December 2008 - Fighting Monsters

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Looking Forward

So after possibly a little too much reflection, today I’ll just going to look at what I think will be some of the my main themes for the next year, both personal and professional. In April, the next parts of the next Mental Health legislation roll...

Published 31 Dec 2008 5:55 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, ASW, basw, Best Interests Assessments, British Association of Social Workers, mental health, old age, older people, personal, social care, social issues, social work, Trade union, work
Looking Back - A Professional View

There are a few general themes that have preoccupied me over the last year. Probably most significantly, has been the change in the Mental Health Act. Although there aren’t actually many of the substantial changes that were initially planned, there...

Published 30 Dec 2008 6:37 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, ASW, change, elderly, long-term care, MCA, mental capacity act, mental health, mental health act, old age, older people, personal, residential care, responsible clinician, social care, social issues, social work, Southern Cross Healthcare Group, work
Looking Back - A Personal View of the Year

I thought I’d put together a few thoughts at the end of ‘My First Year’ of this blog and the ideas that have encompassed the last year for me.Today’s post is a more personal one about the technicalities of the blog - tomorrow I...

Published 29 Dec 2008 6:56 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: a year of blogging, blog, me, personal, retrospective, social work, work
Seasons Greetings

I hope all who stumble by these ways have spent or are spending a peaceful and pleasant festive period. As for me, I’ve having a most welcome rest (at least till Monday when I am back to work!). I expect to take a few days off from posting but will...

Published 25 Dec 2008 7:18 PM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Christmas, personal, seasonal greetings
Seasons Greetings

I hope all who stumble by these ways have spent or are spending a peaceful and pleasant festive period. As for me, I’ve having a most welcome rest (at least till Monday when I am back to work!). I expect to take a few days off from posting but will...

Published 25 Dec 2008 7:18 PM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Christmas, personal, seasonal greetings
Healthy Eating (and drinking)

Good news for Christmas eve. According to The Telegraph, eating chocolate and drinking wine and tea improve your memory. Researchers discovered that wine has the most pronounced effect in boosting people’s memory, followed by chocolate and tea....

Published 24 Dec 2008 6:19 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work
The Art of Subtlety

I was at a ward round last week. I don’t go every week but sometimes when I have some information that needs to be disseminated or gathered, I will and as often as not, I may sit in on discussions relating to patients that I do not know personally...

Published 23 Dec 2008 5:42 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: elderly, mental health, old age, social work, work
Alone for Christmas

I’m working this week. I usually do over the Christmas period. I am Jewish and I don’t have a young family (unless I count myself as young- which of course I do!) so am more than happy to concede to others for whom the time of the year is...

Published 22 Dec 2008 6:33 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: alone, alone for christmas, Christmas, elderly, family, Holidays, Holidays and Special Days, loneliness, old age, older people, personal, social work, work, working at christmas
Southern Cross and Hillingdon

Southern Cross is one of the largest, if not the largest provider of private residential and nursing care in the UK. They had one or two financial hiccoughs earlier in the year. There have been a few stumbles along the way, but they have now appointed...

Published 19 Dec 2008 6:32 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: England, Home Care, Jamie Buchan, london, London Borough of Hillingdon, Southern Cross, Southern Cross Healthcare Group, United Kingdom, work
Christmas Cheer

I have been in my new team for over a month now. I moved from a small office with two others (one of whom was part-time and not often around), into a large open plan office with 7 others. Positive thing is that there’s usually someone around to...

Published 18 Dec 2008 7:58 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Christmas, Holidays, office, personal, work
Gift ideas for Social Workers

Last week, Community Care printed an article which provided some gift ideas for the Social Worker in your Life. A good article with some interesting ideas. But I thought I’d add one or two ideas of my own - of course, it might be too late for Christmas...

Published 17 Dec 2008 5:26 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Burger King, burger king perfume, Christmas, christmas present ideas, community care, health, personal, social work, social worker presents, United Kingdom, work
Making the call

The most difficult decisions that I am faced with, and it hasn’t happened frequently, is when I am carrying out a Mental Health Act Assessment and have two signed medical recommendations in my hand and have to make a decision whether to admit or...

Published 16 Dec 2008 7:14 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, ASW, care planning, decision-making, dementia, elderly, health, Home Care, hospital, long-term care, mental health act 1983, mental health, old age, older people, social care, social work, uk, work
Right to Life and Suicide

Last week there was a case that was heard in the House of Lords. It involved a woman, Mrs Savage, who had been a patient at Runwell Hospital, in Essex and had been allowed to leave the hospital. She had subsequently acted to actively bring about her own...

Published 15 Dec 2008 6:02 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Appeal Court, European Convention of Human Rights, health, House of Lords, human rights, Law, legal responsibilities of nhs, mental health, suicide, suicide prevention, work
What is needed?

