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Public funding for residential and nursing home care: projection of the potential impact of proposals to change the residential allowance in services for older people
- Authors:
- CLARKSON Paul, HUGHES Jane, CHALLIS David
- Journal article citation:
- International Journal of Geriatric Psychiatry, 18(3), March 2003, pp.211-216.
- Publisher:
- Wiley
This article investigates the potential effects of a policy change in the funding of UK residential care. The White Paper "Modernising Social Services " outlined plans to change the distribution of the Residential Allowance (RA), payable in support of residents in independent residential or nursing home care, from a component of income support paid direct to establishments to a grant to local authorities. This change was intended to remove the incentive in accessing independent residential care more favourably than local authority care. A further objective was to encourage local authorities to use the grant to support home-based alternatives to residential care. The policy rests on a model in which price signals dictate the choice of care for an older person. By, in effect, raising the price of independent residential and nursing home care, the policy provides an incentive for authorities to seek alternatives to institutional care. The study indicated that wider organisational factors other than price are likely to play a greater role in deciding whether an older person is admitted to care. Changes in public funding alone do not reflect the complexities involved in decision-making concerning the residential placement of older people.