* What are the issues underpinning the trend towards innovation in the community care of older people?

* What is the nature of that innovation: how is it experienced by older people and their carers?

Changing Services for Older People sets out to address these pressing questions. It presents the findings of a major research project evaluating the outcomes of the Neighbourhood Support Units innovation in Sheffield. Key issues raised include the goal to create more flexible 'tailor made' services and the promotion of user- and carer-responsive forms of provision, shifts which are occurring in many other European countries. The aims of the book are two-fold. First, it reports on the outcomes of the initiative for older people and their carers placing these findings in the context of current debates about community care. Second, it discusses the process of innovation in the social services, drawing on evidence gathered from policy-makers, managers and front-line workers to illustrate both the barriers to change and the ways in which successful innovation can be accomplished.

Changing Services for Older People will be invaluable to personnel in the health and social services who are considering new initiatives in service provision. It will also be a useful text for anyone wishing to gain an insight into the operation of social care services, and the experiences of older people who use those services as well as their carers.