ABSTRACT

This chapter discusses the several key reasons for the paucity of planning information in community care plans. These are the limitations of current data sources, the community care structure which fragments the population focus, and finally the lack of national guidance on the standardisation of the assessment processes, core data, data collection and eligibility criteria. The chapter describes a project undertaken in the London boroughs of Merton, Graham Sutton and Wandsworth linking health and social services data. The implementation of the NHS and Community Care Act 1990 appears to have simplified the funding arrangements. The chapter highlights the problems at both the national and local level which result from the introduction of the market and the lack of guidance on strategic planning. The devolution of community care responsibilities to local authorities has virtually switched off NHS and social security funded care.