June 2009 - Fighting Monsters

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Take a Break

Community Care reports in their Social Work Blog that the women’s magazine ‘Take a Break’ has taken up the cause of positive social work stories with a headline of ‘Thank God for Social Workers’ which started with this week’s magazine. This follows on...

Published 29 Jun 2009 6:51 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: community care, community care magazine, General Social Care Council, government, gscc., local authority, personal, politics, positive social work story, social care, social issues, social work, social workers, stand up for social work, take a break, thank god for social workers, uk, work
Taking up Assistive Technologies

The Guardian printed an article earlier in the week about a poor take up nationally of telecare. Telecare (assistive technology) is the system of various automatic alerts that are often used in local authorities for the care of older people. The most...

Published 27 Jun 2009 5:46 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Assistive technology, Disability, Disabled, elderly, local authority, old age, older people, social care, social issues, social work, technology, telecare, work
Away Day and Old Acquaintances

As I was wandering around the office, stretching my legs, I fell upon a conversation between one of the social workers who works in a different locality team and her manager about the possibility of a whole team ‘team building away day’. Of course this...

Published 25 Jun 2009 5:57 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: away day, cmht, community mental health team, health, local government, mental health, nurse, practice teacher, social work, social worker, uk, work
Pen Pusher

My stress levels have definitely dropped a little for having been away for even a few days but last week, they were pitched fairly high. We (that is, my team as a whole) were asked to attend a meeting in which was present one of those ethereal people...

Published 24 Jun 2009 6:39 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: bureaucracy, frustration, local authority, performance indicators, personal, politics, social care, social work, work
Music to my ears

Here’s a pleasant story from the BBC. Music affects positively both physical and mental health. I don’t suppose this will surprise anyone who thinks about it too much as I know it is certainly the case for me (well, as far as mood is concerned anyway...

Published 23 Jun 2009 6:02 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: American Heart Association, BBC, Blood pressure, Circulatory system, health, Music, music and health, old age, Pavia University, social issues, work
Father’s Day

Image by Denis Collette…!!! via Flickr Yesterday, I , with my siblings, went to see my father. I’m sure that is nothing remarkable. I have been to hospices a few times for work-related matters. I know how they work. What kind of work they do and...

Published 22 Jun 2009 6:03 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: carer, carers, elderly, father, father's day, health, help the hospices, Hospice, hospital, london, long-term care, Medicine, old age, older people, personal, uk
Weekend away

Some holiday snaps – yes, it was lovely and warm..but now I’m back! Read More...

Published 20 Jun 2009 8:46 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: holiday, madrid, personal, photos, spain
Practising with Conviction?

Community Care report on the case of Lynda Barnes, a social work team manager in a child protection team with Bath and North East Somerset Council who was involved in a case involving care proceedings last year. Not necessarily unusual so far. Bath She...

Published 19 Jun 2009 7:42 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: allan norman, bath, bath and north east somerset council, community care, community care magazine, Conviction, crb, Criminal Record Bureau, Employment, General Social Care Council, gscc., lynda barnes, Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974, social work, work
Paying for long term care

Just a quick post which I hope will be of use to some. I listen to the Moneybox and Moneybox Live podcasts and yesterday, I heard the edition from Wednesday of Moneybox Live which was about funding long term care. There were a few discussions (it has...

Published 19 Jun 2009 5:25 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: benefits, continuing care, elderly, long-term care, moneybox, moneybox live, old age, older people, paying for residential care, personal, podcast, social care, social issues, social work, work
Speaking Up

Community Care reports this week on a comment made by Julie Jones, the Chief Executive of SCIE (Social Care Institute of Excellence) compelling social workers to ‘speak up and speak out’ in order to put across their positive messages to counter some of...

Published 18 Jun 2009 6:44 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: anonymous blog, blog, british social work, Chief executive officer, eady, julie jones, local authority, local government, losing anonymity, nightjack, personal, politics, risk of blogging anonymously, scie, scie tv, social care institute of excellence, social issues, social work, the times, uk, work, work-related blogging
Depression and Disclosure

My brain is slowly chugging back into something akin to functioning mode – after just a few days away it is always surprising how quickly it is possible to switch off. Fortunately (or not, as the case may be) I don’t have much of an opportunity to stand...

