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Government attempts to reassure approved social workers that they will still be needed once measures in the Mental Health Bill come into force are failing, writes Sally Gillen.

Fears among ASWs that they will be defunct once the role of the mental health practitioner is established persist and they are leaving in droves to enter other careers.

A delegate at the mental health plenary session said that ASWs were drifting away because of the uncertainty over their future, indicating a failure by the government to persuade them to take on the mental health practitioner role.

Head of mental health legislation at the Department of Health Adrian Sieff said: “Social care remains at the heart of that role and will remain the responsibility of local authorities to provide mental health practitioners.”

He added: “The government’s view is that social work is absolutely core to this. It is key to moving forward with mental health practitioners. But we do want to open up the role to others too.”

Concerns over the dilution of the social worker input in mental health services surfaced when the controversial Mental Health Bill was published in 2002. 

The long-awaited revised bill may now be delayed until after the general election. Earlier, chief executive of mental health charity Rethink, Cliff Prior said the bill should be renamed the “mental failure bill”. 

He reiterated fears that mental health was in danger of falling off the government agenda. 

“There is a big danger the government thinks because of the National Service Framework we have done that. But it has not been done and we must raise its profile.”