Social Worker Sharing

Self-neglect is something we are coming across more often than I have ever experienced before. It is something I feel like people are more aware of and more concerned about. We receive safeguarding reports about it but it can be very difficult to establish why someone is self neglecting or even get them to see that is what is happening. Statistics show us that self neglect prevalence rates of 116-121 per every 100,000 of the population although it is likely that in reality it is much higher than that as it is under reported. This sounds like a low number when you look at it generally but it is definitely on the rise and there does not seem to be consistency across the board about the approach to be used or whether it should be reported as safeguarding or not. This has meant that there is an unfortunate amount of people who are being discussed in Safeguarding Adult Reviews (SARs) because referrals were not made to relevant authorities meaning that no support was provided and they e...

I knew I wanted to write about poverty for this blog and had already started writing it when someone mentioned to me on a training course about being anti racist that one of the chapters in the anti-racist social worker in practice book is about the link between racism and poverty. I did not want to write about poverty without thinking about the connection or different experiences people can have due to other factors and how the same as other characteristics about people can link via Intersectionality poverty is something that will be experienced differently based on characteristics such as race. Within that chapter it talks about the changes to tax benefits from a survey completed in 2023 by We Are Citizens Advice which shows how different families are impacted money wise. I was extremely surprised that black families are impacted by over triple the amount of white families and Asian families almost double the amount of white families. I understand that we are in a cost of livin...

Risk is a big topic in Social Work. This is more at the front of my mind this week because I attended a training course where we were discussing it. I think the initial thought process to consider is what a risk is or what does that mean to different people. Is this another term that means more to professionals than the people we support. The thing that I find really interesting is that we are so concerned about the risks that the people we support take on a daily basis when they may not even see it as a risk. As not just practitioners but people we take many risks every single day that we do not even think about. Even on a basic level we do tasks such as crossing a road without even considering that it is a risk. I think about it a bit more because I have a young child so I am usually explaining to her why we have to be careful and why it could be unsafe. It may be a consideration that is taken into account when supporting people with learning disabilities or someone who has diff...

I was recently reading a couple of blogs from Rewriting Social Care and found that it got me thinking about the use of language and whether this has improved over time. One word that is used often when referring to people who require support is the world vulnerable. What does that even mean? There are a lot of different ways of thinking about this word. Does it mean at risk, does it mean open emotionally, does it mean uneducated or lacking in skills. I don't know about you but I have definitely felt vulnerable in my life but I do not require Social Care support. The two things are not mutually exclusive but they seem to be intrinsically linked. I have felt vulnerable physically when having my daughter because you are in effect in a room full of strangers, not wearing very much, in pain and for me experiencing something I had never done before. Not only was I open emotionally, I was at risk physically and I did not really know what I was doing. I have felt emotionally vulnerab...

We wear a lot of different hats as a Social Worker. The one I have been seeing a lot recently is advocate. Now that we are an older people's team we seem to be getting a lot more referrals coming from people who either have no family or due to the family dynamics they are not the best people to support them. It is trickier to support people who come through with a Dementia diagnosis or similar when there is no family involved because usually we would speak to the family to gain the required information about how they are managing or what has changed recently. This is not an option in situations where they don't have anyone because when they live alone or do not have people who are close to them it does not give the opportunity to gain that salient information. We can see records and notes on the systems but it does not give us insight into how they are managing day to day, we do not know how their finances are managed or if there bills are being paid. We end up doing a l...

Paperwork and record taking is definitely up there as one of the worst parts of the job. I think this comes from the fact that a lot of us get into this type of work to support people, help and be there for them. Record taking and paperwork don't make us feel like that is what we are doing. It can feel a lot of the time like it is a task to complete so we can get back to the “real” work. Don't get me wrong some days I definitely feel this way too but more recently I have thought more about it both following training courses but also just generally in my day to day work. The notes that we take serve a purpose. They let people know what is currently happening on the case. They record who has taken responsibility for particular tasks. It notes down the outcome of a meeting or assessment. It also covers our backs if something happens down the line. Good note taking makes sure that we can evidence exactly what was said or done in case it is needed. One thing that was said to ...

Values and Ethics are vital in Social Work practice and something that you not only complete modules about when studying but they also run through your practice every day. I know that there are a lot of situations where people's personal lives change dramatically through completing their Social Work degree and a lot of this comes down to values. The easiest way I can describe what completing your Social Work degree does is breaks you down and then builds you up piece by piece. It brings your values to the forefront of your mind and you reflect A LOT on how this looks to you. It also impacts your relationships because you find yourself noticing where your values do not line up. You find yourself speaking up more and people who know you best don't necessarily know how to take it. You would presume that the majority of people who come into Social Work hold similar beliefs on the major issues. Which on the whole in my experience they do, however there are so many other situat...

