The participation of adult service users, including older people, in developing social care
Conclusion - The changing face of social care
The changes to social care such as the advent of
integrated teams, extension of direct payments, and
individual budgets mean that changes in the type
and nature of participation are likely to take place.
Despite being the major provider of social care
services, there is still very little evidence about
service user participation in the private sector.
A concern for
service user controlled organisations is that they
will be increasingly expected to compete for funding
with organisations that are less committed to participation.
We need to integrate participation into the
wider quality improvement programmes mentioned
earlier, (Beresford & Branfield,
2006), so that organisations are competing on equal
terms and ensure that participation does not become
lost as new service configurations emerge.
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