Social care services

Informal carers make a vital contribution to the well-being of the people they care for or look after. Against the policy background in England, the purpose of this study was to explore the views of carers who are in contact with adult social care support services. A qualitative study with 31 carers, who were recruited via local authorities and carers' organisations, was conducted between April and July 2012 to collect data on carers' experiences and perceptions of their quality of life (QoL) with and without adult social care and support for themselves or the person they look after.

This paper discusses the experience of South Asian carers of a person with cerebral palsy. Previous research in this area has failed to explore carers' perceptions of causation or their views on the quality of service support. Qualitative interviews were carried out with twenty carers in two localities in the north of England with the aim of providing in‐depth contextualized data on their experiences over time, their attitudes towards cerebral palsy and their interactions with service provision.

Partners appear to be the main perpetrators of neglect according to a new report that has triggered a government review of its No Secrets adult protection guidance. The author reports. 

The sexuality of older people and gay and lesbian sexuality in particular, is an issue that has been largely ignored in the nursing literature. But, says the author, older gay men and lesbians are becoming more vociferous about the health and social care services they have a right to expect. 

This contribution is devoted to those who take care of others, given here the general name of carer. It is stated that there are an estimated 6.8 million carers in the UK looking after people with a very wide range of health and social needs. Caring for others is an activity that can have both good and adverse effects on the life of a carer. More attention has been focused on the bad effects but some research looks at the positive aspects of caring. The main factors affecting carers' lives are noted.

When young people care for a parent with illness or disability their lives are different. This study 'examines the young carer's transition to adulthood'. The profile of 60 young carers is described; half were in lone parent families. Almost all were performing domestic tasks as well as providing general and/or personal care; some were also caring for younger children. Education, training and employment opportunities were, in reality, not available to them. Most of the families were outside the labour market and received welfare benefits. Social exclusion and poverty were widespread.

This literature review is concerned with the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of support and services to informal carers of older people in England and Wales. It has been undertaken by the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the request of the Audit Commission (the Commission). The review is divided into three parts. It begins with an introduction summarising key issues that need to be considered when looking at the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of services for informal carers.

A blow to spending on social services threatens a deterioration in quality of life for carers and users, but a new grant could protect this vulnerable group and ease some of the pressures on the NHS. [Journal abstract]