A new book examined inter-agency working in health and social care.
Source: Jon Glasby and Helen Dickinson, A-Z of Interagency Working, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Dec
A new book examined the subject of domestic violence and the way in which it interacted with the criminal justice system. It considered how agencies such as the police, the Crown Prosecution Service, the probation service, Children's Services, the courts, the prison service, and voluntary agencies such as Women's Aid worked together at a local level. It also considered the role of the Home Office, and the limits of a crime-centred response to the issue.
Source: Nicola Groves and Terry Thomas, Domestic Violence and Criminal Justice, Routledge
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Dec
A new book examined partnership working and governance under the New Labour government in the United Kingdom. It said that, despite substantial investment in the partnership agenda, there was little evidence that this had significantly improved outcomes. It examined three areas of policy (child safeguarding, urban regeneration, and the modernization of health and social care), applying a new framework to the analysis before making recommendations about effective collaboration.
Source: Helen Dickinson, Performing Governance: Partnerships, culture and New Labour, Palgrave Macmillan (Publication date: May 2014)
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined local authority fostering services in England. It said that, on average: services generated 0.7 enquiries about fostering per looked-after child needing foster care; 11 per cent of enquiries resulted in new, approved foster carers; 69 per cent of foster carers were utilized by local authorities; the approval process for new carers took an average of 9.2 months, but there was a wide range of times; and 13 per cent of the foster care workforce were lost each year. Recommendations included: more detailed needs assessment by local authorities; a review of marketing and communications strategies; exit interviews to identify why carers leave; more and better data; and further research on the assessment process.
Source: Local Authority Fostering Service Benchmark 2012/13, The Fostering Network
Links: Report | Fostering Network press release
Date: 2013-Dec
The government announced a new legal duty for local authorities to support care leavers to stay with their foster parents until their 21st birthday ('staying put' arrangements). An amendment would be made to the Children and Families Bill, currently passing through parliament, to introduce the duty from April 2014. The government announced that local authorities would receive £40 million over the following three years to introduce the support arrangements.
Source: Press release 4 December 2013, Department for Education
Links: DE press release | Action for Children press release | Catch22 press release | NCB press release | Who Cares Trust press release | BBC report | Guardian report
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the Department of Education's A Long Way from Home initiative. The initiative was developed to explore the long-distance commissioning of children's homes placements, in particular: the extent to which long-distance commissioning was problematic; issues related to education and health; leaving care; and notifications. It said that there were many examples of good practice, but long-distance placement of children in residential care remained a complex and contentious issue that was under-researched. The report made recommendations.
Source: Findings and Recommendations from the Department for Education s A Long Way from Home Initiative 2012, Department for Education
Date: 2013-Dec
A report examined the impact that obesity had on social care. It noted the service implications and highlighted a need both for better data and for further consideration of the links between the health and social care aspects of the issue.
Source: Social Care and Obesity: A discussion paper, Local Government Association
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Oct
A report evaluated the work of independent social work experts (ISWs) in care proceedings. The second of two reports, it examined the views, experiences, and practices of a sample of senior judges in commissioning ISW assessments, as well as their views about the implications of the modernization programme for use of ISWs.
Source: Julia Brophy, Judith Sidaway, Jagbir Jhutti-Johal, and Charlie Owen, Neither Fear nor Favour, Affection or Ill Will: Modernisation of care proceedings and the use and value of independent social work expertise to senior judges, Department of Social Policy and Intervention, University of Oxford
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Oct
A report examined how acute paediatric and local authority statutory child protection services in England worked together in cases of suspected child maltreatment.
Source: Jane Lewis, Partnership Working in Child Protection: Improving liaison between acute paediatric and child protection services, Social Care Institute for Excellence
Links: Report | SCIE press release
Date: 2013-Oct
Guidelines were published on co-production in social care and how to develop co-productive approaches to working with people who used services and carers.
Source: Co-production in Social Care: What it is and how to do it, Social Care Institute for Excellence
Links: Guidelines | Summary
Date: 2013-Oct
A report examined a local pilot designed to help people with complex needs return from institutional placements to their local communities, with personalized support from a new independent service provider. It said that the existing community care system was failing to provide support to families, and any problems could quickly lead to crisis-driven institutionalization: but people in institutional care were consistently suffering abuse by services that did not meet their real needs – at great public cost.
Source: Simon Duffy, Returning Home: Piloting personalised support, Centre for Welfare Reform
Links: Report | CWR press release
Date: 2013-Sep
An article presented research into the governance of adult protection in Scotland, with a particular focus on the outcomes of provision for multi-agency leadership and management of adult safeguarding in the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007. It included a comparative analysis of research findings on the governance of adult safeguarding in England.
