January 2010 - Fighting Monsters

Fighting Monsters

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Yesterday, I had a telephone call from one of the board members of our borough’s Foster Carers Association. They call new carers from time to time to find out how things are going and see what support can be offered on a peer basis. She caught me as I...

Published 28 Jan 2010 7:01 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: discrimination, Foster care, fostering, health, mental health, old age, older people, personal, social care, social issues, social services, social work, social workers as service users, support networks, work
Murdered for Medication

I saw this story on the Guardian website and was amazed that it was the first I heard of it. Rachel Baker, the manager of Parkfields Nursing Home is on trial accused of murdering two women who were in her charge, and stealing their prescription medication...

Published 26 Jan 2010 7:03 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: ageism, care home, crime against elderly, elderly, long-term care, medication, murder, murdered, old age, overdose, personal, rachel baker, residential care, social care, work
Broken Britain?

I was disheartened at how quickly the appalling story of Edlington – where two young boys, aged 10 and 11, under the care of the local authority attacked two other boys and subjected them to what surmounts as torture almost to the point of murder – turned...

Published 25 Jan 2010 7:41 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: boys in edlington, britain today, cameron, david cameron, edlington, personal, politics, social care, social comment, social issues, social policy, social work, society, sociology, uk, uk politics, work
Social Work Blog Awards

Active Social Work – a great blog of information and resources for social workers is promoting a series of awards for social work specific blogs. The idea is that it will encompass 2010 – and nominations will be followed by a voting period. There are...

Published 24 Jan 2010 11:03 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: 2010, awards, blog awards, personal, social work, social work blog, social work blog awards, work
Inside a Team Meeting

Every week, we have multi-disciplinary meetings. These involve us all, social workers, CPNs (Community Psychiatric Nurses), Occupational Therapists, Psychologists and Medics discussing the weeks work – we go through the referrals received and discuss...

Published 21 Jan 2010 6:42 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: cmht, cmht meeting, community, friendly london, london, meetings at work, mental health, neighborliness, neighbors, neighbours, old age, older people, personal, social care, social issues, social work, team meeting, work
No Secrets or No Action?

Yesterday, Community Care reported that as a response to the consultation on changes to the ‘No Secrets’ guidance on Safeguarding Adults published in 2000, Safeguarding Adults Boards will be mandatory for all English local authorities and an inter-ministerial...

Published 20 Jan 2010 6:50 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: adult abuse, adult protection, community care, dementia, elderly, health, local authority, mental capacity act, mental health, no secrets, old age, older people, personal, politics, safeguarding adults, sageguarding adults board, social care, social issues, social work, vulnerable adults, work
Left to die in Northamptonshire?

This is something of an ‘old’ story, so to speak, but last week, The Daily Mail commented on the tragic story of Mr and Mrs Randall – an couple aged 81 and 79 respectively – who were found dead in their home in Northamptonshire even though a concerned...

Published 19 Jan 2010 6:51 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: carer, carers, daily mail, derek and jean randall, derrick and jean randall, elderly, freezing to death in northamptonshire, health, local authority, northamptonshire, northamptonshire evening telegraph, northants evening telegraph, old age, older people, personal, randall, social care, social issues, social services, social work, uk, work
Fallen Tyrant Syndrome

I have never seen it so clearly as in a particular situation I am working with at the moment. Mr G has a long history of domestic violence. His wife and his (now grown) children suffered for many many years. He also has dementia. He is now the ‘vulnerable...

Published 18 Jan 2010 6:47 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Abuse, capacity, carer, dementia, domestic abuse, domestic violence, elderly, family, health, local authority, long-term care, MCA, mental capacity, mental health, old age, older people, personal, power, residential care, social care, social issues, social work, work
Update

I think the fall back of the Christmas period and the office move is, to use an unnecessary cliche, finally coming home to roost. I have a bit of a backlog of work building up at the moment and combined with an embryonic cold, it isn’t auguring well for...

Published 17 Jan 2010 7:14 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: child in care, children, Foster care, foster carer, fostering, personal, social work, work
Helping Haiti

It’s hard to imagine the horror that is prevalent following the earthquake in Haiti. So much has been written that I don’t think I can add anything more than utter sorrow at the distress, pain and loss. I have found some particularly easy ways to donate...

