February 2009 - Fighting Monsters

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Learning from The Mirror..

Earlier this week, I found an article from The Daily Mirror printed an article titled 10 tips for dealing with paranoid psychosis and although I don’t really feel able to comment on the particular tips individually, the fact that a major newspaper...

Published 28 Feb 2009 6:01 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Emotional Health and Wellbeing, erica crompton, health, mental health, Mirror, newspaper, personal, psychosis, uk, United Kingdom
Assessing Best Interests - Part 3

After some days back at work, the taught part of the Best Interests Assessor training resumed yesterday - and almost magically as we were promised, lots and lots of the pieces seem to have fallen into place. Just as a recap, this is a short university...

Published 27 Feb 2009 4:39 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, Best Interests Assessments, Best Interests Assessor, best interests assessor training, deprivation of liberty guidelines, dols, European Convention of Human Rights, health, human rights, local authority, london, MCA, Mental Capacity Act 2005, mental health, social work, uk, United Kingdom, work
8 deaths - 10 days

I’m back to one of my least favourite topics today. Southern Cross Healthcare. And yes, the headline just about says it all. Crown Nursing Home in Harwell, Oxfordshire is a small 16 bedded nursing care home which was run by Trinity Care - bought...

Published 26 Feb 2009 6:21 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: chest infections in residential care, Death, elderly, health, Home Care, housing, local authority, long-term care, NHS primary care trust, nursing home, nursing home death, old age, older people, pnemonia, social care, social work, Southern Cross, southern cross healthcare, southern cross healthcare criticism, work
Coming Home

One of my colleagues is not well at the moment and is unlikely to be back at work in a rush. So as is the norm, her work needed to be reallocated. That’s how I found myself with a file for Mrs K. A woman who has a diagnosis of Alzheimer’s...

Published 25 Feb 2009 4:57 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Alzheimer's disease, Care of residents, dementia, elderly, health, Home Care, hospital admission, imca, london, long-term care, MCA, mental health, moving home, nursing home, old age, older people, social care, social issues, social work, work
Trichotillomania and me.

My usual pattern is to read through various newspapers and articles first thing in the morning and to write either in response to something I read, or something I do at work. I haven’t got through many intensely personal posts and that is wholly...

Published 24 Feb 2009 6:17 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: anxiety, health, Mental disorder, mental health, personal, pulling hair out, trichotillomania
On Call

As I’ve alluded to and outright said on various occasions, myself and a colleague are running a kind of rota for AMHP work between us. Seeing as the Trust we work in feels that it is more appropriate that those who work in specialist teams (of which...

Published 23 Feb 2009 6:40 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, ASW, local authority, london, management, mental health, social issues, social work, work, work grumbles
Mental Health and Public Office

While pottering around on the web, I came across this story from the Camden New Journal, about Councillor Chris Basson - an elected official who suffers from bipolar disorder. He resigned from his post earlier this week, following, according to the article...

Published 21 Feb 2009 7:11 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Bipolar disorder, british politics, camden council, Camden New Journal, chris basson, Labour, Liberal Democrat, local government, london, london borough of camden, mental health, mental illness, politics, Society and Culture, Stephen Fry, work
Assessing Best Interests - part 2

The training continues - it’s a fairly robust one as far as it goes and although it might not be apparent, despite the density of content, I am finding the substance interesting. As promised on the first day of the training, more of the bits and...

Published 20 Feb 2009 5:04 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, assessment, Best Interests Assessor, best interests assessor training, bia, conditions attached to authorisation, deprivation of liberty, health, hospital, Law, local authority, long-term care, MCA, mental capacity act, mental health, mental health act, old age, older people, personal, social care, social issues, socialcare, standard authorisation, urgent authorisation, work
Assessing Best Interests - Part 1

So I’m in the middle of a training course at the moment which will enable me to act as a Best Interests Assessor come April. It is fairly intensive training which, quite honestly, left me shattered at the end of the day - although I have to say...