Ray Jones, Professor of Social Work at Kingston University, has written a piece in the Guardian’s Joe Public blog analysing what he feels is needed within Social Work. He is far more knowledgeable and eloquent than I and I have to say, I found myself...

Published 14 Dec 2008 5:28 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: baby p, demonstration, Guardian, Haringey, london, Ray Jones, social policy, social work, uk, work
Root and Branch

The BBC ran a story yesterday about the new government ‘task force’ which is going to look at the ‘root and branch’ changes that need to take place in Social Work. All this has, of course, only become evident over the past month...

Published 12 Dec 2008 6:29 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: adult social work, basw, British Association of Social Workers, General Social Care Council, gscc., mental health social work, root and branch change, social care, social issues, social work, socialcare, uk social work, work
Say it with a Song

It’s a scenario I see a lot. So much that even an explanation of the set-up will in no ways identify the individuals. Mr and Mrs L. He developed a severe and debilitating depression very soon after he retired. She quit her job to look after him...

Published 10 Dec 2008 6:07 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: caregiver, carer, carers, Country music, depression, elderly, health, mental health, Music, old age, older people, social work, work
A Journey into Fostering

This is something I haven’t mentioned previously but for the past 18 months or so, my partner and I have been moving through the process of becoming foster carers. We aren’t quite at the end - that will come in a month or so when we meet the...

Published 9 Dec 2008 6:55 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: children, children and families, Foster care, foster child, fostering, fostering panel, local government, london, personal, social care, social services, social work, social worker, work
Monday Morning Ponderings

Last week, for the first time for a few months: I seriously thought about looking for another job I seriously thought about moving away from London I think it might be a bit of Seasonal Affective Disorder and general malaise. Work isn’t actually...

Published 8 Dec 2008 3:14 PM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: health, london, mental health, personal, Seasonal Affective, Seasonal Affective Disorder, social work, work
Reviewing Social Work

This morning, Ed Balls, the Secretary of State for Children has announced review of Social Work. Seeing his job description, I wonder how much effect this will have on the generic nature of Social Work training. Some of the headline changes ‘demanded’...

Published 7 Dec 2008 7:50 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Ed Balls, health, local authority, mental health act 1983, reforming social work, Sharon Shoesmith, social care, social issues, social services, social work, social worker, socialcare, uk, uk social work, what is social work, work
Looking for places

In one of those strange group-think type situations, just after writing about the shortage of residential and nursing places in my own borough, the Telegraph print an article today with a bit more substance to follow through on the same topic. According...

Published 5 Dec 2008 5:44 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: alzheimers, conservative party, dementia, elderly, health, long-term care, mental health, Neil Hunt, old age, older people, residential care, social care, social work, uk, work
Patching up

While not being extremely well experienced in making applications for people to be detained in psychiatric units, I’m certainly building up a fair amount of experience quickly. This week was the shortest assessment that I have been involved with...

Published 4 Dec 2008 6:38 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, dementia, elderly, family, health, housing, local authority, long-term care, mental health, mental health act, nursing home, old age, older people, section 2 mha, sectioning, social care, social work, work
The Witness

I was on a routine visit yesterday. Mr R suffers from depression. He’s getting a lot better now and has had a significant amount of support from our psychologists. When I visit though, it’s as much to support his wife as him. She has gone...

Published 3 Dec 2008 6:50 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: carers, depression, elderly, health, local authority, social issues, statement, witness, work
Inspections

Much has been written in the press and heard on the news over the past day about the inspection report that Haringey received from Ofsted (Office for Standards in Education, Childrens Services and Skills) that deemed that a ‘good’ service...

Published 2 Dec 2008 6:07 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: care commission, csci, Haringey, inspections, local authority, local government, Office for Standards in Education Children's Services, Ofsted, Sharon Shoesmith, social services inspections, social work, uk social services, work
Respect and Protect

Today is World AIDS Day. The Theme this year, the 20th Anniversary of the occasion, is Respect and Protect. I thought it would be useful then, to break down the topic of AIDS awareness and attitudes into these two areas. Sully Pixel at Flickr Respect...

Published 1 Dec 2008 7:07 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AIDS, health, HIV, HIV / AIDS, HIV positive people, Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS, social issues, social work, UNAIDS, work, World AIDS Day, world aids day 2008

December 2008 - Fighting Monsters

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives

Looking Forward

Looking Back - A Professional View

Looking Back - A Personal View of the Year

Seasons Greetings

Seasons Greetings

Healthy Eating (and drinking)

The Art of Subtlety

Alone for Christmas

Southern Cross and Hillingdon

Christmas Cheer

Gift ideas for Social Workers

Making the call

Right to Life and Suicide

What is needed?

Root and Branch

Say it with a Song

A Journey into Fostering

Monday Morning Ponderings

Reviewing Social Work

Looking for places

Patching up

The Witness

Inspections

Respect and Protect