Dr Ruth Naughton-Doe explores the potential for timebanks in adult social care – and their challenges.
Timebanks facilitate the exchange of time. People volunteer their time and earn time credits which can be exchanged for a service provided by someone else. They are an excellent way to recognise people’s strengths and assets, which could be used to help meet individuals’ social care needs.
However, Dr Ruth Naughton-Doe’s evaluation of timebanks in the UK has found that it is not as straight-forward as this. A new genre of workers has been created – time brokers – who facilitate the exchanges. Once risk and safeguarding issues are factored in, their job becomes more complex and more akin to social work. This episode explores some of this complexity with Ruth, who reveals both the opportunities and challenges of timebanks for adult social care.
Dr Ruth Naughton-Doe is a Research Associate at the University of York. She has had a diverse career in research and practice, but her interests lie in co-produced structural and community-based solutions to mental health problems.
The full text of the paper discussed in this episode can be accessed here:
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