Carey, M.

Objective: To explore: (1) how haematological cancer survivors and their support persons perceive the overall performance of the support person; (2) disagreement between survivor and support person ratings; and (3) characteristics associated with support persons rating their performance poorly. Methods: This is a substudy of a larger project of Australian haematological cancer survivors and their support persons.

This article considers the experiences of a small group of agency care managers (n=23) working in London and the north of England. It was discovered that employment for occupationally migrant care managers can provide access to a potentially rich source of knowledge and skills, as well as a diverse and sometimes stimulating form of irregular employment. However, it was also discovered that work intensification, job insecurity and limited time spent with users and carers were common, and this further intensified the deskilling and lack of discretion which is common for many care managers.

This paper considers the transformation of state social work over the past two decades. During this period, it is argued that a steady yet radical process of privatization has ensued which has had a considerable impact upon the experiences of ‘service users’, informal carers and social work practitioners. Not only does the private sector now dominate key sectors of social care, but it has also transformed the culture of state social work practice and many of the accepted beliefs and ideals of the social work profession.