future challenges, World Health Organisation (Regional Office for Europe)
Date: 2013-Jan