Published 19 Feb 2009 5:35 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, best interests, best interests assessment, Best Interests Assessor, best interests assessor training, bournewood gap, capacity assessment, closing the bournewood gap, European Convention of Human Rights, health, Human Rights Act 1998, local authority, MCA, mental capacity act, mental health, mental health act, old age, older people, social care, social issues, social work, work
Admirable Admiral

John Suchet, a newsreader, hit the headlines yesterday by running with a series of interviews about his wife, Bonnie’s diagnosis of Alzheimer’s and the way that he, as her carer, had managed this diagnosis as well as the support that he had...

Published 18 Feb 2009 5:48 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work
Guardianship - A Case Study

I have been working on another Guardianship application. It is an interesting scenario. I thought I would present a scenario based on some of the issues in the form of a fictional case study. I have been liberal with the actual details which have been...

Published 17 Feb 2009 6:41 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, ASW, carer, carers, case study guardianship, dementia, elderly, Guardianship, health, hospital, long-term care, MCA, mental health, mental health act, old age, older people, section 7, section 8, social care, social issues, social work, using guardianship, work
Poetry Helps

While pondering, among other things The nature of the day - whether the weather Will be clement or savage Whether the year will be kind or cruel I came upon a tract From the Telegraph of all places I don’t frequent it much - too dry, too altogether...

Published 16 Feb 2009 6:14 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Arts, mental health, overwork, personal, poetry, positives of poetry, social work poetry, stress, work
Poetry Helps

While pondering, among other things The nature of the day - whether the weather Will be clement or savage Whether the year will be kind or cruel I came upon a tract From the Telegraph of all places I don’t frequent it much - too dry, too altogether...

Published 16 Feb 2009 6:14 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Arts, mental health, overwork, personal, poetry, positives of poetry, social work poetry, stress, work
Love

Just for Valentine’s Day, the Guardian print a story about a woman who fell in love aged 76. Aged 76 and 77, we both felt like 16-year-olds embarking on our first relationship. When the phone rang, my heart would miss a beat. Really heart-warming...

Published 14 Feb 2009 5:45 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: falling in love, february 14, health, links, love, mental health, old age, older people, social issues, valentines day
Oath or Affirmation?

I have to say my beliefs or lack of them have no great impact on my daily life. I suppose they would if I were particularly religious but I’d probably place myself as comfortably agnostic with enough doubts to veer intermittently towards atheism...

Published 13 Feb 2009 6:18 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: affirmation, Agnosticism, AMHP, ASW, Belief, court, England and Wales, magistrate's court, mental health, Oath, Religion, Religion and Spirituality, Religious belief, section 135(1), social work, uk, warrant, work
Frozen Reading

So I honestly hoped I wouldn’t have to return here, but another Southern Cross Care Home is in the news after a 97 year old woman died last week at the River View Care Centre near Reading as is reported in the Daily Mail. People die in care homes...

Published 12 Feb 2009 6:24 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Commission for Social Care Inspection, dementia, elderly, England, health, Home Care, local authority, long-term care, old age, older people, social care, social work, Southern Cross, southern cross healthcare, work
Lost in the system

Large public sector organisations work best with systems. It can be understood to a point as the numbers of people at work in these organisations can be high - but sometimes we get a little over-fond of procedures at the expense of care and attention...

Published 11 Feb 2009 5:53 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: health, Independent living, local authority, local government, ombudsman, Paisley Daily Express, personal, politics, public sector, renfrewshire, right way to complain, scotland, social care, social issues, Social Sciences, social work, work
Stigma through the Ages

This morning, I read an article on the Telegraph’s website which asks, I thought a really pertinent question - namely, would leading historical figures, such as Florence Nightingale, Winston Churchill and Abraham Lincoln be able to reach the heights...

