Explaining low uptake of direct payments in residential care: findings from the evaluation of the Direct Payments in Residential Care Trailblazers

Ettelt, Stefanie, Wittenberg, Raphael ORCID: 0000-0003-3096-2721, Williams, Lorraine, Perkins, Margaret, Lombard, Daniel, Mays, Nicholas and Damant, Jacqueline ORCID: 0000-0003-1425-272X (2018) Explaining low uptake of direct payments in residential care: findings from the evaluation of the Direct Payments in Residential Care Trailblazers. Journal of Social Policy. ISSN 0047-2794

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Abstract

In 2012, the Government invited local councils in England to participate in a pilot programme to test direct payments in residential care. While the programme was set up to allow for comprehensive summative evaluation, the uptake of direct payments in residential care was substantially lower than anticipated, with only 40 people in receipt of one at the end of the programme. Drawing on qualitative data collected for the evaluation, this paper aims to understand better the barriers to implementing direct payments in residential care. Evidence from the use of direct payments in domiciliary care identified gatekeeping by council frontline staff as a major barrier for service users to access direct payments. Our findings suggest that, whilst selectivity of both service users and providers was an integral part of the programme design, gatekeeping does not fully explain the poor take-up. Other factors played a part, such as lack of clarity about the benefits of direct payments for care home residents, the limited range and scope of choice of services for residents, and concerns from care providers about the financial impact of direct payments on their financial sustainability.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/journal-of...
Additional Information:	© 2017 The Authors
Divisions:	Social Policy Care Policy and Evaluation Centre
Subjects:	H Social Sciences > HV Social pathology. Social and public welfare. Criminology R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine > RA0421 Public health. Hygiene. Preventive Medicine
Date Deposited:	27 Nov 2017 14:49
Last Modified:	11 Dec 2024 21:32
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/85765

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