When this book was originally published in 1990, the policy of ‘community care’ occupied a central place in the development of health and social services in Britain. The elderly or mentally ill were being moved out from long-stay hospitals into the community. However, many problems arose from the planning-co-ordination and implementation of this policy and then, as now, community care is at a crisis point. In this book, workers from different areas of community care – the Health Service, voluntary bodies, politics, universities highlight the issues surrounding the run-down of long-stay institutions and make positive suggestions about how individual and agencies can provide effective community care. The contributors examine the political and historical context of community care and discuss whether the move towards care in the community actually improves the quality of life for patients. They look at planning services, and discuss examples of good practice in community care, encouraging practitioners to be more involved in the evaluation of community services.

The book will be of interest to a wide range of professionals and voluntary workers in all fields of community care.