Fighting Monsters - Member blogs - Social Work Blog

Choice, Control and Obfuscation – How the Personalisation Dream is Dying

In the bold move towards a transformation in adult social care, it feels from where I sit, that control has completely overtaken any pretence of ‘choice’ in the so-called move towards more idealised ‘person-centred’ care and support planning. I hope I...

Published 12 Sep 2011 7:29 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: burstow, carer, carers, dementia, direct payments, Disability, discrimination, elderly, health, local authority, local government, mental health, Mental Health Foundation, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, ras, resource allocation system, social care, social issues, social work, socialcare, the small places, work
Interviews and Ideas

Please forgive the blatant self-promotion in this post but it’s Friday and I’m feeling a like I have a bit of a cold coming so I’m less ‘perky’ than usual. Dorlee from Social Work Career Development has published an interview which she did with me and...

Published 9 Sep 2011 6:58 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Education, health, personal, psw, shirley ayres, social care, social issues, Social media, social work, social work and technology, social work career development blog, sw4sw, work
Why I’m wrong – A response from BASW

I am not going to add anything to this post. After I wrote a post explaining why I left BASW, I was sent this as a response and agreed to publish it. I’ll leave the questions and comments for others and I have asked that someone from BASW respond to any...

Published 8 Sep 2011 6:33 PM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Association, basw, British Association of Social Workers, Employment, health, local government, personal, social work, Trade union, work
RIP NHS?

A truly national health service as conceived in the post-war years has been tottering on the brink for a number of years. As the previous Labour government sowed, so the Liberal Democrats and the Conservatives will reap today as the NHS and Social Care...

Published 7 Sep 2011 7:16 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: andrew lansley, david cameron, destruction of the nhs, end of the nhs, evil tories, health, lansley, mental health, nhs, personal, politics, social care, work
Why I Quit BASW (British Association of Social Workers)

I felt a tinge of sadness when I finally decided to quit BASW (British Association of Social Workers). I’ve been an advocate and member for a good few years and I have a great deal of respect for a lot of people who work there. I advised colleagues to...

Published 6 Sep 2011 6:18 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: basw, British Association of Social Workers, college of social work, health, leaving basw, Professional association, social care, social work, Trade union, Unison, work
Weekly Social Work Links 30

As the days become more distinctly autumnal, I’m sharing some interesting links I’ve come across over the last week. As always feel free to share any other links you find that are related or interesting in the comments section. I’m always wanting to find...

Published 4 Sep 2011 8:52 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: blogs, Child protection, health, links, mental health, social care, Social Sciences, social work, social work blogging, Social Work Blogs, social work links, University of Kent, weekly social work links, work
Online Learning and Social Work – A proposal

I’m on a theme at the moment so run with me. I have through various conversations that I’ve hooked into among Occupational Therapists come across this programme OT4OT (Online Technology for Occupational Therapists) connectlrmeli @ Flickr It is...

Published 2 Sep 2011 7:02 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Associations, Google, health, Occupational therapist, Occupational therapy, online forum for social work, personal, Professions, Social Sciences, social work, social work and technology, social work webinar, technology, work
Panels

Since I’ve been employed as a social worker one of the constants in my working week has been the presence and existence of ‘panels’ in many different forms. There was a brief stage when we were told not to refer to them as ‘panels’ but rather meetings...

Published 31 Aug 2011 6:42 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: continuing care panel, decision-making, funding panel, health, health care, local government, long-term care, National Health Service, nhs, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, social care, social work, work
Social Work and the March to Neoliberalism (or Personalisation gone bad)

I caught this article a few days ago on the Huffington Post by a Social Work academic, trying to explain away another aspect of the riots and cashing in on his status no doubt as an ‘authority’. I don’t have much time for the body of the article. He starts...

Published 18 Aug 2011 6:53 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: direct payments, Disability, elderly, Employment, health, local government, neoliberal social work, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, personal budgets, professor jonathan parker, social care, social issues, social work, social workers, work
Fixing the Broken not Healing the Wounded – a wrong-footed Government response

Our wise leader, David Cameron, clearly being an iconic Philosopher King, spent many days studying the possibly causes for the devastating riots in London and across England. He concluded after much intellectually rigorous pursuit, that the causes of...

