Wanless social care review – Securing good care for older people

This is the first time that a comprehensive analysis of a complex area of funding care outside the NHS has been done. This briefing sets out the main recommendations of the review and highlights the particular areas of concern that were raised.

There should be the adoption of an outcomes approach and resource decisions should be assessed for implications of outcomes for service recipients.

The Review recommends in particular the use of generic social care measures, particularly the OPUS project and the work to value preferences as an integral part of resource allocation and policy development.

There should be greater alignment of resources around a value-for-money principle (including how it should be defined in social care) balanced with other principles such as fairness and sustainability, along with appropriateness of cost-outcome thresholds and the valuation of those thresholds in social care.

Standard ways to measure the outcome of preventative services need to be developed to allow comparative studies and a more robust evidence base to be collected.

For further information, please email papa.ukintl.dept@rcn.org.uk