Social care managers and care workers’ understandings of personalisation in older people’s services
ISSN: 1366-3666
Article publication date: 6 December 2018
Issue publication date: 6 March 2019
Abstract
Purpose
The purpose of this paper is to explore the impact of personalisation policy on the providers of social care services in England, mainly to older people, within the context of austerity and different conceptions of personalisation.
Design/methodology/approach
The paper draws on part of a longitudinal study of the care workforce, which involved 188 interviews with managers and staff, undertaken in two rounds.
Findings
Four themes were identified: changing understandings and awareness of personalisation; adapting services to fit new requirements; differences in contracting; and the impact on business viability.
Research limitations/implications
The paper reflects a second look at the data focussing on a particular theme, which was not the focus of the research study. Furthermore, the data were gathered from self-selecting participants working in services in four contrasting areas, rather than a representative sample.
Practical implications
The research raises questions about the impact of a commercial model of “personalised care”, involving personal budgets (PBs) and spot contracts, on the stability of social care markets. Without a pluralistic, well-funded and vibrant social care market, it is hard to increase the consumer choice of services from a range of possible providers and, therefore, fulfil the government’s purposes for personalisation, particularly in a context of falling revenues from local authorities.
Originality/value
The research presents an analysis of interviews with care providers and care workers mainly working with older people. Their views on personalisation have not often been considered in contrast to the sizeable literature on PBs recipients and social workers.
Keywords
Citation
Stevens, M., Moriarty, J., Harris, J., Manthorpe, J., Hussein, S. and Cornes, M. (2019), "Social care managers and care workers’ understandings of personalisation in older people’s services", Working with Older People, Vol. 23 No. 1, pp. 37-45. https://doi.org/10.1108/WWOP-11-2018-0022
Publisher
:Emerald Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2018, Emerald Publishing Limited