Workforce Policy and Care Quality in English Long-term Elder Care. Issue 4 (2nd October 2018)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Atkinson, Carol; Crozier, Sarah; Lucas, Rosemary
• Is Part Of: Public performance & management review. Volume 41:Issue 4(2018)
• Page Start: 859
• Page End: 884
• Publication Date: 2018-10-02
• Subjects: Care quality -- employment -- social care; Civil service -- Labor productivity -- Periodicals; Civil service -- Labor productivity -- United States -- Periodicals; Government productivity -- Periodicals; Government productivity -- United States -- Periodicals; Public administration -- Periodicals; Public administration -- United States -- Periodicals; Civil service -- Labor productivity; Government productivity; Public administration; United States; Periodicals; 351.05
• DOI: 10.1080/15309576.2018.1473784
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1530-9576

Abstract

Abstract: In this article, we explore workforce policy and its potential to improve care quality in English long-term elder care. Using large, secondary sector datasets, we analyze relationships between care quality and the skill development practices prescribed by workforce policy, care quality, and a wider set of employment practices. We demonstrate that the latter is more likely to improve care quality than skill development alone. We further demonstrate that both skill development/care quality and employment practice/care quality relationships are stronger in the statutory than the independent sector. Our findings challenge the effectiveness of workforce policy in two ways. First, it may be too narrowly focused on skill development at the expense of wider employment practice. Second, it may not be effective in improving care quality when outsourcing care ostensibly to improve it leads, particularly in the independent sector, to cost-based commissioning that mitigates against robust employment practice.