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This paper considers the development of policies to implement the Community Care (Delayed Discharges etc) Act 2003 in one locality. It argues that the legislation has stimulated new thinking about the management of the problem of delayed discharge, although many issues remain to be resolved in its implementation.

This paper presents the findings from the first stages of qualitative research into the provision of transitional residential rehabilitation in Nottinghamshire. Its purpose is to identify several ‘critical success factors’ that appear to underpin effective practice.

There have been increased concerns about disciplinary procedures in relation to adult safeguarding. The purpose of this paper is to argue that the personal “boundary attitude” of workers is a strong component of their response to issues that have a safeguarding dimension.

This study reports an analysis of questionnaire responses and data generated from interactive training events.

The data suggest most workers adopt a personal stance or “boundary attitude” that drives their response to many of the diverse circumstances they face at the interface of their professional and personal life.

The particular profession, stage in career development or work environment may affect staff responses and this needs further exploration.

There are implications for how services identify the most effective workers and their least effective colleagues, as well as for staff selection and training. Improving our understanding of boundary attitude will help to protect vulnerable people from abuse whilst supporting them to have a full life.

A better understanding of whether staff who maintain rigid boundaries deliver better outcomes than their colleagues who exercise substantial flexibility will help in recruitment, supervision and safeguarding activities.

The paper explores an under‐recognised issue in adult safeguarding, the personal “boundary attitudes” of staff, and their impact on judgements that affect a range of professional decisions they take.

Brain Injury Case Managers (BICMs) work closely with individuals with Acquired Brain Injury (ABI), assessing needs, structuring rehabilitation interventions and providing support, and have significant experience of clients with impairments to decision making. The purpose of this paper is to explore the application of the Mental Capacity Act (MCA) and its guidance when applied to ABI survivors. This research aimed to: first, highlight potential conflicts or tensions that application of the MCA might pose, and second, identify approaches to mitigate the problems of the MCA and capacity assessments with ABI survivors. It is hoped that this will support improvements in the services offered.

Using a mixed method approach, 93 BICMs responded to an online questionnaire about decision making following ABI. Of these, 12 BICMs agreed to take part in a follow-up semi-structured telephone interview.

The data revealed four main themes: disagreements with other professionals, hidden disabilities, vulnerability in the community and implementation of the MCA and capacity assessments.

The findings highlight the need for changes to the way mental capacity assessments are conducted and the need for training for professionals in the hidden effects of ABI.

Limited research exists on potential limitations of the application of the MCA for individuals with an ABI. This paper provides much needed research on the difficulties surrounding mental capacity and ABI.

This paper aims to explore the issues for middle‐level social work managers arising from the development of the new public management, with its emphasis on the intensification of work, the measurement of performance in service delivery, and cost efficiencies. This is commonly thought to have affected those working in human services such as social work adversely. This paper explores the nature of these consequences, from the point of view of those centrally placed in its implementation.

The methodology adopted in this paper is designed to acknowledge and explore the perceptions of middle‐level social work managers as they contribute to the social construction of the new public management. This is accomplished through in‐depth interviews with a sample of their number in Sweden and England.

The findings reveal that social work managers are not only comfortable dealing with budgets but also enjoy the autonomy this affords them in their relationship with their subordinates. The findings also reveal that they appreciate the benefits of the more generalised knowledges of management, used in their work with junior colleagues, who they attempted to lead rather than manage and who they respected as colleagues. This has further implications: the possibility of new career opportunities for these predominantly women managers.

The managers in social work see the knowledges gained from their position as managers as transferable to other areas of the public and private sectors, thereby opening up new career opportunities. They were also found to enjoy dealing with budget issues, contrary to earlier studies.

This paper aims to develop understanding of the context in which the abuse and maltreatment of older people might proliferate within the health and social care system in the United Kingdom. Drawing on the notion of “social defences” this paper seeks to explore the dual role of consumerism and social defences in facilitating poor practice.

Research and inquiry findings are used to establish the inter‐relationship between social defences, consumerism and poor organisational structures to create a culture in which the abuse and maltreatment of older people might flourish.

The paper suggests the expansion of a consumerist approach to care, along with social defences and organisational structures, reinforces an attitude of indifference to older people across society, and provides the conditions in which the maltreatment of older people by professional carers can go unchallenged.

This is a conceptual paper from which future research could develop to understand, from a societal perspective, the relationship between societal attitudes and responses to older people, their maltreatment and care provision in the UK.

Reform is required at a structural and individual level founded on the conceptual nets of equality and human rights. A consumerist approach alone, for those most vulnerable, may increase their risk of harm.

If safeguarding older people is “everyone's” business, wider society will need to transform an attitude of indifference toward older people into one of dignity and respect.

The current system of health and social care provision leaves many older people maltreated and without support. Whilst much research rightly focuses on practical matters this paper seeks to relocate the debate in a much wider frame of reference to try and establish the philosophical, ethical and moral framework's required to transform societal indifference toward older people to respect.

Leadership studies which focus on categorising leadership styles have been critiqued for failure to consider the lived experience of leadership. The purpose of this paper is to use the framework of Jepson’s model of contextual dynamics to explore whether this framework assists understanding of the “how and why” of lived leadership experience within the nursing profession.

Themes for a purposeful literature search and review, having regard to the Jepson model, are drawn from the contemporary and dynamic context of nursing. Government reports, coupled with preliminary interviews with a nurse leadership team, guided selection of contextual issues.

The contextual interactions arising from managerialism, existing hierarchical models of leadership and increasing knowledge work provided insights into leadership experience in nursing, in the contexts of professional identity and changing educational and generational profiles of nurses. The authors conclude that employing a contextual frame provides insights in studying leadership experience. The author propose additions to the cultural and institutional dimensions of Jepson’s model.

The findings have implications for structuring and communicating key roles and policies relevant to nursing leadership. These include the need to: address perceptions around the legitimacy of current nursing leaders to provide clinical leadership; modify hierarchical models of nursing leadership; address implications of the role of the knowledge workers.

Observing nursing leadership through the lens of Jepson’s model of contextual dynamics confirms that this is an important way of exploring how leadership is enacted. The authors found, however, the model also provided a useful frame for considering the experience and understanding of leadership by those to be led.

This paper seeks to identify the user requirements for an Information and Communication Technology (ICT) based system to deliver care, support and information services to older people in the community.

A structured, mixed methods approach incorporating workshops, systematic literature reviews, surveys, and focus groups gathered user needs prior to a prototype being developed. This was then tested with users and their feedback used in further iterations of the product.

In total, five main user requirement themes were identified: information access; communication; self‐care; accessibility; and personalisation of services.

Details are provided of the user requirements for a health and care system to remotely deliver support. Additionally, the value of utilising a range of requirements gathering tools and prototyping is discussed.

Too often technology systems are developed which do not meet actual need. This paper reports the results of a formal user needs process and discusses the role of user requirements more generally.

The Children Act 1989 sought to be evidence based in that its development reflected a growing body of research in the field of child care. This article explores the dynamic relationship between research, policy and practice in child welfare in the UK over the subsequent 21 years. It looks at the implications for the workforce and professional expertise, with a particular focus on social work. Initially, the implementation of the Act was closely associated with social services but provision has become more integrated and multidisciplinary. This has led to a far‐reaching debate about the roles and tasks of social work and its efficacy in safeguarding and promoting children's welfare. Social work can make a broad contribution to child welfare but to realise this both the role of social work and the knowledge base on which it is based must not be defined in a narrow or prescriptive way.