Care coordination: exploring and informing the emerging role of the non-statutory sector in long-term aged care in England

Introduction

National policy over the last two decades has placed an increasing emphasis on the role of non-statutory providers of social care with local authorities focussing on commissioning rather than providing services. Currently local authorities are the major providers of care coordination for older people but in the future it is likely that this role will be increasingly undertaken by non-statutory organisations. In this proposal two aspects of care coordination are considered. First, care management which has the goal of coordinating fragmented health and social care services for vulnerable older people living at home. Second, brokerage which assists service users to make a care plan, negotiate funding and organise and monitor services. A recent exploratory study revealed that whilst there was potential within non-statutory organisations to do this, mechanisms to manage and monitor practice were poorly developed.

This provides the context for the research which explored care coordination arrangements for older people in the non-statutory sector. The study involved a survey of organisations to determine the presence and utility of the measures in practice to develop standards relating to the organisation and practice of care coordination in the non-statutory sector.