Published 17 Jun 2009 6:29 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: cheltenham, cheltenham borough council, christine laird, depression, discrimination, employment discrimination, health, margaret wallace, mental health, personal, sane, social issues, social work, the independent, work
Early to Bed

So as my thoughts turn to jetting off to sunnier climes (ok, it’s Ryanair so hardly glamorous!), I came across this article which reports that earlier bed times for teens seems to indicate a lower propensity to depression. Teens whose parents...

Published 12 Jun 2009 5:27 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: work
Entitlements

I was interested to read about this case in Reading last week, where the local authority was challenged regarding a decision not to support a disabled woman who is HIV+ according to the Fair Access to Care Criteria which would indicate that although she...

Published 11 Jun 2009 6:04 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Disability, elderly, fair access to care, health, local authority, local government, mental health, national assistance act 1948, nhs and community care act, nhs and community care act 1990, old age, older people, reading city council, social care, social issues, social work, work
Thinking forward

I realise that I might have been a bit more stressed than usual of late. This is due to a combination of factors. It has been a long time since I’ve had any kind of break from work – probably more than is usually the case. I have also had a rush of work...

Published 9 Jun 2009 6:40 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: approved mental health professional, health, mental health, mental health act assessment, personal, social care, social issues, social work, stress, work
Depressing

I am a bit down today for a few reasons but most selfishly because I seem to have developed a sore throat which is affecting my mental well-being. Not significantly to be honest but less than fully perky! But nothing really creates more of a downer than...

Published 8 Jun 2009 6:55 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: bnp, election, european elections, European Parliament, Member of the European Parliament, Parties, personal, politics, social issues, Society and Culture, uk, work
Three months, two children, one goodbye

I mentioned that I always intended to write little about the experience of foster caring. The reasons for that were solely related to the focus of the blog and much more importantly, the privacy of the children concerned – but the experience of fostering...

Published 6 Jun 2009 7:50 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: british foster care, first foster care placement, Foster care, foster child, fostering, personal, social work, social worker, starting to foster, uk
Repeat Assessment

I was at work early yesterday in order to carry out a Mental Health Act Assessment. It needed to be completed early in order to ensure that Mr F was in. He liked to go out for walks and we wanted to make sure we caught him in – quite literally. It always...

Published 5 Jun 2009 6:37 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, approved mental health professional, elderly, health, hospital, mental health act 1983, mental health, mental health act, old age, older people, police, social care, social issues, social work, work
Election

Living in London, as I do, we only have the European elections today while parts of the rest of the country contend with local elections as well. I have never missed casting a vote in any election for which I have been eligible to vote and I don’t intend...

Published 4 Jun 2009 5:12 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Conservative, election 4 june, european elections, European Parliament, european politics, Green, Labour, Liberal Democrats, personal, Political party, politics, social issues, uk politics
Solace in Support

David Clark, the Chief Executive of SOLACE (Society of Local Authority Chief Executives and Senior Managers) has made a splash by dipping his toe into the world of blogging by tackling the challenges of social work in the face of a lack of political support...

Published 2 Jun 2009 6:12 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: baby p, blog, Chief executive officer, Child, Child protection, david clark, david clark solace, Ed Balls, local authority, local government, social care, social work, solace, work
Greed before Welfare

I am almost embarrassed to admit that I watched ‘Britain’s Got Talent’. It was all meant to be relatively mindless light-heartened ‘family’ entertainment. It was uncomfortable to watch young children burst into tears, from 10 year old Natalie Okri last...

Published 1 Jun 2009 5:53 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, bgt, boyle, Britains Got Talent, duty of care, Got Talent, health, hollie steel, lack of duty of care, mental health act 1983, mental health, mental health act, natalie okri, personal, piers morgan, simon cowell, Susan Boyle, susan boyle and mental health act, susan boyle's mental health, the priory, work

June 2009 - Fighting Monsters

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives

Take a Break

Taking up Assistive Technologies

Away Day and Old Acquaintances

Pen Pusher

Music to my ears

Father’s Day

Weekend away

Practising with Conviction?

Paying for long term care

Speaking Up

Depression and Disclosure

Early to Bed

Entitlements

Thinking forward

Depressing

Three months, two children, one goodbye

Repeat Assessment

Election

Solace in Support

Greed before Welfare