Users of social care services often experience multiple, complex long-term conditions and need social care and support. Conditions may include physical disabilities, mental health conditions, addictions, or loneliness. Social care services support some extremely deprived groups. This research focuses on filling gaps in knowledge around the value of day services and other social care services and to strengthen them as community assets.
Co-production and stakeholder involvement lie at the heart of this research. Both of our studies will involve day service and social care stakeholders, including staff, volunteers and current and prospective users. Our collaborators will include: National Voices, Housing LIN, Think Local Act Personal, Care Provider Alliance, unions and professional bodies.
This study also involves family/friend carers, staff from local authorities, community groups, primary care services and homelessness and addictions services to identify key research questions for social care in south London from practice perspectives. At a national level, we will network with relevant organisations such as user groups, unions and social care bodies.