Source: Sally Cornish and Michael Preston-Shoot, 'Governance in adult safeguarding in Scotland since the implementation of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007', Journal of Adult Protection, Volume 15 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Sep
A report presented the findings of a baseline study into social isolation and loneliness in Wales. It examined how policies and services addressed the issues, and made recommendations for future improvements. Although some progress was being made, there was still significant potential for improvement. There needed to be a more consistent approach to evaluation of local authority (and other) activities aimed at tackling social isolation, supported by guidance from the Welsh Government. Initiatives targeting social isolation needed to be clear about which aspects they were tackling and how they would go about this.
Source: Deborah Fenney, 'Let's Start Assessing Not Assuming': A report about the approaches to tackling social isolation within Welsh local authorities, Welsh Government
Date: 2013-Sep
The Northern Ireland Executive published a report summarising the findings of a consultation on the future of adult care and support. Issues raised by respondents included: the unfairness of existing arrangements for paying for long-term care; the need to focus more on preventative services; and the need to promote independence.
Source: Who Cares? The Future of Adult Care and Support in Northern Ireland: Consultation Analysis Report, Northern Ireland Executive
Links: Report | NIE press release
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined ways of addressing fragmentation in mental health and social care delivery, based on research in deprived areas of London (United Kingdom) and Brussels (Belgium). It was found that linkage across clusters of services was weak in both cities. However, the integration of care relied on the level of linkage in London, whereas in Brussels it was more dependent on central services playing brokerage roles.
Source: Pablo Nicaise, Simon Tulloch, Vincent Dubois, Aleksandra Matanov, Stefan Priebe, and Vincent Lorant, 'Using social network analysis for assessing mental health and social services inter-organisational collaboration: findings in deprived areas in Brussels and London', Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research, Volume 40 Issue 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
A study found that carers' involvement in assessments, support planning, and reviews for personal budgets was highly valued: but in practice it lacked clarity and consistency. Although managers and practitioners considered carers' needs as part of service user assessments, the adequacy of the questions focusing primarily on carers' willingness and ability to continue caring was 'questionable' and far from the intentions of the 2004 Carers (Equal Opportunities) Act.
Source: Wendy Mitchell, Jenni Brooks, and Caroline Glendinning, Carers and Personalisation: What roles do carers play in personalised adult social care? What roles do carers and service users want carers to play?, National Institute for Health Research
Links: Summary | SPRU press release | Community Care report
Date: 2013-Aug
An article examined the governance of adult protection in Scotland since the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007. A 'rich and complex' pattern of arrangements, activities, experiences, and challenges was identified across a number of dimensions, including management structures of adult protection committees, development of policies and procedures, multi-agency working, training, performance assessment and quality management, engagement of service users and carers, and operation of the 2007 Act.
Source: Sally Cornish and Michael Preston-Shoot, 'Governance in adult safeguarding in Scotland since the implementation of the Adult Support and Protection (Scotland) Act 2007', Journal of Adult Protection, Volume 15 Number 5
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Aug
An article illustrated the potential for service integration through the experience of the personal health budgets pilot programme. Personal health budgets supported integration in two distinct ways. First, they could support the delivery of more holistic, whole-person care in line with the principles of shared decision-making. Second, by bringing personal budgets in social care and personal health budgets together, they could provide a vehicle for integration across health and social care systems.
Source: Vidhya Alakeson, 'The individual as service integrator: experience from the personal health budget pilot in the English NHS', Journal of Integrated Care, Volume 21 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the practices, processes, and outcomes of joint commissioning of health and social care at five English localities. Very little of what was found seemed to relate directly to issues of joint commissioning. Respondents often conflated joint commissioning with issues of commissioning or joint working more generally. There was a variety of different definitions and meanings of joint commissioning in practice, suggesting that this was not a coherent model but varied across localities. Little evidence of improved outcomes was found, due to practical and technical difficulties.
Source: Helen Dickinson and Jon Glasby, 'How effective is joint commissioning? A study of five English localities', Journal of Integrated Care, Volume 21 Number 4
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the resource allocation systems being used by local councils in England to calculate personal budgets for users of community care services. It challenged many of the claims made concerning such systems – in particular that they were more transparent, more equitable, simpler, and less discretionary than the traditional assessment process led by social workers.
Source: Lucy Series and Luke Clements, 'Putting the cart before the horse: resource allocation systems and community care', Journal of Social Welfare & Family Law, Volume 35 Number 2
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
An article examined the implications of the coalition government's austerity programme for social work. Even before the onset of the crisis, there had been considerable dissatisfaction, both governmental and professional, with the forms of social work that had developed since the market-led reforms of the early 1990s. There was a need for radical responses, including a new collectivism in social work theory and practice.
