Davies, Karen, Dalgarno, Elizabeth, Angel, Colin et al. (6 more authors) (2022) Home-care providers as collaborators in commissioning arrangements for older people. Health and Social Care in the Community. pp. 644-655. ISSN 1365-2524
Abstract
In England, care to support people living at home is largely commissioned by local authorities (statutory organisations with responsibility for social care in specific localities) from non-statutory home-care providers (for-profit, not-for-profit, voluntary). This paper explores how managers of these services perceive commissioning arrangements and their impact on home-care providers, the care workforce and service users. Little formal research of providers’ experiences of working with local authorities in a commissioning model is available. A qualitative study employed semi-structured telephone interviews with 20 managers of for-profit home-care providers from 10 selected local authority areas in England. Data were analysed using thematic analysis to identify main and subsidiary themes. Home-care providers reported operating in a complex and changeable partnership with commissioners, characterised by: (a) relationships ranging from transactional to collaborative, (b) providers expressing a strong sense of public service motivation, (c) commissioning practices that were complex to negotiate, time-consuming and overly prescriptive, (d) frequent changes in commissioning practices and a perceived lack of strategic planning, which were reported as contributing to uncertainty and tension for providers and confusion for service users. Attempting to operate a market model with tightly prescribed contracts is likely to be unsustainable. An alternative approach based on a collaborative model of joint responsibility for providing home care is recommended drawing on a conceptual framework of principal–steward relationships in contracting.
Metadata
Item Type: | Article |
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Authors/Creators: |
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Copyright, Publisher and Additional Information: | © 2020 The Authors. |
Keywords: | care providers; commissioning practice; home-care; market model; qualitative study; relational contracting |
Dates: |
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Institution: | The University of York |
Academic Units: | The University of York > Research Groups (York) > Social Policy Research Unit (York) |
Depositing User: | Pure (York) |
Date Deposited: | 31 May 2023 08:00 |
Last Modified: | 16 Oct 2024 19:14 |
Published Version: | https://doi.org/10.1111/hsc.13169 |
Status: | Published |
Refereed: | Yes |
Identification Number: | 10.1111/hsc.13169 |
Open Archives Initiative ID (OAI ID): | oai:eprints.whiterose.ac.uk:199762 |
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Description: Health Social Care Comm - 2020 - Davies - Home‐care providers as collaborators in commissioning arrangements for older
Licence: CC-BY 2.5