Care assistants overlooked?: A cross‐national study of care home staff in England and Germany

Abstract

Within the context of residential care settings in England and Germany little consideration is given to the role of care assistants. Policies that determine the staffing levels in both countries have resulted in care assistants making a considerable contribution towards the ‘hands‐on’ care of dependent, older people. However, the policies overlook the need to encourage and support care assistants in developing the skills required to provide effective, efficient care to dependent, older people. This paper presents the findings of a small‐scale qualitative study conducted in residential care settings situated in the south east of England and north Germany. The study establishes the connection between the nature of ‘emotional labour’ and the need to provide suitable training to care assistants, thus influencing the quality of care provided to dependent, older people. At present training in both countries is focused on qualified staff. Overlooking care assistants and their contribution towards care could be detrimental to the quality of care provided to older people in both England and Germany.

Citation

Eyers, I. (2000), "Care assistants overlooked?: A cross‐national study of care home staff in England and Germany", Quality in Ageing and Older Adults, Vol. 1 No. 1, pp. 15-26. https://doi.org/10.1108/14717794200000004