| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
© British Association of Social Workers
Care Management and Professional Autonomy: The Impact of Community Care Legislation on Social Work with Older People
Mark Lymbery is Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Nottingham
Correspondene to Mark Lymbery, Centre for Social Work, School of Sociology and Social Policy, University of Nottingham, University Park, Nottingham NG7 2RD, UK. e-mail: Mark_Lymbery{at}nottingham.ac.uk
Summary
The 1990 National Health Service and Community Care Act appeared to herald a new dawn for social work with older people, which had previously been a relatively neglected and undervalued area of social work practice. The legislation proposed a new role for social workers as ‘case managers’, with considerable autonomy and flexibility about the way in which the ‘case manager’ responded to need. By the time community care policy was implemented, the role of ‘case manager’ had been transformed into that of ‘care manager’, with a focus which emphasized procedural and managerial requirements rather than a more flexible professional practice.
This paper explores the extent to which this shift has substantively altered the nature of social work practice with older people. It outlines key theories of professions and their applicability to social work, and critically analyses the impact of the ‘new managerialism’ within social services departments. The paper also examines the nature of social workers' practice with older people following the impact of community care legislation, and concludes that the impact on the social work profession has been to locate an increasing control of practice with social work managers, with potentially serious consequences for the continuation of a distinctive social work role in relation to services for older people.
CiteULike 
Connotea 
Del.icio.us What's this?
This article has been cited by other articles:
|
|
 |
|
  J. Manthorpe, J. Moriarty, J. Rapaport, R. Clough, M. Cornes, L. Bright, S. Iliffe, and OPRSI (Older People Researching Social Issues) 'There Are Wonderful Social Workers but it's a Lottery': Older People's Views about Social Workers Br. J. Soc. Work, September 1, 2008; 38(6): 1132 - 1150. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Clarkson Performance Measurement in Adult Social Care: Looking Backwards and Forwards Br. J. Soc. Work, June 24, 2008; (2008) bcn096v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. P. Sullivan Social Workers in Community Care Practice: Ideologies and Interactions with Older People Br. J. Soc. Work, May 2, 2008; (2008) bcn059v1. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 A. McInnes and V. Lawson-Brown `God' and Other `Do-Gooders': A Comparison of the Regulation of Services Provided by General Practitioners and Social Workers in England Journal of Social Work, December 1, 2007; 7(3): 341 - 354. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 S. Bach, I. Kessler, and P. Heron The consequences of assistant roles in the public services: Degradation or empowerment? Human Relations, September 1, 2007; 60(9): 1267 - 1292. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
 |
|
 I. Kessler, S. Bach, and P. Heron Understanding assistant roles in social care Work Employment Society, December 1, 2006; 20(4): 667 - 685. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. Lymbery United We Stand? Partnership Working in Health and Social Care and the Role of Social Work in Services for Older People Br. J. Soc. Work, October 1, 2006; 36(7): 1119 - 1134. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
P. Cambridge and T. Parkes The Tension between Mainstream Competence and Specialization in Adult Protection: An Evaluation of the Role of the Adult Protection Co-ordinator Br. J. Soc. Work, February 1, 2006; 36(2): 299 - 321. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
J. Lawler and E. Harlow Postmodernization: A Phase We're Going Through? Management in Social Care Br. J. Soc. Work, October 1, 2005; 35(7): 1163 - 1174. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]
|
|
|
|
|
|
M. E. F. Lymbery Negotiating the Contradictions between Competence and Creativity in Social Work Education Journal of Social Work, April 1, 2003; 3(1): 99 - 117. [Abstract] [PDF]
|
|