An introduction to community care

Publisher Summary This chapter focuses on the concept of community care. The two main groups of professionals involved in providing community care are health workers and social service workers. There is a difference between care “in” the community and care “by” the community. Care “in” the community includes care in locally based institutions and domiciliary care provided by a range of paid staff. Care “by” the community refers to the care provided by family, friends, and local voluntary bodies. The target of community care has changed over time. The Seebohm Report, 1968, saw community care as a re-integrative process for those who had become isolated or disaffected. It now tends to be defined as a policy that seeks to provide supportive services from a range of sources to provide the user with a situation as close to normal everyday life as possible. The care provided to achieve this goal consists of a mix of physical caring, and psychological and environmental support.