Ethical dilemmas in charging for care: contrasting the views of social work and legal professionals

This article draws on the findings of a recent study funded by the Nuffield Foundation. The study explored attitudes, practices and policy in relation to charging and assessing older people who were considering entering residential and nursing home care. In five differing local authorities, a sample of social services practitioners (care managers) completed a postal questionnaire and interviews were held at a number of levels with staff. At the same time, independent legal practitioners in these areas, who are involved in advising older people, were surveyed and a small number of individual practitioners were interviewed. The focus of this article is on contrasting the attitudes and views of care managers and legal practitioners towards their work in relation to older people, finances and charging for long-term care. In particular, there will be an emphasis on the ethical dilemmas identified by the respondents from the different professions involved in the study.