Dr Gareth O’Rourke discusses the impact of the implementation of the Care Act on older co-resident carers of older people in England.
The Care Act 2014 has been a threshold moment for social care in England as it overhauled over 60 years of legislation. Its implementation, though, was hampered by the policies of austerity which meant that local authorities had limited resources to provide services for those who needed them.
This episode features a conversation with Dr Gareth O’Rourke who examined the impact of changes brought in by the Care Act on older co-resident carers of older people in Four English local authorities. While there is potential for practitioners to use the legislation proactively to support carers, his study suggests that more work is required to fully implement the Care Act.
Dr Gareth O’Rourke is a Research Fellow in the Social Policy Research Unit at the University of York. He has had a long career working mostly with older people and their families as a nurse and as a social worker. His research interests focus on older people’s experience of using health and social care services and what is meant by ‘personalisation’. The full text of the paper we discuss can be accessed here:
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