Questions raised for local authorities when old people are evicted from their care homes

Successive government policies have created a situation where most residential and nursing care is provided by the independent sector. It is in the nature of a marketized and privatized care system that homes will periodically close or change ownership. The physical and mental well-being of elderly residents experiencing eviction and relocation can be seriously damaged by the experience. No policy and practice guidelines have been issued from central government to cover how care home closures should be managed. Local authorities are therefore dealing with such events on an ad hoc basis. Understandably, the main emphasis is often put on actually finding appropriate alternative placements. Practices vary across different local authorities. This article asks whether the necessary work required to minimize the harmful effects caused by the stress of relocation is actually being carried out properly. It also raises the questions of what exactly should be offered to older people when they are given notice to quit, who is best qualified to do the work and whether care management as it has developed within the ‘purchaser/provider framework’, is adequate to the task. In short, where can social work for older people be found when it is needed?