This article seeks to review the impact on social care services of the 1989 White Paper “Caring for People”. It pays particular attention to the introduction of commissioning and care management, and seeks to draw lessons from this for the implementation of current day national policy.
The article is a review of progress and draws upon experience and written evidence over the period from a number of sources.
The paper concludes that the implementation of the policy varied substantially from the original policy intent and that commissioning and care management as currently practiced are neither designed as intended nor delivering the outcomes envisaged by “Caring for People”. It draws on parallels with the current policy agenda and poses questions about whether a similar lack of fidelity to original policy objectives will lead to policies such as Putting People First not delivering on their stated goals.
This paper is of relevance to policy developers and service managers in considering how to design and implement delivery of national policy.
The paper highlights how concepts such as commissioning and care management as currently practiced have lost their focus and purpose and should encourage reflective practice and renewed rigour around policy implementation of current social care priorities.
