From Community Care to Market Care?

This study reflects a growing recognition of the contribution that studies of the post-war "welfare state" can make to contemporary debates about the restructuring of welfare. Drawing on the community care debates from 1971 to 1993, it illuminates contemporary concerns about such key issues as rationing care, the health and social care divide, the changing role of residential care and the growing emphasis on provider competition. "From community care to market care?" focuses on the interpretation and development of national policy at local authority level in four contrasting local authorities. The authors outline the development of welfare services for older people from 1971 to 1993, and explore whether service developments in this period were as inadequate as claimed by the proponents of radical change. The continuities and changes in the pre- and post-1990 NHS and Community Care Act systems of community care are also examined. The results of the study should make a significant contribution to the community care provision for older people. The book will be of interest to academic, policy and practitioner audiences.