Improving partnership working between health and social care agencies has long been a feature of government policy but has recently gained increased impetus as a result of New Labour's commitment to joined-up government. This book provides a detailed but accessible introduction to policy and practice at the interface between health and social care. Drawing on key research, government policies and real-life case studies, the book assists health and social care professionals to work more effectively together in order to improve services for users and carers. The health and social care divide: explains why partnerships are important and what helps or hinders partnership working; reviews the legal and policy framework, providing a chronological overview and placing current initiatives in their historical and social policy context; summarises existing research findings with regard to key health and social care policy debates; uses case studies to explore the implications of this research for health and social care practitioners; provides good practice guidance for both students and frontline practitioners. The book is designed as an introductory text for those working or training to work in a multi-agency environment. In particular, it will be of interest to social work, nursing, therapy and medical students, frontline practitioners and those undertaking post-qualification training courses.

This is the concise, accessible guide for students and practitioners who want a comprehensive introduction to health and social care. Engaging practical features, such as user-focused case studies and reflective exercises, promote understanding of theoretical and conceptual knowledge. In turn, clear explanations of social policy theory help frame the policy and practice dilemmas faced by students, front-line workers and policy makers. Chapters cover partnership working and integrated care, independent living, disability and long-term conditions, discrimination, user involvement and support for carers. This new edition has been updated to cover key developments under the Coalition and beyond, including the 2012 Health Act, the 2014 Care Act, the Francis inquiry, the Winterbourne View abuse scandal, the integrated care agenda and the impact of austerity.

In the context of the Care Act 2014, this third edition of the leading textbook on personalisation considers key policy changes since 2009 and new research into the extension and outcomes of personal budgets. Direct payments and personal budgets have developed rapidly, transforming the whole of adult social care. In future, all care will be delivered via a personal budget, with direct payments as the default rather than the exception. As the concepts have spread from adult social care to other sectors, the changes have been controversial and difficult to implement. Front-line practitioners and people using services have struggled to make sense of these ways of working in a challenging financial and policy context. This accessible textbook is essential reading for students, practitioners and policy makers in social work and community care services.

In the context of the Care Act 2014, this third edition of the leading textbook on personalisation considers key policy changes since 2009 and new research into the extension and outcomes of personal budgets. Direct payments and personal budgets have developed rapidly, transforming the whole of adult social care. In future, all care will be delivered via a personal budget, with direct payments as the default rather than the exception. As the concepts have spread from adult social care to other sectors, the changes have been controversial and difficult to implement. Front-line practitioners and people using services have struggled to make sense of these ways of working in a challenging financial and policy context. This accessible textbook is essential reading for students, practitioners and policy makers in social work and community care services.

This unique book brings together, for the first time, advocates and critics of the personalisation agenda in English social care services to debate key issues relating to personalisation. Perspectives from service users, practitioners, academics and policy commentators come together to give an account of the practicalities and controversies associated with the implementation of personalised approaches. The conclusion examines how to make sense of the divergent accounts presented, asking if there is a value-based approach to person-centred care that all sides share. Written in a lively and accessible way, practitioners, students, policy makers and academics in health and social care, social work, public policy and social policy will appreciate the interplay of rival arguments and the way that ambiguities in the care debate play out as policy ideas take programmatic form.

Commissioning is now a key task for health and social care - and yet policy aspirations often outstrip the infrastructure needed to support commissioners as they take difficult decisions about future services and to make commissioning a career of choice for future leaders. While commissioning was important under New Labour, it seems set to be even more fundamental now as commissioners think about future services in an era of austerity. Against this background, this is the first comprehensive text on a key area of management practice , exploring what commissioning is, where it has come from and where it might be taking us. With a wide range of leading contributors from fields including health care, social care, local government , the book takes students, practitioners and managers through key stages of the commissioning cycle as well as addressing cross-cutting themes such as the economics of commissioning, user involvement and commissioning in an era of personalisation. It is essential reading for everyone involved in the planning and delivery of health and social care - for social policy students, health and social care practitioners, managers and policy makers alike.

Improving partnership working between health and social care agencies has long been a feature of government policy but has recently gained increased impetus as a result of New Labour's commitment to joined-up government. This book provides a detailed but accessible introduction to policy and practice at the interface between health and social care. book assists health and social care professionals to work more effectively together in order to improve services for users and carers. and what helps or hinders partnership working; reviews the legal and policy framework, providing a chronological overview and placing current initiatives in their historical and social policy context; summarises existing research findings with regard to key health and social care policy debates; uses case studies to explore the implications of this research for health and social care practitioners; provides good practice guidance for both students and frontline practitioners. work in a multi-agency environment. In particular, it will be of interest to social work, nursing, therapy and medical students, frontline practitioners and those undertaking post-qualification training courses.

