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Centre for Policy on Ageing | |
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Social work in accident and emergency departments
— a better deal for older patients' health? | | Author(s) | Eileen McLeod, Paul Bywaters, Matthew Cooke |
| Journal title | British Journal of Social Work, vol 33, no 6, September 2003 |
| Pages | pp 787-802 |
| Keywords | Social work ; Accident & emergency depts ; In-patients ; Health [elderly] ; Well being. |
| Annotation | Well-established internationally, the current development of social work in UK accident and emergency (A&E) departments is part of a conjoint health and social care policy drive to divert older people from "unnecessary" admission to acute hospital care on social grounds. However, from the older service user's standpoint, the prime criterion for assessing A&E social work is not the powers of diversion, but its core contribution to optimum health and social care. This account indicates that A&E-based social work can provide important benefits, including help with negotiating the A&E environment and readier access to social services. Nevertheless, continuing professional-service user power imbalances, together with shortages in health and social care services, undermines its positive contribution both within A&E and following discharge. Notably, under-resourced community-based health and social care can lead to the swift unravelling of services implemented through A&E. This has serious consequences for older service users facing interlinked health and social problems, and may be implicated in re-attendance at A&E. (RH). |
| Accession Number | CPA-031020205 A |
| Classmark | IG: LD6: LF7: CC: D:F:5HH |
Data © Centre for Policy on Ageing |
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| ...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing. |
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