TThe Impact of Community Care Policy on Older People in Britain. 1970s-1990s

Abstract

Towards the end of the 1970s the concept of community was emerging as the preferred alternative to institu- tionalized service provision. For feminist writers it presented a potential problem in that the family was identified as the location within which this community-based care would be provided and that the burden, therefore was likely to fall on women. Community care has been presented as the ideal form of provision on the grounds of cost-effectiveness, moral responsibility (family members have a duty to care for one another) and as a safeguard against the abuse of individual that may occur in in- stitutional settings. The community bandwagon continued to gain momentum throughout the 1980s. The National Health Service became separated and there was subsequent criticism of the fragmentary nature of social provision. The Griffiths Report of 1988 identified the role of social service as an enabling body rather than a service provider. In keeping with government policies, Social Service Departments were to make use of both private and voluntary sectors in purchasing services, and this was adopted in the 1990 National Health Service and Community Care Act.