Caring in Crisis

This book examines a familiar and contemporary social policy issue - social care - but differs from usual accounts by including additional perspectives (philosophical, ethical and political) not often raised but nonetheless crucial to understanding the issue. Its central argument is that while a health/care divide dates back to legislative separation at the inception of the welfare state in the 1940s, the major cause of the current crisis has been the slow but insidious ideological and practical splitting off and fracturing of social care from other state welfare institutions, notably the NHS, and its consequent entrapment in the treacherous straits of 'profit and loss', self-interest and individualism.These issues and others, the book argues, contribute to the building of a strong case for bringing social care into the public sector. Finally, the project goes on to consider the impact of the Covid 19 pandemic of 2020 on a crisis in caring that was already well-established. The consequences of this global shock are still working out and are likely to be profound. Solutions, as the project describes, which were already being formulated prior to the impact of the pandemic, are even more salient now. The book will therefore be of interest to students and researchers of social policy, public policy as well as policymakers and health and social care professionals.