Government Guidance On Care Act ‘Contradicts Its Aims’

Academics at Brunel University London say the Government’s new draft guidance on the Care Act 2014 contradicts its own aims to give patients control of their own care.

In the journal Disability & Society, Colin Slasberg and Professor Peter Beresford, director of the Centre for Citizen Participation at Brunel University London, say that rather than encouraging councils how to adapt to care specific to the individual, as laid out in the legislation, the guidance urges local authorities to continue referring to a resource-led system.

The act’s view that individuals are best-placed to judge their own wellbeing is in the guidance, however the final decisions about a person’s care continue to remain with the local council.

The authors also claim the guidance neglects to provide councils with help to make decisions about which residents should be supported and which shouldn’t when budgets are constrained.

The article goes on to suggest an alternative person-centred and needs-based system, which can be created if the 2014 Care Act is interpreted and enacted in a way that brings about strategic outcomes, a holistic assessment of needs and transparency within councils about the resources they have to hand.

The Government’s draft guidance, issued in June this year, is expected to form council policy and practice. The article, published by Taylor and Francis Online on 10th September 2014 can be seen here.