Moral dilemmas and the management of private residential homes: the impactof care in the community reforms in the UK

Private residential care homes in the United Kingdom have undergone a varie ty of management changes in recent years, many resulting from the impacts o f national policy changes. During the 1980s, the private residential sector for older persons enjoyed substantial financial support for the care of re sidents. However, since the 1990 National Health Service and Care in the Co mmunity Act was implemented in 1993, homes have had to compete with each ot her in a market, for a finite number of clients funded by limited local bud gets held by local authority purchasers. Based on a three-stage quasi-longi tudinal survey of over 100 residential care homes in one county, this paper considers changes in the overall size and structure of a local sector and discusses the specific management strategies that have been adopted by prop rietors. The withdrawal of guaranteed state support has impacted heavily on residential home businesses. Indeed, many homes have multiple vacancies an d have been facing financial hardships. The paper concludes with a discussi on of the ethical and moral issues associated with certain management decis ions and their possible effects on residents.