The complex spaces of co‐production, volunteering, ageing and care

Abstract

Funding informationEuropean Social Fund.The care of older people is being radically reformulated by placing the individual at the centre of care process through the introduction of individual care plans. This marks a significant transition for the care of older people away from acute responsive clinical care towards a greater emphasis on co-produced preventative health and social care and relations of care "with" older people. Geographies of volunteerism are yet to consider the effect of co-production as a dominant rhetoric in UK health and social care. In this paper we show that the Health and Social Care Act (2012) and the Care Act (2014) has the potential to fundamentally alter discourses of care by introducing new spatialities to older people's care. New spatialities of care will not only rely on the reciprocity and interdependence of care between individuals and organisations but also the mobilisation of a voluntary care-force to be attentive to individuals. Spatialising co-production reveals the institutional and professional boundaries that prevent the type of open partnership that sits at the heart of the rhetoric. Our ethnographic and qualitative methodology was developed to understand how our case study of Living Well (Cornwall, UK), as a philosophy of care, is realised in practice and to consider the main collaborators' views of different methods of co-production involving volunteers. We discuss two principal spaces of co-production, highlighting the opportunities provided for, and barriers to, co-production expressed by volunteers and other partners by attending to the relations of care that are recognised through: (1) formal meetings and coffee mornings, which provide spaces for volunteers to contribute, and (2) multi-disciplinary team (MDT) meetings, in which volunteers are largely absent.

Key challenges and best practices in the coordination of volunteers in healthcare services: A qualitative systematic review

“…The Rules and regulations designed to protect the confidentiality of vulnerable patient groups, employees and volunteers are one manifestation of such bureaucracy. Although necessary, they pose challenges for both employees and volunteers, who must possess the same understanding and, in some cases, the same knowledge (Leyshon et al, 2019). Furthermore, different perceptions exist about which tasks volunteers can perform in the healthcare sector because many tasks must be completed by professionals.…”

Being a volunteer encountering older people’s loneliness and existential loneliness: alleviating loneliness for others and oneself

“…Being sensitive to the older person's vulnerability, using one's imagination and empathy, could be the key to getting closer to the older person (22). Also, providing volunteers with a space in which to act, where their own life experiences are acknowledged as a strength, and making volunteers part of the team seem essential (40). S€ oderhamn et al (38) further stressed the importance of volunteers having a clear and defined role, not only for themselves but also for healthcare staff.…”

Geographies of co‐production: Learning from inclusive research approaches at the margins

“…In a departure from co-production as participatory research, which is the focus of much of the special section, Leyshon et al (2019) examine how "co-production" has been co-opted as a new mechanism for delivering care to older people, which seems to provide individual responsibility and limited power. In a departure from co-production as participatory research, which is the focus of much of the special section, Leyshon et al (2019) examine how "co-production" has been co-opted as a new mechanism for delivering care to older people, which seems to provide individual responsibility and limited power.…”

“…The multiple and sometimes competing ways that the concept of co-production has been deployed is evidenced in this special section. In a departure from co-production as participatory research, which is the focus of much of the special section, Leyshon et al (2019) examine how "co-production" has been co-opted as a new mechanism for delivering care to older people, which seems to provide individual responsibility and limited power. Within the context of broader shifts towards neoliberalism, which have become entrenched within the post-financial crisis era, care working is increasingly privatised within the family and carers, and recipients of care are expected to be co-producers in care packages (Local Government Association, 2018).…”