Published 16 Aug 2011 7:04 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: benefits, broken britain, cameron, Chipping Norton, david cameron, discrimination, Emma Harrison, gang culture, gangs, health, iain duncan-smith, london, personal, philosophy, politics, Prime minister, Single-parent, social care, social issues, social work, work
Social Work Under Pressure – A Review

Jessica Kingsley Publishers sent m e a review copy of ‘Social Work Under Pressure – How to Overcome Stress, Fatigue and Burnout’ by Kate van Heugten I interviewed the author and the interview is available on the Jessica Kingsley Blog here . I know I’m...

Published 13 Aug 2011 8:53 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: book review, health, health care, jessica kingsley, jkp, kate van heugten, personal, social work, social work book, social work under pressure, stress, van heugten, work
Riots, Poverty and Assumptions

It would be remiss of me not to mention the rioting that took place in London over the weekend. I work and live in some of the poorer areas of the city and felt, indeed, still feel desperately saddened by some of the pictures and reportage coming from...

Published 8 Aug 2011 6:51 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: anger, Brixton, David Lammy, facebook, health, local authority, london, london riots, politics, poverty, social care, social issues, Tottenham, tottenham riots, Twitter, work
Weekly Social Work Links 27

A slightly truncated version this week because the last week has been a little distracting and we have a foster child who is likely to appear at any moment! So please add any other links or sites you’ve seen that have been useful in the comments section...

Published 6 Aug 2011 7:20 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: health, health care, links, nursing home, personal, social work, Southampton, work
Commissioning

Yesterday, I caught up with a friend of mine whom I hadn’t seen for a few months. She works in commissioning. She didn’t work in commissioning when we first met but her career trajectory has taken a few odd side steps and there she is. We talked about...

Published 4 Aug 2011 6:43 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: caregiver, Commissioner, Disability, health, Home Care, local authority, local government, mental health, personal, social care, social work, work
What does a Mental Health Social Worker do?

I think there’s a lot of misunderstandings about what I actually do at work. What do social workers who are in mental health services do? What do social workers who work in adult services do? I hope by reading, some people get to learn a little of my...

Published 2 Aug 2011 7:36 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, approved mental health professional, Best Interests Assessor, carer, cmht, Community mental health service, health, mental health social work, mental health, mhsw, NHS Trust, personal, social care, social work, social work in the uk, social worker, what does a mental health social worker do, what does a social worker do, work
Fear and Loathing in the Public Sector – Or Why I despise Oliver Letwin

Yesterday I read this article about Oliver Letwin, who, according to the Guardian article ..warned that it was only through “some real discipline and some fear” of job losses that excellence would be achieved in the public sector. Letwin added...

Published 31 Jul 2011 7:13 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: conservative party, conservative party policy, david cameron, health, KPMG, local authority, member of parliament, National Health Service, Oliver Letwin, personal, politics, Public policy, public sector, social care, social work, the nasty party, work
Castlebeck and CQC – Brief Thoughts

I don’t have time for a long post today, just a few brief thoughts that came to me as I considered the unsurprisingly critical report on Castlebeck by the CQC. Of course it’s easy to be wise after the event but it leaves a bitter taste in the mouth when...

Published 29 Jul 2011 7:04 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: adult care, BBC, Care Quality Commission, castlebeck, cqc, Disability, health, Home Care, long-term care, nursing home, Ofsted, panorama, paul burstow, personal, social care, social work, work
Sadness, Sympathy and Self

Sometimes, some days feel filled with sadness. I had one of those days this week. I don’t like to use the word ‘hardened’ but to put it this way, in over 10 years of frontline social work practice in some of the most deprived areas of the country and...

Published 28 Jul 2011 6:38 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: AMHP, health, injustice, Mental disorder, mental health, personal, philosophy, politics, Sadness, social care, social work, uk, work
Why Deaf Awareness?

This is a guest post by Suzie Jones – @suziejones2010 . Many thanks to her – cb Why deaf awareness? When you think about the people you meet and talk to in your everyday life, I wonder if it crosses your mind that one in every six has a hearing loss?...

