October 2008 - Fighting Monsters

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The Eve of All Hallow’s Day

31st October. In my day, it was different. Now I really do feel old - but more of that later! We didn’t do much at home. It is a pagan festival and was considered somewhat sacriligious and although I didn’t grow up in a particularly religious...

Published 31 Oct 2008 5:13 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: uk, personal, Halloween, Guy Fawkes Night, Holidays, Mischief night, bonfire night, all hallow's day, Trick or Treat, mizzy night
Moving Day

Today is moving day. Although I have barely started the handover of case work, the actual physical move from one office to another is starting today. As I was in the somewhat more fortunate position than others of moving into an empty desk and not having...

Published 30 Oct 2008 4:53 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, work, mental health, local authority, health, mental health act 1983, moving, office
Assessment for Guardianship

I mentioned a Guardianship application I had in the works a few weeks ago. Nothing happens quickly around here at the moment with changes in the teams being imminent and what with trying to co-ordinate attendees, I finally managed the Guardianship application...

Published 28 Oct 2008 6:23 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, work, ASW, mental health, elderly, long-term care, assessment, health, mental health act, mental health act 1983, Mental disorder, Guardianship, social work assessment
Elderspeak

I admit, I had no idea what ‘Elderspeak’ term meant until I read this article in the Telegraph. Apparently it is defined by researchers as overly caring, controlling and infantilising communication - bears many similar traits to “baby...

Published 27 Oct 2008 5:49 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social issues, older people, work, socialcare, discrimination, ageism, old age, elderly, health care, health, Languages, Linguistics, Age Discrimination, Human, eldertalk, respect, babytalk, dignity, New York Times
The Interview

We are in the midst of a reconfigure. The desks are shifting at the end of this week. We are (well, those affected anyway) handing over people we have been working with. In one of those funny twists of fate that I partly attract but for which I can’t...

Published 27 Oct 2008 5:33 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, work, socialcare, mental health, mental health act, mental health act 1983, mental capacity act, change, 2005 Mental Capacity Act, job interview, temp
Five a day

We are advised to eat five portions of fruit and/or vegetables a day to keep healthy. Good sound advice. mjorge at Flickr The Times reports today on a different kind of five-a-day target that relates more specifically to mental health. The advised steps...

Published 25 Oct 2008 7:09 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work, mental health, health, United Kingdom, Mental disorder, howto, advice, positive mental health, Britain, fruit, debt and mental health, good mental health, recession
Leading Horses to Water

I was going to make a post specifically about Mr P but I never got around to it. He is an elderly man with depression. He lives alone in one of the ‘nicer’ ends of the patch that I cover. His flat though, is one of the worse I’ve seen...

Published 24 Oct 2008 6:07 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, older people, work, local authority, old age, elderly, london, uk, housing, depression, house, sheltered housing, Landlord, assured shorthold tenancy, older, Property, regulated tenancy
Finding places

I was on the ward yesterday, chatting to the wife of one of the patients with whom I am currently working. It’s a difficult point for her. Her husband, Mr P, has a fairly advanced dementia. He was admitted to hospital after displaying increasingly...

Published 23 Oct 2008 6:00 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, older people, work, nursing, local authority, old age, elderly, long-term care, health, hospital, psychiatric hospital, family, nursing home, house, Marriage, residential placement
Changes

The Guardian are publishing a supplement on both recent and proposed changes within the social care sector to coincide with the opening of the National Children’s and Adult Services Conference in Liverpool. Not having seen a printed copy of the...

Published 22 Oct 2008 5:56 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, older people, work, carers, local authority, london, long-term care, uk, health, social services, United Kingdom, personalisation, local government, social worker, national children's and adult services conference, individualised budgets, John Evans, carer support, Independent living, informal care, newspaper, the guardian
Training

It’s a fairly busy month in the Mental Health teams with the impeding (3rd November) changes in the Mental Health legislation in England and Wales. Having attended my ASW (Approved Social Worker) to AMHP (Approved Mental Health Professional) conversion...

Published 21 Oct 2008 6:39 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, work, training, mental health, health, approved social worker, mental health act 1983, England, approved mental health professional, mental health act 2007 amendments, care services improvement partnership, uk mental health, csip, England and Wales, mental health legislation
Sick Days

I have been off work sick this year more than any other year in my working life. I am currently up to six days this year. Four of those days were in a block a couple of weeks back. Usually sickness makes me feel guilty. I think of the work piling up....

Published 20 Oct 2008 6:23 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work, mental health, health, depression, stress, stigma, Employment, stigma at work, sick day, Shaw Trust, time off work sick, mental illness, Illness
Voting for a President

If you’re feeling a bit left out on the election stakes, there’s a site called If the world could vote? where you, too, can cast a vote in the US Presidential Elections from outside the US. I heard about the site on the BBC but can’t...

Published 17 Oct 2008 6:41 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social issues, government, BBC, John McCain, Macedonia, vote, Burkina Faso, Republic of Macedonia, world voting, Barack Obama, election
Bolstering Adult Protection

Adult protection legislation and investigations have always had fewer teeth than the equivalent in children’s services. This is something that has niggled me for all the years that I have been responsible for conducting Adult Protection (now called...