Published 16 Jan 2010 8:33 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: dec, dec appeal, Earthquake, haiti, haiti appeal, personal, social issues
NAO reports on Dementia Strategy

Today, the National Audit Office published an interim report on the progress of the National Dementia Strategy which was unveiled last year. Most of the report doesn’t make kind reading for those charged with implementing the strategy as the report is...

Published 14 Jan 2010 7:20 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: dementia, dementia strategy, Disability, discrimination, elderly, health, health policy in the uk, local authority, long-term care, mental health, nao report on dementia, national audit office, national dementia strategy, nursing care, old age, older people, personal, residential care, social care, social issues, uk, work
Reunited

Last week, I visited a nursing home – one of the few in the borough and one I had not been to for a while. I was trying to iron through some local difficulties however when I was there, chatting to the staff about the situation, I turned around...

Published 13 Jan 2010 6:47 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: carer, carers, elderly, local authority, long-term care, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, residential home, social care, social work, uk, work
Weather and Health

The Independent runs a feature today about the correlation between weather and health. I don’t think it comes as a surprise as Seasonal Affective Disorder (SAD) has long been recognised as a condition. The article though draws on physical health conditions...

Published 12 Jan 2010 6:43 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: climate, climate change, climate change and health, health, health and weather, SAD, Seasonal Affective Disorder, social issues, weather, work
Moving

So the move has more or less been completed and we are now ensconced in new office premises. It has been a little disruptive on the basis of actual work that needed to be done and being without phones and computer access was a mild novelty but it got...

Published 11 Jan 2010 6:31 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: cmht, community mental health team, local authority, multidisciplinary team, office move, personal, social care, social issues, social work, work
Risk

I was caught in a tricky situation yesterday, somewhat off guard. It stemmed from a piece of joint working with another team and a situation that has been deteriorating for a particular service user over a period of a few months. A proposed course of...

Published 8 Jan 2010 6:54 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: dementia, elderly, health, local authority, old age, older people, personal, poor teamwork, risk, risk aversion, risk management in social work, social care, social issues, social work, teamwork, work
Stillness

We had snow yesterday but probably not as much as most people in the country. It still resulted in a number of people not making it into work. I was alone in the office initially (although more people came in as the morning went on) and having some of...

Published 7 Jan 2010 6:59 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: delayed discharge, health, inappropriate hospital discharge, local authority, mental health, office move, old age, older people, personal, quiet, snow, social care, social issues, social work, uk, work
Feeding Tubes

I was appalled by this story in the Guardian this morning that residents entering some nursing homes are being required to have feeding tubes fitted as a condition of admission – this comes in a report from the Royal College of Physicians which recommends...

Published 6 Jan 2010 6:51 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: care for the elderly, dementia, discrimination, elderly, human rights, long-term care, medication, mental capacity, mental health, nil by mouth, nursing home, old age, older people, peg feeding, personal, politics, royal college of physicians, social care, social issues, social work, work
Returning

I know, it wasn’t really a massive ‘return to work’ deal yesterday, because I was working last week and the week before and apart from the public holidays (for which I am very grateful) haven’t really had any time off but it still had a ‘back to school...

Published 5 Jan 2010 6:58 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: allocations, back to work, cmht, elderly, health, Holidays, local authority, mental health, old age, older people, personal, social care, social issues, social work, social work uk, social worker, work, workload
Welcome to 2010

After my looking back post – a rather predictable looking forward post. I know it’s not especially surprising but I am still, at least partially, in ‘holiday mode’. As I hinted at previously, this year, I expect a lot of changes around in the implementation...

Published 2 Jan 2010 7:28 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: 2010, honos, kipling, kipling if, local authority, mental health, new horizons, new horizons in mental health, new year, old age, older people, payment by result, personal, personal budget, politics, predictions for new year, social care, social issues, social work, work

January 2010 - Fighting Monsters

Syndication

Recent Posts

Tags

Archives

As Service Users

Murdered for Medication

Broken Britain?

Social Work Blog Awards

Inside a Team Meeting

No Secrets or No Action?

Left to die in Northamptonshire?

Fallen Tyrant Syndrome

Update

Helping Haiti

NAO reports on Dementia Strategy

Reunited

Weather and Health

Moving

Risk

Stillness

Feeding Tubes

Returning

Welcome to 2010