What is the Difference Between Care and Welfare?

In the UK’s health and social care system, care and welfare are intrinsically linked and often get confused. These two aspects of the social care system overlap, with the general meaning of care being to provide support and assistance to those who need it, and with welfare meaning a person’s wellbeing and quality of life.  

However, the difference between care and welfare in the social care sector and commissioning focus is significant and needs to be defined for best practice. 

What is Care? 

Social care defines the care and support that is provided to an individual to meet their physical and emotional needs. Care is given directly to an individual in a medical, residential, or specialist setting for children, young people, or vulnerable adults who need additional support.  

Having the right care in place can enable someone to live their life in the most fulfilling way that is possible for them. Most care is provided to individuals in England by local authorities; however, this does depend on the income.  

In the sense of social care, care is the services provided.  

What is Welfare? 

While care is the services provided to the individual, welfare encompasses the systems and policies in place, as well as any legally relevant information.  

For example, welfare concerns the feelings and wishes of the individual at hand, as well as the scope of their needs. Welfare is also concerned with the impact changes will have upon the individual, any harm they may have experienced or are at risk of experiencing. Welfare can also include age, sex, background, and the capabilities of those caring for them.  

It should also be noted that welfare also concerns the powers available to courts through the Care Act, or in the case of children, the Children Act 1989.  

Therefore, in the sense of social care, welfare is in reference to the overall health of the vulnerable individual, their surroundings and situation and the policies in place for their benefit. 

The Care Act  

The Care Act 2014, brought into play new rights for carers of those being cared for, and the ‘wellbeing principle’ was also introduced, underpinning any local authority decisions requiring them to promote wellbeing in decisions about a person’s care. Finally, it also introduced the national criteria for eligibility, which replaced a previous system where eligibility for care was defined from council to council. Under the national criteria, should a person has a care assessment and their needs meet the criteria underpinned in the Care Act, their needs will be met regardless of where they live. 

Wellbeing in Health and Social Care 

Wellbeing is simply being happy, healthy and comfortable. In social care, this broadens to the overall state of a person’s physical, mental, emotional and social health. However, welfare and wellbeing in social care don’t just apply to the people being cared for, but also to the carers. Poor mental health among care workers has been increasing over the previous years and has accounted for 30% of staff sickness absence in council-based social care support staff, as was recorded in 2022-2023. 

For carers, wellbeing is important as it improves the workforce, the quality of care and prevents burnout. For those who are being cared for, wellbeing is important for meeting goals and reducing the risk of more extreme needs developing or health declines. 

What Can We Do To Improve Care and Welfare? 

Wellbeing, welfare and care are all critical across health and social care, from children to the elderly and those who provide their care. It is important not to lose sight of the way our health and social care systems are interconnected with other areas of our lives, including social and community landscapes.  

Being able to understand the true cost of care and get transparency about how care works on the ground is critical for local authorities. That is why CareCubed was developed, to help add transparency and comprehension to the picture of sustainable social care. Being able to benchmark the cost of care and understand exactly what the person being cared for is receiving is critical to ensure welfare is upheld with quality care.  

If you want to find out how CareCubed can help you, contact CareCubed to request a demo.

 Interested to know more about care systems? Read our recent article on what makes up an Integrated Care System.