I am ready to be back in my own team now which tells me that the role I have chosen is definitely the one for me. I went on a duty visit this week with a colleague and it reminded me why I love what I do. I am hoping I will be back in my team soon enough that I can take it on. The family member present at the visit when we explained we were on duty that day not allocated to it asked whether someone else in our team who was allocated it would be as good as us. They would as I work in a good team but it is always nice to know that someone feels you are doing things well. I feel like I am back in my stride now which is crazy to say when I have been back from maternity leave 7 months and I am only just feeling this way but that is how it feels. Everything has been different since I came back between going part time, having to continue with my studies before I finished my ASYE and then later on being on secondment from my own team to the other project I have been working on. I have tho...

  What does well-being mean to you? I was in some Care Act training this morning run by The Mental Capacity Cat and was reminded about the first principle of the Care Act. It is the well-being principle. We talk about well-being a lot in Social Work but it is really hard to define because it means different things to different people. It is made up of so many parts of somebodies life and experiences. What one person feels is important to their well-being might not be something that other people even do. For example working out may be a major factor for one person but other people do not do it at all because it isn't for them. It is not as simple as self care it also includes engaging with the local community and activities. This is what can become difficult in our assessments because what we see as important is not what other people need. The way that somebody lives may be their choice and would not work for us but it does for them. It is where you cannot let your own viewpo...

  Age does not automatically equal inability or mean that someone doesn't know what they are doing/thinking.  A specific diagnosis does not cause a blanket inability. Someone can have a dementia diagnosis and still be able to make their own decisions and choices. They can still know where they want to live or what they do and do not want with their care.  I have a lot of conversations with family members telling me what the person needs and sometimes actually what they are telling me is what they need to make it easier. For their worry to decrease. I understand this from their perspective but also I am there to do the best thing for the person. I am there to advocate on their behalf. If they don't want to be in care and I can do something to support this then I will.  We work to a home first model in my area and i got into a conversation with someone at a care home about this. They asked me whether that's the best thing for everyone and my response was tha...

  I went for an opticians appointment this week and whilst they were doing the pre screening a box popped up on the screen to ask my ethnicity and the person immediately closed the box. I volunteered my ethnicity to her and she explained that she feels uncomfortable asking because you never know how someone will react and it got me thinking. Isn't it interesting what people see as difficult questions and what makes one person uncomfortable to ask wouldn't faze the next person. I personally am pretty comfortable asking most things and I am happy to answer questions about myself and parts of my identity that others would feel uncomfortable asking about. As part of our role we have to make sure that the person's record is up to date with all parts of their identity and some of those can be tricky to ask. People don't always feel comfortable asking about gender identity or sexual orientation. Through discussions at workshops I have attended people mainly found this ...

  One of the most frustrating things I have found so far about being a Social Worker is when you can see that someone has been let down and there is nothing you can do about it. I have been allocated a couple of cases recently where it feels like people have been left to slip through the cracks one way or another then by the time we get involved there have been sometimes months of worry and unnecessary stress that could have been alleviated if we had been allowed to be involved sooner. A lot of people who have never had the need for a Social Worker do not understand how the system works which makes sense but when they reach out for support that is what they should get and not feel like they have been fobbed off for one reason or another. The one that frustrates me the most is when they have a good amount of money in the bank which makes them a self-funder. In this instance they can make decisions about what they would like to do or where they would like to be without needing ...

  When you ask people why they became Social Workers the default answer is to help people and actually this is a smaller part of it than you think. It feels like we spend a lot of time managing things. Managing risk and managing care. Also we spend much more time than you would like doing paperwork. The important part of what we do is a small part of it. There are small shafts of light in the darkness which make our job worthwhile and when these become few and far between that is when people struggle with burnout. A bit like in your own life when you feel that there is no light at the end of the tunnel. I have had two conversations this week that are those shafts of light. Actions that can seem like a small thing that have made a huge impact on someone's life. They are why I do what I do. One was a new case, family are concerned and have been waiting weeks for someone to be allocated. All I did today was call, introduce myself and arrange to go meet up them but you would ha...