Source: Iain Ferguson and Michael Lavalette, 'Crisis, austerity and the future(s) of social work in the UK', Critical and Radical Social Work, Volume 1 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jul
An article reported new findings from a longitudinal qualitative study of choice and control over the life course in England. It discussed the relationships between choice and independence as experienced by disabled and older people. Independence was not a fixed concept, but relative and multi-dimensional. There were multiple relationships between the choices that people made and the consequences for people's subjective views of their independence.
Source: Parvaneh Rabiee, 'Exploring the relationships between choice and independence: experiences of disabled and older people', British Journal of Social Work, Volume 43 Number 5
Links: Abstract
See also: Caroline Glendinning, Hilary Arksey, Kate Baxter, Bryony Beresford, Janet Heaton, Peter Kemp, Wendy Mitchell, Nicola Moran, Gillian Parker, Parvaneh Rabiee, Tricia Sloper, and Mark Wilberforce, Choice and Independence over the Lifecourse, Working Paper DHP 2470, Social Policy Research Unit (University of York)
Date: 2013-Jul
A report said that the proposed new system for capping social care costs was complex, and might prove difficult for many older people and their families to negotiate. It called for local authorities and the government to ensure that information campaigns and training for social care staff started immediately, to ensure complete clarity around costs, eligibility, and means-test thresholds.
Source: Ruthe Isden, Mathew Norton, and Caroline Abrahams, The Dilnot Social Care Cap : Making sure it delivers for older people, Age UK
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jul
A report said that the next phase of development in social care and health services needed to be towards integration. Integrated services were much more likely to improve people's health and well-being in ways that treated them with dignity and respect; and it also made financial sense to get rid of duplication and waste.
Source: Rewiring Public Services: Adult Social Care and Health, Local Government Association
Links: Report
Date: 2013-Jul
An article identified the different approaches to integrated care taken by separate proposed care services legislation for England and Wales. Although there was much common ground between the two pieces of legislation, in other respects the approach taken to integrated care legislation differed between England and Wales.
Source: Ed Mitchell, 'Reforming care legislation in England and Wales: different legislative approaches to promoting integrated care', Journal of Integrated Care, Volume 21 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Jun
The coalition government published, for discussion, draft minimum eligibility criteria for adult social care in England, setting out the individual needs and circumstances in which every local council would have to offer care and support. It said that national criteria were needed to put an end to councils tightening their own local eligibility criteria in response to budget pressures, and to tackle the variations between local authorities that led to inconsistencies, confusion, and legal challenges.
Source: Draft National Minimum Eligibility Threshold for Adult Care and Support, Department of Health
Links: Discussion paper | Hansard | DH press release | Alzheimers Society press release | Scope press release | BBC report | Community Care report | Public Finance report | Telegraph report
Date: 2013-Jun
A think-tank report examined strengths-based approaches to social care. It said that social care had been dominated for too long by a 'deficit model': services had often focused exclusively on needs and vulnerabilities, ignoring people's strengths and their networks of relationships with friends, families, and communities. Yet it was these social resources that underpinned the majority of social care and support, with unpaid family care alone holding a value equivalent to ten times the state's care budget.
Source: Alex Fox (ed.), The New Social Care: Strength-based approaches, 2020 Public Services Hub (with Shared Lives Plus)
Links: Report | 2020 press release
Date: 2013-May
The Scottish Government published a Bill designed to ensure that the health and social care systems worked together effectively to improve the provision of community care – by reducing unnecessary delays that kept older people in hospital longer than needed, and increasing the amount of care that could be provided at home.
Source: Public Bodies (Joint Working) (Scotland) Bill, Scottish Government, TSO
Links: Bill | Explanatory notes | Policy memorandum | Scottish Government press release | PRTC press release
Date: 2013-May
A survey found that over 70 per cent of people who held a personal budget reported a positive impact on being independent, getting the support they needed and wanted, and being supported with dignity.
Source: Chris Hatton and John Waters, The Second POET Survey of Personal Budget Holders and Carers 2013, Think Local Act Personal | Chris Hatton and John Waters, The POET Surveys of Personal Health Budget Holders and Carers 2013, Think Local Act Personal
Links: Report (1) | Report (2) | Summary | TLAP press release | Lancaster University press release | Community Care report
Date: 2013-May
The government, together with key provider and regulatory organizations, published plans designed to promote greater integration in health and social care services. The plans included:
• An ambition to make joined-up and co-ordinated health and care the norm by 2018 – with projects in every part of the country by 2015.
• The first-ever agreed definition of what people said good integrated care and support looked and felt like.
• New 'pioneer' areas to test innovative approaches.
• New measures of people's experience of joined-up care and support, designed to test whether people were feeling the benefits of change.
