THE CONTRIBUTION OF POST-ACCESSION POLISH MIGRANTS TO ADULT SOCIAL CARE SERVICES

In an increasingly globalised world, for many people who are using the UK adult social care services, interaction with post accession migrants as paid carers now represents an everyday encounter. This paper explores the contribution being made by post accession Polish migrants. It focuses on the role that these workers are playing in services for adults with learning disabilities in the UK. People with learning disabilities represent a service user group that continues to grow both numerically and in terms of complexity of need. Service users who rely on adult social care represent some of the most vulnerable and dependent members of society, whose needs are now largely met in community based services. This model of service delivery stands in sharp contrast to services for people with learning disabilities in Poland, where even though there is a growing shift and political commitment towards community care, most provision remains mainly orientated towards institutional care. Drawing on feminist scholarship it attempts to understand what can be learnt about care through migration discourse. The focus on social care provides opportunities for both analytical and comparative social policy analysis, while also considering the needs of adults with learning disabilities. In particular it focuses on how post accession migrants employed as care workers are key elements in the global reconfiguration of welfare systems and familial relationships. It briefly considers how the experiences and knowledge being gained by these women working in the UK could potentially impact on Polish services for people with learning disabilities