The case of Steven Hoskin, a disabled man with learning disabilities murdered last year by people he believed to be his friends, is first of all a tragedy and second a particularly grim reminder of the dangers facing social care itself.
It raises important questions about ever-tightening eligibility criteria and what it means for service users to have “choice”. Social care support was gradually withdrawn from Steven as he began to live independently, partly because of low resources.
Although Steven “chose” to end contact with social services, it was never established why. If ever there was a need for more generous eligibility criteria and a more informed view of choice, this was it.
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Mark Ivory
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