Published 10 Feb 2009 6:37 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Abraham Lincoln, Alastair Campbell, Bipolar disorder, discrimination, Florence Nightingale, health, Mental disorder, mental health, mental illness and stigma, social issues, stigma, time to think, Winston Churchill, work
The ‘Grow-Your-Own’ Social Worker

We have a new student with us on placement. When I say ‘us’, I mean that one of the other social workers in the team I work in, is her placement supervisor/practice teacher. The Student ™ has been working in the local authority...

Published 9 Feb 2009 6:40 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Employment, General Social Care Council, gscc., local government, social care, social issues, social work, social work student, social work training, socialcare, uk, United Kingdom, work
Shoesmith speaks

I’ve not been a great defender of Shoesmith, the former Director of Children’s Services at Haringey, but it doesn’t take much heart to have some sympathy for her ‘trial by media’ in the wake of the Baby P affair. She has...

Published 7 Feb 2009 5:27 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: baby p, Child, child protection work, Ed Balls, Haringey, interview, local authority, Sharon Shoesmith, social work, social worker, Sun, Tabloid, the guardian, work
What’s in a name?

Carol Thatcher has, amid much publicity, been ‘removed’ from ‘The One Show’ after making an racist comment in the show’s Green Room - namely she referred to a black tennis player as being a ‘golliwog’. Note to...

Published 6 Feb 2009 6:02 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: BBC, Carol Thatcher, carol thatcher sacked, discrimination, golliwog, Green Room, idiocy, insensitivity, Jonathan Ross, One Show, political correctness, refusal to apologise, social issues, Television program, work
A Rude Awakening

Cruel Irony. I make mistakes. I make a fair few mistakes and I am by no means excusing the following although all who draw breathe and grumble at my incompetence will be assured that revenge was had. So earlier in the week, I had to complete an assessment...

Published 5 Feb 2009 6:44 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, Arrest warrant, Crime and Justice, mental health, mental health act, old age, personal, police, Police officer, social care, social work, woken by police, work
Dementia Strategies and Memory Clinics

Image via Wikipedia The National Dementia Strategy for England was launched yesterday with an impressive sounding 5 year plan to increase support people who are diagnosed with dementia and take through the different aspects that need to be worked on Read...

Published 4 Feb 2009 5:32 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Alan Johnson, Alzheimer's disease, dementia, dementia screening, England, health, memory clinic, Secretary of State for Health, social care, social work, terry pratchett, uk, United Kingdom, work
Snow Day

I went to work yesterday. Being someone who is dependent on public transport and living and working in London that feels like quite an achievement. Certainly more than was managed by the majority of my colleagues. We don’t do extreme weather very...

Published 3 Feb 2009 4:38 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: England, Extreme weather, london, Meals on Wheels, Met Office, Public transport, Transport, work, work snow
Media Spins, Private Fostering and a Prayer

The British Association for Adoption and Fostering ran a campaign last week to raise awareness of private fostering. As explained by the Fostering Network Private fostering is when a child under the age of 16 (18 if disabled) lives with someone who is...

Published 2 Feb 2009 6:21 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Child protection, Clevedon, daily mail, daily mail trash, discrimination, Foster care, newspaper, nurse, nursing, politics, rant, religious nurse, social care, social issues, social work, uk, United Kingdom, work

February 2009 - Fighting Monsters

Syndication

Recent Posts

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Archives

Learning from The Mirror..

Assessing Best Interests - Part 3

8 deaths - 10 days

Coming Home

Trichotillomania and me.

On Call

Mental Health and Public Office

Assessing Best Interests - part 2

Assessing Best Interests - Part 1

Admirable Admiral

Guardianship - A Case Study

Poetry Helps

Poetry Helps

Love

Oath or Affirmation?

Frozen Reading

Lost in the system

Stigma through the Ages

The ‘Grow-Your-Own’ Social Worker

Shoesmith speaks

What’s in a name?

A Rude Awakening

Dementia Strategies and Memory Clinics

Snow Day

Media Spins, Private Fostering and a Prayer