Published 25 Jul 2011 6:28 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Awareness, British Sign Language, Communication, deaf, deaf awareness, Disability, discrimination, guest post, hard of hearing, health, Hearing impairment, learning about deafness, lipreading, social care, social issues, social work, social work and deafness, suzie jones, work
Selling the NHS – The Beginning

Yesterday, while most of the media, fixated self-referentially on the Murdoch hearings and Cameron was flying back into the country, Lansley began to dismantle the National Health Service. As The Guardian reports In the first wave, beginning in April...

Published 20 Jul 2011 6:53 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: andrew lansley, david cameron, Guardian, health, health care, lansley, mental health, National Health Service, nhs, personal, politics, Primary care, private sector healthcare, privatisation, Secretary of State for Health, selling the nhs, social care, social work, socialcare, work
Weekly Social Work Links 25

A day late this week (although my original intention which might not have been very clearly stated) was always that it would be a ‘weekend’ project rather than a specifically Saturday project! This was a fairly emotionally trying week for me at work with...

Published 17 Jul 2011 7:41 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Charlie Sheen, health, links, social work, Social Work Blogs, social work links, work
A Lament for Lost Genericism in Social Work

It was reported over the week that the Government is to appoint a Chief Social Worker. This is apparently a response to recommendations in the Munro Report and pressure from BASW (British Association of Social Workers). I have previously mentioned by...

Published 15 Jul 2011 7:04 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: British Association of Social Workers, british social work, chief social worker, Child protection, department of education, Department of Health, General Social Care Council, generic social work, health, mental health, munro report, personal, social care, Social Sciences, social work, social work development, uk, work
Goodbye Southern Cross, Hello Open Public Services

So Southern Cross – the largest private care home provider in the UK will be closed. What of the 31,000 residents who live in their properties? Well, the government has given us its assurance that they will be ok so that’s alright then. Or not. m kasahara...

Published 12 Jul 2011 7:05 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: big society, care, Care Quality Commission, david cameron, Department of Health, elderly, GMB (trade union), government, health, local authority, long-term care, nursing home, old age, older people, open public services white paper, opswp, personal, politics, Public services, social care, social work, Southern Cross, Southern Cross Healthcare Group, uk, uk government, White paper, work
Making Adult Social Care Better 1

I think I’m fairly good at griping and raising ‘problems’. For the next week, I want to try and take a positive approach and look at solutions as well as problems. - A few conversations I’ve had over the past week have focused on what is wrong with adult...

Published 11 Jul 2011 7:11 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: advocacy, British Association of Social Workers, british social work, Disability, discrimination, health, Home Care, individual budgets, Internet forum, local authority, mental health, old age, personal, personal budgets, personalisation, politics, social care, Social Sciences, social work, social work in the uk, Unison, work
Elaine McDonald, Kensington and Chelsea and Dignity

Yesterday, the High Court ruled in the case of R (on the application of McDonald) v Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea. This was a further appeal by McDonald against a previous decision at a lower court. Elaine McDonald is 68 year old woman who worked...

Published 7 Jul 2011 6:32 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Age Discrimination, ageism, agism, dignity in care, discrimination, elaine macdonald, elaine mcdonald, elderly, health, Home Care, kensington, local government, mcdonald v kensington and chelsea, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, philosophy, politics, r v royal borough of kensington and chelsea, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, social care, social issues, social work, socialcare, work
Initial thoughts on the Dilnot Report on Funding of Care and Support

Scheduling and exhaustion meant I didn’t have time to look at the Dilnot proposals in detail yesterday so this morning I have fired up my browser and am going to make a few initial comments on the baseline main recommendations and hopefully over the next...

Published 5 Jul 2011 7:08 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Andrew Dilnot, british politics, care and funding, carer, carers, dementia, dillnot report, dilnot report, dilnot report on funding of care and support, dilnott report, Disability, elderly, Funding, funding of care, health, local authority, long-term care, Means test, mental health, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social work, socialcare, work
Waiting for Dilnot

The Dilnot Commission on Care Funding and Support is due to report back to the government on Monday 4th July. At Arbitrary Constant there is some useful background reading about the Green and White Papers which were published by the previous government...

Published 29 Jun 2011 7:05 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Andrew Dilnot, care and support, dilnot commission, dilnot report, Disability, elderly, Funding, funding of care, Guardian, health, Home Care, local authority, nursing home, old age, older people, personal, politics, social care, social work, White paper, work
Power, Status and Professionalism

kenyee@flickr I was ruminating over the post I wrote yesterday about the interplay and interaction between being a social worker and being a foster carer and the one aspect that played on my mind was the differential in ‘status’. I used to think...

