Abstract
The focus of this comparative research is on the interface between older people and the care staff employed to meet their needs. The aim was to establish how the policies and provision of 'hands on' care in English and German care homes impacts on the quality of life experienced by the older people who live there. A multi-methodology was used to collect data in four care homes in Southeast England and four care homes in Northern Germany. Structured interview data was collected from eight care home managers to establish a profile of the care home residents and the staff employed to provide their care. Self-completion questionnaires were distributed to all care staff in the sample homes to establish a profile of how the respondents formally and informally developed and gained skills to work in a care home. To gain an understanding of every day care home work, semi-structured interviews incorporating care related vignettes were conducted with an average of three members of qualified staff and three care assistants in each of the eight sample homes. At the end of the interview detailed lifecourse data was collected from the interviewees. The data from the home managers confirmed that the bodywork tasks undertaken in the English and German care homes were comparable. The interview data with care staff established the essence of care and provide a basis from which to investigate how and where in their lifecourse care staff develop the invisible, intangible and immeasurable skills that are essential in the care of older people living in a care home. Having gained an understanding of the interface between care staff and older people in a care home and the role of communication and time budgeting, the findings are related to the government policies that impact on institutional care in England and Germany.