From Vision to Reality: Changing Direction at the Local Level

In this book, the authors look back to the early stages of community care, comparing them with today’s emerging policy with a view to improving community care still further. the book describes the first stages of the local development of the community care policy reforms laid out in the 1989 Caring for People White Paper and the subsequent 1990 NHS and Community Care Act. It spans the period between the mid-80s, when the policy initially began to crystallise, and the beginning of 1993, when the reforms were formally implemented. By ‘Vision’ the authors mean policy in the broadest sense – what might be potentially achieved and by what means. ‘Reality’ refers to those elements of the community care world which are adapted and used to achieve the policy ends – structures, procedures, resources, values and commitments – the "real world". From Vision to Reality is about central-local relations, and field agency response to a major new central policy initiative.