Personalisation

The Right Care, Right Deal coalition combines three of the UK's largest charities working with older people, their families and carers (Counsel and Care, Carers UK and Help the Aged) to urge the Government to renew its vision for the future of social care in England. (See Related Link for the consultation document: The case for change: why England needs a new care and support system, 2008). This campaign document outlines the main issues needed to be tackled in order for there to be 'a new, personalised and better funded deal for social care, fit for the 21st Century'.

Increasing numbers of developed welfare states now operate cash-for-care schemes in which service users are offered cash payments in place of traditional social services. Such schemes raise concerns about the extent to which they include and support carers. This paper aims to explore some of these issues through an analysis of a cash-for-care initiative piloted in England in 2005–07: the Individual Budgets (IBs) pilot projects.

Social care is rising up the government’s political agenda. When care minister Ivan Lewis responded to this year’s hard-hitting State of Social Care report from the Commission for Social Care Inspection (CSCI) with a review of eligibility criteria, he was announcing a policy shift with implications far beyond social care.

Design/methodology/approach – A total of 86 semi-structured interviews were undertaken with a purposeful sample of social care commissioners, family carers, representatives of voluntary organisations and carers’ workers based in four contrasting localities in England.

The Right Care, Right Deal coalition combines three of the UK's largest charities working with older people, their families and carers (Counsel and Care, Carers UK and Help the Aged) to urge the Government to renew its vision for the future of social care in England. (See Related Link for the consultation document: The case for change: why England needs a new care and support system, 2008). This campaign document outlines the main issues needed to be tackled in order for there to be 'a new, personalised and better funded deal for social care, fit for the 21st Century'.

Making it Real for Carers explores what each Making it Real theme means to carers and what this might look like in practice. It has been coproduced with carers and organisations including the Carers Trust and ADASS following a series of workshops across England. 

The template below provides a guide to the approach that could be taken when looking at what's working and what needs improving in relation to Making it Real for Carers. Many organisations will have their own business planning processes and frameworks and this can be used as a checklist to inform those.

Introduction: An aging population is fueling interest in assisted living technologies (ALTs) to support independence at home. Numerous ALTs have been developed and deployed, but uptake and use has fallen short of levels predicted by policymakers. A key reason is a lack of understanding of users’ needs. In this paper we report findings from the ATHENE (Assistive Technologies for Healthy Living in Elders: Needs Assessment by Ethnography) project, which is funded by the Technology Strategy Board under its Assisted Living Innovation Platform programme.

Integrated care pathways (ICPs) are prearranged processes of care that are being increasingly used to deliver mental health services. The literature to date reveals relatively little about service user and carer experience in relation to their use. This study was completed as part of case study research and focused on the experiences of service users and carers gathered using focus groups, as a unit of analysis.

The video explores how service user and carer participation has become an increasingly important part of how adult social care services are developed and delivered. The video uses the example of how Manchester adult social care services are involving service users and carers. The film highlights the jigsaw model of participation, this connects four aspects of participation: Culture, Structure, Practice and Review. For further details about the jigsaw model see SCIE Guide 17. Participation operates at many different levels, from individual care packages to service design and commissioning.

This article reviews current policies and their impact on carers' lives, and highlights the potential limitations of a more personalised approach to care. Using some key research findings and illustrative case studies, the article argues that we should build on the achievements of the personalisation reforms, but not limit our ambition to offering individuals more choice and control over their services. Instead, there should be a focus on individuals achieving ordinary life chances and families achieving emotional and financial sustainability.