The 1996 Community Care (Direct Payments) Act came into force in 1 April 1997, empowering social services departments to make cash payments to some service users in lieu of direct service provision. Social work and direct payments guides readers through the issues at stake in this fundamental area of practice. The book summarises and builds on current knowledge and research about direct payments in the UK and considers developments in other European countries. It identifies good practice in the area and explores the implications of direct payments, both for service users and for social work staff.

In many areas of the welfare state, there is a growing emphasis on 'evidence-based policy and practice.' Against this background - in health care and social care - the contributions in this book provide a hard-hitting and deliberately provocative overview of: the relationship between evidence, policy, and practice; how policy is implemented; and how research can and should influence the policy process. Written by leading analysts and researchers, the book develops an alternative view of evidence-based policy and practice and the policy-making process, suggesting a more inclusive idea of 'knowledge-based practice.'

UK health and social care are increasingly being asked to work together across traditional agency boundaries. Although this sounds easy in theory, doing it in practice is complicated and difficult. In many cases, moreover, current training programmes, research and textbooks are even more divided than front-line services, and practitioners and managers are often being given the task of making partnerships work without the necessary support. Against this background, the second edition of this bestselling book provides a concise 'warts and all' introduction to partnership and integration, summarising updated references to current policy and research, setting out useful frameworks and approaches, and helping policy makers and practitioners to work more effectively together, with greater emphasis on 'integrated care'. Written by the leading authors in the field and fully updated since the Health and Social Care Act 2012, the book is also fully evidence- and research-based, while still being accessible and applicable to everyday practice. Aimed at students, practitioners, managers and policy makers in health and social care, and including new reflective exercises and boxed examples, this is still the one book that everyone in the field should read.

This is the concise, accessible guide for students and practitioners who want a comprehensive introduction to health and social care. Engaging practical features, such as user-focused case studies and reflective exercises, promote understanding of theoretical and conceptual knowledge. In turn, clear explanations of social policy theory help frame the policy and practice dilemmas faced by students, front-line workers and policy makers. Chapters cover partnership working and integrated care, independent living, disability and long-term conditions, discrimination, user involvement and support for carers. This new edition has been updated to cover key developments under the Coalition and beyond, including the 2012 Health Act, the 2014 Care Act, the Francis inquiry, the Winterbourne View abuse scandal, the integrated care agenda and the impact of austerity.

As a field, health and social care is facing considerable challenge and debate, in the UK and internationally. This clear and succinct text offers a valuable introductory guide to this multidisciplinary subject, helping people who want to study or work in health and social care understand why these services matter, how they have developed and how they work. Framed by vital historical and social policy context, the book considers: * The social context in which health and social care are delivered * The history and nature of current services * Organising, funding and delivering services * How to be a professional in practice Including chapter summaries and links to further reading, this text will be invaluable to undergraduate students on programmes in Health and Social Care, Social Work, Nursing, Allied Health Professions, Social Policy and related applied social science subjects, as well as to A-level and Foundation programmes prior to University.

As public spending cuts bite, joint working between health and social care is more important than ever before - but even harder to achieve. Following a series of high profile reforms and policy announcements, this substantially updated second edition highlights key developments under both the UK New Labour (1997-2010) and the Coalition governments (2010-), focusing on the key policy and practice dilemmas facing community health and social services. With partnership working now part of core business rather than an optional extra, this book is essential reading for anyone studying or working in health and social care. It provides practical material to populate the theoretical and conceptual knowledge of social policy students, and conceptual material to help make sense of the practical experience of professional students on training courses. It also appeals to both a social care and a health care audience - and particularly to those who seek to work such boundaries.

Maintaining a balance between managing and assessing risk and upholding the required high standards of practice in health and social care can be demanding, particularly in the current climate of increased preoccupation with the difficult tensions between rights, protection and risk-taking. Good Practice in Assessing Risk is a comprehensive guide to good practice for those working with risk, covering a wide variety of health, social care and criminal justice settings including child protection, mental health, work with sex offenders and work with victims of domestic violence. The contributors discuss a range of key issues relating to risk including positive risk-taking, collaborating with victims and practitioners in the design of assessment tools, resilience to risk, and defensibility. The book also explores the role of bureaucracy in hindering high quality professional practice, complex decision-making in situations of stress or potential blame, and involving service users in assessment. This book reflects the latest policy and practice within health, social care and criminal justice and will be an invaluable volume to all professionals working in these fields.

This highly regarded book offers a clear and considered guide to modern mental health policy and practice. Building on the success of previous editions, this third edition provides: * An up-to-date overview of the changes to mental health policy and practice as they apply to a broad range of mental health services, from primary care and forensic mental health issues * A focus on mental health specific issues in the context of broader health and social care reforms, including the reform of primary care, the impact of austerity and the personalisation agenda * A greater exploration of what interagency working means: it goes beyond issues with health and social services and explores the everyday services that are essential to everyone * A range of case studies, reflection and analyses, followed by engaging exercises and suggestions for further reading. This book is designed for students of social work, social policy, nursing and health taking courses on mental health policy and practice. It also serves as an important update for practitioners in the field.