Source: Integrated Care and Support: Our Shared Commitment, National Collaboration for Integrated Care and Support
Links: Plan | DH press release | Civitas press release | Kings Fund press release | Labour Party press release | LGA press release | NHSCB press release | NHS Confederation press release | RCN press release | Scope press release | Turning Point press release | BBC report | Guardian report | Public Finance report
Date: 2013-May
A new book examined the key issues, influences, and dynamics in contemporary adult social care.
Source: Ann Marie Gray and Derek Birrell, Transforming Adult Social Care: Contemporary policy and practice, Policy Press
Links: Summary
Date: 2013-Apr
A report examined why some groups tended to be left out of schemes designed to promote greater user, or public/patient, involvement in public services. It sought to find out how to ensure that all those who used long-term health and social care services could have a more equal chance of having a say and involvement in their lives and society.
Source: Peter Beresford, Beyond the Usual Suspects: Towards inclusive user involvement, Shaping Our Lives
Date: 2013-Apr
An article examined the different approaches to integrated care taken by separate proposed care services legislation for England and Wales. Although there was much common ground between the two pieces of legislation, in other respects the approach taken to integrated care legislation differed.
Source: Ed Mitchell, 'Reforming care legislation in England and Wales: different legislative approaches to promoting integrated care', Journal of Integrated Care, Volume 21 Number 3
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Apr
A report examined the pressures on social services as a result of cuts in local authority budgets in England. Although some traditional methods had been used to deliver savings, this approach was not sustainable in the long term. More fundamental changes would be required, including supporting people to remain independent for as long as possible, and building the capacity of communities to support people in new ways.
Source: A Problem Shared: Making best use of resources in adult social care, Think Local Act Personal
Links: Report | Summary | TLAP press release
Date: 2013-Mar
A new book examined federalism and decentralization in the health and social care systems of a range of European countries (including the United Kingdom).
Source: Joan Costa-Font and Scott Greer (eds), Federalism and Decentralization in European Health and Social Care, Palgrave Macmillan
Links: Summary
Notes: Chapters included: Scott Greer, 'The rise and fall of territory in United Kingdom health politics'.
Date: 2013-Mar
An article examined the potential for health and social care service integration in Wales, drawing on experience from the United Kingdom, Europe, and Canada.
Source: Gareth Morgan, 'Integration of health and social care – what can Wales learn and contribute?', Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, Volume 14 Number 1
Links: Abstract
Date: 2013-Mar
A think-tank report called for a strategic approach to volunteering throughout the health and social care system in England. 3 million volunteers added significant value to the work of paid professionals, and were a critical but often under-appreciated part of the workforce. Volunteers played an important role in improving people's experience of care, building stronger relationships between services and communities, supporting integrated care, improving public health, and reducing health inequalities. The support that volunteers provided could be of particular value to those who relied most heavily on services, such as people with multiple long-term conditions or mental health problems.
Source: Chris Naylor, Claire Mundle, Lisa Weaks, and David Buck, Volunteering in Health and Care: Securing a sustainable future, King s Fund
Links: Report | Kings Fund press release | Community Care report
Date: 2013-Mar
A study examined how people's lives had changed when housing associations and their support workers were involved in aftercare decisions with local councils and hospitals. It said that integrating housing with health and social care could improve the lives of vulnerable and older people, and save thousands of pounds in health and care costs in each case.
Source: James Berrington, Providing an Alternative Pathway: The value of integrating housing, care and support, National Housing Federation
Links: Report | Inside Housing report
Date: 2013-Jan
A report said that the perceived benefits of joint commissioning in health and social care, such as efficiency savings and improvements to services, often lagged behind the reality. New financial pressures would make joint commissioning and joint working even harder in the future.
Source: Helen Dickinson, Jon Glasby, Alyson Nicholds, Stephen Jeffares, Suzanne Robinson, and Helen Sullivan, Joint Commissioning in Health and Social Care: An exploration of definitions, processes, services and outcomes, National Institute for Health Research
Links: Report | Summary | Birmingham University press release
Date: 2013-Jan
An article said that self-directed support in social care seemed to have failed in its ambitions. However, the concepts of personalization and personal budgets associated with it might retain value if interpreted in an appropriate way, delivered through an appropriate strategy, and with adequate levels of funding.
Source: Colin Slasberg, Peter Beresford, and Peter Schofield, 'How self directed support is failing to deliver personal budgets and personalisation', Research, Policy and Planning, Volume 29 Number 3
Links: Article | Community Care report
Date: 2013-Jan
An article examined the promotion of choice in the provision of adult social care. It said that the extension of 'market rights' into adult social care might diminish the 'social rights' of citizens, and called for proper funding of social care to have precedence over the extension of choice.
Source: Guy Daly, 'Citizenship, choice and care: an examination of the promotion of choice in the provision of adult social care', Research, Policy and Planning, Volume 29 Number 3
Links: Article
Date: 2013-Jan