Abstract: | Summary The article describes the full evaluation of the Community CareScheme for the elderly in Kent. The evaluation compared therelative cost-effectiveness of the scheme for clients and carerswith the range of services which would otherwise have been received.It is argued that effective case-management by a key workeris an essential feature of more effective home care for thevery frail elderly and that the case-management role is an appropriatemodel of social work for other long term care groups. The newscheme appeared particularly appropriate for the extremely mentallyand physically frail who were living with others and for theless frail, socially isolated elderly person prone to minorpsychiatric disorder. |