ABSTRACT
This chapter considers the sepsis as a focal point to examine the demise of accountability in public services. The problem of assessing the impact of contracting out on accountability can also be linked to the rise of managerialism, or what is referred to as New Public Management (NPM). The theoretical insights from Michel Foucault and Jurgen Habermas are directly relevant and help to reveal the link between the loss of accountability and the hidden sepsis challenge. Accountability is a slippery and contested concept in sociology and social policy. Following the community care reforms, market principles were imported into adult social care and the care homes market expanded rapidly. The new millennium heralded an age of economic globalization, with governments around the world developing new partnerships, outsourcing key services, and making efforts to increase customer choice through greater market competition.
