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Carers and the missing link: changing professional attitudes
Author(s) -
Olsen Richard,
Parker Gillian,
Drewett Alison
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
health and social care in the community
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.984
H-Index - 68
eISSN - 1365-2524
pISSN - 0966-0410
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2524.1997.tb00106.x
Subject(s) - legislation , service (business) , social care , public relations , strengths and weaknesses , political science , business , psychology , nursing , medicine , social psychology , marketing , law
The involvement of users and carers in service planning represents a central plank of reforms in social care, but clear guidance as to what this involvement should entail is absent from the legislation, leaving authorities to develop local involvement strategies. This paper is based on a project mapping the development of services for carers, carried out in the spring of 1994. We argue that the involvement of carers in planning processes at strategic levels will not guarantee changes in practice at lower levels. We discuss weaknesses in the existing literature regarding user and carer involvement, and suggest ways in which opportunities for ‘micro‐level’ consultation can be developed.