Published 16 Oct 2008 6:06 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, older people, work, local authority, old age, government, elderly, uk, social services, adult protection, safeguarding adults, financial abuse, money, Financial Services Authority, Bank, Bank account, cash, changing in adult protection, Financial services, abuse by children
Poverty - Blog Action Day 2008

Today is Blog Action Day when it is hoped that a collective conscience can be turned towards one subject - Poverty. I thought about a brief dabble into the different thoughts it conjures up for me, personally. I could talk about personal experiences because...

Published 15 Oct 2008 6:35 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, old age, benefits, politics, uk, United Kingdom, social exclusion, poverty, personal, joseph rowntree foundation, icd-10, Unicef, oxfam, Save the Children, deprivation, world health organisation, inflation, blog action day
No roads in the City of London

I went to visit a man yesterday, who worked for Royal Mail for most of his working life. He lives in a high-rise in the centre of the city on his own. He had been married many years but his wife died just a couple of years back - about the same time his...

Published 14 Oct 2008 5:56 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, older people, work, london, United Kingdom, Royal Mail, travel, England, Travel and Tourism, no roads in london, Google, roads in london, City of London
Healthcare for Asylum Seekers

I read in The Guardian yesterday that the government is to abolish her plans to tighten regulations that allow asylum seekers to seek free primary care. To be honest, I was horrified when I heard it had been proposed at all. What kind of society are we...

Published 13 Oct 2008 6:55 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, social issues, work, immigration, uk, asylum seeker, health care, health, nhs, National Health Service, England, General practitioner, doctor, British Medical Association, free nhs health care, failed asylum seeker, Refugee, BMA
On Inspection

The Commission for Social Care Inspection have a system of rating residential and nursing homes. I have written about it before. I possibly didn’t state obliquely how cynical I have become of this system even though the cynicism was always there...

Published 11 Oct 2008 5:06 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, older people, work, local authority, elderly, long-term care, uk, health, residential home, csci, nursing home, Commission for Social Care Inspection, England, cmht, inspections by csci, registered residential home, Care of residents, cpn, Inspection
World Mental Health Day

Today is World Mental Health Day with a focus on promoting positive mental health. Wellbeing in the East of England (perhaps not the catchiest of monikers.. ) have produced a series of short films that have been put out on television in.. yes, you guessed...

Published 10 Oct 2008 6:12 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social issues, work, mental health, uk, health, Mental Health Foundation, Battersea Park, World Mental Health Day, Institute of Psychiatry, Mind, positive mental health
Revisiting

I have been in my current team for a couple of years. I worked in the same local authority before that though for about three years. The geographical boundaries of the areas that I work in don’t strictly overlap so I haven’t had it happen...

Published 8 Oct 2008 6:15 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, older people, work, ASW, mental health, old age, elderly, health, hospital, psychiatric hospital, vascular dementia, approved social worker, mental health act 1983, Mental disorder, sectioned
Dangerous Hamsters

Not related to work I know, but I read this story in the Guardian today which warns about dangers that exotic pets pose to children’s health. About 11% of salmonella illnesses in children are thought to stem from contact with lizards, turtles and...

Published 7 Oct 2008 6:39 PM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work, health, pet, dangerous animals, children, health dangers to children, hamsters, Exotic pet
Men Needed

Perhaps it is unsurprising to learn that the majority of people who work in ’social care’ are women. The Joseph Rowntree Foundation published a report last week explaining why it was necessary for the sector to reach out and attract more men...

Published 6 Oct 2008 6:15 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, discrimination, local authority, politics, long-term care, caregivers, men, United Kingdom, care, social exclusion, pay, equality, Labour, Welfare, working conditions, male care workers, joseph rowntree foundation, Joseph Rowntree, Minimum wage
Quick Update

I’m sick. Not just the ’sick enough to be off work’ but the sick so I need to physically lie down and sitting in front of the computer gets to be painful! Nothing serious but just in case the updates are a little less frequent and the...

Published 3 Oct 2008 8:51 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work
A change is as good as a rest

I am moving to a different team shortly. I have mentioned it before but there were no times set in stone - so much needed to be done and organised before we could ‘move ahead’. dominiccampbell at flickr Now the dates are set in stone and there...

Published 2 Oct 2008 6:05 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, work, local authority, nhs, health service, organisations, change, working in organisations
A duty to die

Sarah Wootton wrote a piece in the Guardian, a few days ago, considering Baroness Warnock’s comments in the Church of Scotland’s magazine, Life and Work, in which she stated that dementia suffers may have ‘a duty to die’. Uproar...

Published 1 Oct 2008 5:45 PM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, older people, work, old age, elderly, health, alzheimers, National Health Service, OAP, power of attorney, Lady Warnock, mary warnock, Euthanasia, right to die, sarah wootton, Baroness Warnock

October 2008 - Fighting Monsters

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives

The Eve of All Hallow’s Day

Moving Day

Assessment for Guardianship

Elderspeak

The Interview

Five a day

Leading Horses to Water

Finding places

Changes

Training

Sick Days

Voting for a President

Bolstering Adult Protection

Poverty - Blog Action Day 2008

No roads in the City of London

Healthcare for Asylum Seekers

On Inspection

World Mental Health Day

Revisiting

Dangerous Hamsters

Men Needed

Quick Update

A change is as good as a rest

A duty to die