May 2010 Archives

Oh dear - our friends at The Sun are at it again. The tabloid's report of the General Social Care Council conduct hearings for the Peter Connelly case in the 27 May edition is not only biased but inaccurate. They even managed to get the GSCC's name completely wrong.

Continuing the theme of our Stand Up Now for Social Work campaign, Community Care has written this open letter to The Sun's editor, Dominic Mohan.

I would urge as many Community Care readers as possible to write into The Sun to complain, and if you're not satisfied with the response, contact the Press Complaints Commission.

Social workers in adult services are being asked to take blood and urine samples by NHS employers, according to a senior local authority director.

Jo Cleary, director of adult services at Lambeth Council in London, made the revelation before an audience at Community Care Live in London.

"I heard the other day that social workers have been asked to train in taking blood and urine samples," she said. "Is that the most important use of social workers' time or is it about multi-agency working?"

Social workers in adult services are being asked to take blood and urine samples by NHS employers, according to a senior local authority director.

Jo Cleary, director of adult services at Lambeth Council in London, made the revelation before an audience at Community Care Live in London.

"I heard the other day that social workers have been asked to train in taking blood and urine samples," she said. "Is that the most important use of social workers' time or is it about multi-agency working?"

The development group for the National College of Social Work moved closer to appointing an interim chair after the deadline for applications closed this week.

Although details of the recruitment process remain a closely guarded secret, Community Care can reveal the following:

A student asks in The Independent today: I will be finishing a BA in public service management in December, and would like to go into social work, but I have been told a Masters degree is the only way. Is this right? Or does my (relevant) degree give me a shortcut?

It's a good question, but I found the advice slightly misleading.

Disabled people's minister Jonathan Shaw has lost his Parliamentary seat in Chatham and Aylesford in the 2010 general election.

The former social worker was beaten by Conservative candidate Tracey Crouch, who is a daughter of a social worker and insurance broker.

Shaw told the Medway Messenger he was proud of his contribution to the local community after 13 years' service, particularly in improvements to the NHS, public buildings and higher education.

He joins other Labour ministers Angela Smith, Bill Rammell and Vera Baird to find themselves out of jobs after a poor show for the party in the election.