 After my recent return to work I have been catching up with everything. I went through the over 3000 emails I came back to and sorted all my IT issues. I am now back on the system and have cases allocated to me. This has meant that I feel more like I am back at work. One of the things I have had to do is update some documentation from cases I worked on before I went on maternity leave. I didn't expect this to have an impact on me but when I went to look at them and realised that of the four I need to update, two of them had passed away. This reminded me of the trickier side of our job, one of the people was someone I worked with for a long time and the first time I met them they were still at home with a package of care. I saw them go through all the stages that lead to the end of their life but was not there at the very end. It hit me hard when I saw this and found myself trying not to cry. I am quite an emotional person so me crying isn't a big shock but it just really ...

  We work with people in a lot of different situations and although we may have previous experience of working with people with the same diagnosis or similar difficulties this does not mean that we know the best way to approach the situation. I was linked to a very useful website this week via some training I attended about tips from people living with Dementia. It is a website full of ideas about different aspects of life and how to use small fairly inexpensive fixes to make day to day life easier for someone with Dementia. I found this really helpful because although I have worked with people with this diagnosis the people who experience this as part of their daily life have much more knowledge than I do about what works. Working in a community team we look at what is available in the community first before looking into other options and then paid for services. Some of the simple tips that are offered could save a lot of money but also could allow someone to remain in their...

  Something that nobody mentioned to me when I was studying was that the connections you make are so helpful. Speaking with people working in other teams let you know not only what that team does but also who would be suitable to use their service. Building links with different agencies allows knowledge to be built around where you can signpost people to if your service is not appropriate for them. I started making connections when I was still studying and was on placement. I would attend conferences and go introduce myself to the people who had been speaking. This not only allowed me to get their contact details which would allow me to contact them to ask questions or organise something it also meant that they knew who I was. I did not know if this had any impact until I was in an online session more recently. One of the people I had gone and introduced myself to at one of these types of events said that she remembered meeting me because I was one of the only people to com...

  When working in Social Work we don’t do it for the positive comments because if we did, we would be sorely disappointed. There is a lot of assumptions made about Social Workers and what we do. I have found that when I say that I am a Social Worker people automatically assume that I work with children. The media show that Social Workers remove children, and some people genuinely believe that they are paid for doing so. Like they get some kind of bonus based on it. That is probably the furthest thing from Social Work values that could happen. Social Work values focus on social justice and improved outcomes. Social Workers don’t want to remove children from their families but if it is the best thing for them and the only option at that moment then that is what they are going to do because the child in that instance is the focus and at the centre not the parents. I see similar experiences when working with adults where family members believe that someone should be in care but...

  Social work is a balancing act. Not in a literal sense but definitely in a metaphorical plate spinning way. We balance our case load, our diary, training, self-improvement, meetings, and the needs of people. When we are working with someone we are also working with the family, carer, or care provider. This can make situations trickier because what the family think a person need does not always match up with what the person wants. It can be incredibly frustrating and that can be directed at us a lot of the time. Usually this is nothing personal they are just frustrated with a difficult process that they don’t necessarily always understand, and you are the face that they put on that. You are the person representing that agency therefore it becomes your fault. Even when it’s not. I have had many conversations about whether someone has capacity. This is usually one person saying they do and someone else saying they don’t. I always explain that it is not a blanket statement,...

  I had prepared a topic I was going to talk about this week and then something that happened this week changed my mind. The team I work in the cases I work on are generally on my case loads for a few months and then closed. There will always be outliers to that which are there a little longer but that has been my experience so far. I have one person I have been working with for approximately 5 months and I went to visit them this week. This is the fourth time I have seen them due to hospitalisations and periods of time where we were seeing how everything was working before reviewing the situation. The difficultly is that in that time this person is not the same anymore. When I first got involved, we were organising a move from their own home with a care package to an extra care scheme because they needed just a bit more than could be managed at home. They are now in a nursing home being nursed in bed and requiring 24-hour support. I work in a team where we support a lot ...

  There are many things to take into consideration when working with people and it can be easy sometimes to forget small details. As I have mentioned previously intersectionality is an important concept to keep in mind. Intersectionality discusses where the different parts of a person’s identity meet. The difference between one person’s experience and another even though they have something in common they don’t have everything in common, so they experience situations differently. When first being allocated a new case, I always have a read about the person and find out any background information that we have. I do this for two reasons, one to make sure I have a starting point and do not make people repeat the same information to me as they have already given. Also, because it makes me aware of any issues with communication such as a language barrier or sensory impairments. This can also include cognitive impairments such as if someone has a dementia diagnosis, they may struggle ...