denotes premium content | Jan 9 2009 Regular
posted 1 Sep 1996 in Volume 1 Issue 6
Book Review
Community Care for Older People: Rights, Remedies and Finances
Margaret Richards' volume on Community Care has been long awaited and is much welcome for its overview of the current situation in this complex and developing area of law. She has had the unenviable task of writing at a time when significant cases were before the Courts which are likely to have far reaching consequences for the professional adviser and client alike. In this handbook the busy practitioner will find not only a statement of the basic and necessarily complex policy issues in this field of law but also an insight into how the system works in practice. To those practitioners who do not have a background or expertise in Public law this is valuable. By its very nature Community Care law is a very difficult field to work in and the clear textual exanplanations and worked examples showing the inter-relationships between the Social Services Departments and the National Health Service throw light upon practices with which most practitioners are unfamiliar. This is significant in that it enables those who are advising upon Community Care to understand the significance of policy decisions in making Community Care placements. That understanding will enable advisers to identify the problems which they and their clients will come across in day to day situations.
Understanding Community Care issues is fraught for those with little or no knowledge of the secondary legislation and the various guidelines which operate in this field and this volume is to be welcomed for the help which it provides in steering through these turbulent waters.
Information on Community Care practice and procedures is not easy to access. This handbook, by providing an analysis of current practice will be of value. Perhaps its greatest significance is in the way in which it identifies and highlights the inter relationship between health and social care.
In the identification of the client group, the professional issues involved and summarising the primary legislation the practitioner is led logically to the point of identifying what is actually meant and understood by Community Care. This may not be what is understood by the client. The principles of assessment and funding are clearly explained as indeed are the processes which anyone seeking to avail themselves of the services must go through. In the process the text identifies new roles for the practitioner as an advocate in obtaining the best services for their clients. This is one of the many potential points which runs through the text.
One of the strengths of the book is the way in which commentary and opinion help in the understanding of the way in which the system works in practice. The lack of established case law in this field is a handicap for practitioners but all the most recent cases are covered. Already there are further cases in hand and there is no doubt that a second edition will be called for shortly.
Practitioners are also well advised on the pitfalls which can arise with both the Local Authorities and also the Benefits Agency. The explanation of the way in which the Income Support Regulations and the National Assistance (Assessment of Resources) Regulations 1992 and the Charging for Residential Accommodation Guidelines work will be of value to the busy practitioner and newcomer to Community Care law alike.
All in all this is a very valuable publication written by a well informed and respected author in the field and as such to be welcomed. Margaret Richards is to be congratulated on her clear exposition of a difficult and complex subject.
Anne Edis, Solicitor, Writer, Lecturer & Freelance Consultant on Community Care. 11 Old Pond Lane, Castor, Peterborough PE5 7BX, Tel: 01733 380444
