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BJSW Advance Access originally published online on May 24, 2006
British Journal of Social Work 2007 37(5):909-924; doi:10.1093/bjsw/bcl034
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© The Author 2006. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The British Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved.

Managing the Care Home Closure Process: Care Managers’ Experiences and Views

Jacquetta Williams, Ann Netten and Patricia Ware

Jacquetta Williams MSc is a Research Officer at the Personal Social Services Research Unit at the University of Kent. Her research interests include the provision and regulation of social care and housing for older people.

Ann Netten Ph.D. is the Director of the Personal Social Services Research Unit. Her current interests are the economics of health and social care, including cost, quality and the development of measures of social care outcomes for older people.

Patricia Ware Ph.D. is a Researcher at the Centre for Health and Social Care Research at Sheffield Hallam University. Her research interests include care management for older people and the provision of intermediate care.

Correspondence to Jacquetta Williams, Personal Social Services Research Unit, Cornwallis Building, University of Kent, Canterbury CT2 7NF, UK. E-mail: J.M.Williams{at}kent.ac.uk

This paper reports case study research that set out to identify what care managers do during independent care home closures. Little research has focused on the way in which care homes for older people are closed in England, or what those involved think about the process. This paper reports the activities and views of care managers directly involved in helping older people relocate from care homes that were closed by their owners. During such closures, residents and their families have no choice but to move, usually to a deadline, and with little control over the process. Care managers have a responsibility to help arrange alternative care for those current residents who are publicly funded, and to offer information and support to those funding their own care (the ‘self-funded’). Closure related activities could involve considerable staff time. Care management arrangements, including the organization of teams and provision of needs assessments, varied across authorities. The care managers described drawing on emotional counselling and inter-personal skills, as well as practitioner knowledge and experience, particularly when offering support and advice about finding appropriate new homes. Tensions between aims, constraints on their actions and views of good practice are identified.

Keywords: care management, older people, care homes, home closure


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