Centre for Policy on Ageing



Is quality good for you? — a critical review of quality assurance in welfare services
Author(s)	Naomi Pfeffer, Anna Coote
Corporate Author	Institute for Public Policy Research - IPPR
Publisher	IPPR, London, 1996
Pages	72 pp
Source	IPPR, 30-32 Southampton Street, London WC2E 7RA.
Keywords	Services ; Organisation of care ; Quality ; Evaluation.
Annotation	This report asks whether quality assurance is appropriate to public service provision: the narrow perspective of quality undermines welfare goals, making matters worse for service users. Four approaches to quality are identified: the traditional approach; the "scientific" or expert approach; the managerial or "excellence" approach, to measure customer satisfaction; and the consumerist approach, to make the customer more powerful. The authors examine these approaches, and argue that while these have something to offer, these do not acknowledge the distinctions between commerce and welfare. Other `quality' initiatives are evaluated: national standards; audit and inspection; QALYs (quality adjusted life years); "total quality management" (TQM); customer relations; and complaints and redress. A new, democratic approach is proposed, with three goals - fitness for purpose, responsiveness, and empowerment - which recognises the public not just as customers but as citizens. (RH).
Accession Number	CPA-980317230 B
Classmark	I: P: 59: 4C
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...from the Ageinfo database published by Centre for Policy on Ageing.