Published 28 Jun 2011 7:19 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Foster care, fostering, health, mental health, personal, philosophy, power and social work, social issues, Social Sciences, social work
Personal Budgets, Personalisation, Thoughts and Hopes

Yesterday Think Local Act Personal (TLAP) published the results of a National Personal Budget Survey. The headline ‘results’ are of course overwhelmingly positive. Personal Budgets work. Direct Payments Are Good. Everyone is happy. jrambow@flickr Is any...

Published 23 Jun 2011 7:37 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: budget, carer, carers, direct payments, Disability, discrimination, elderly, health, Home Care, local authority, local government, mental health, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, politics, social care, social work, socialcare, work
Learning Disability Week – Hate Crime and Hate Language

I know I’m a bit late to Learning Disability Week – which runs from the 20th June for.. well, a week but it remains a campaign and a group I have a great attachment to coming from years working with adults with learning disabilities before I qualified...

Published 22 Jun 2011 6:44 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Crime, Disability, discrimination, Hate crime, health, learning disability, mencap, pc correctness gone mad, personal, political correctness, social care, social issues, social work, work
Human Rights, Home Care, Personal Budgets and Cost Saving

I read on the BBC website among others that there is a report suggesting that care provided in the home by local authorities to older adults may be overlooking human rights issues. Daniel2005@flickr An inquiry into this was initiated by the Equality and...

Published 20 Jun 2011 6:55 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: carer, carers, dementia, direct payments, Disability, discrimination, ehrc, elderly, elderly home care, equality and human rights commission, government, health, Home Care, home care and human rights, Human Right, Human Rights and Liberties, human rights of older adults, individual budgets, local authority, local government, mental health, old age, older people, personal, personal budget, personal budgets, personalisation, report into home care, social care, social work, work
There and Back Again

As I finished yesterday, I had left my first job and embarked on my little (well, it was two years) adventure and I decided to return to London and join the ranks of gainfully employed social workers again. I knew it was what I wanted to do. I had grown...

Published 16 Jun 2011 7:23 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Employment, health, local authority, london, older people, personal, social work, work
My First Social Work Job

I can’t quite remember my first day in my first job as a qualified social worker. I’m trying to think back. I remember a few things though and as university courses come to their ends and thoughts turn to employment, I considered thinking back to that...

Published 15 Jun 2011 7:32 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Employment, health, job, local authority, local government, my first job, old age, older people, personal, Social Sciences, social work, work
The Price of Everything and the Value of Nothing

To continue my theme (at least initially) for carers’ week, I wondered a while on the purpose of these weeks and days and months we have devoted to various issues. They are about celebration, gratitude and recognition for the most part. Celebrating Mothers...

Published 14 Jun 2011 6:55 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: carer, carers, Employment, health, improving social work, mental health, National Health Service, nhs, personal, politics, social care, social issues, Social media, social work, work
Weekly Social Work Links 20

So another weekend, another series of links that I’ve found in and around the social work blogging networks. I want to start with a few new blogs I’ve come across. Unsettling Social Work is written by an academic who is primarily concerned with the sociology...

Published 11 Jun 2011 7:50 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: blog, blog links, health, link post, links, social care, social work, Social Work Blogs, work
Winterbourne View – Where were the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards?

One of the many things that have been concerning me since the Panorama programme about abuse within the Winterbourne View hospital for adults with learning disabilities was aired was the way that the safeguards implemented under the Mental Capacity Act...

Published 6 Jun 2011 6:45 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: abuse in residential care, adult protection, adult safeguarding, best interests assessment, Best Interests Assessor, bia, Care Quality Commission, deprivation of liberty safeguards, dols, health, local authority, long-term care, MCA, mental capacity, mental capacity act, mental health, mental health legislation, nursing home, panorama, personal, politics, residential care, social care, social services, social work, social worker, training, winterborne, winterbourne view, work
Wikio Top UK Health Blogs – June

I’ve been given a preview of the rankings for UK Health-related blogs for June 2011 by Wikio. I’m very honoured to be among them. Definitely worth checking out for a wide variety of views. Good to see Mental Health well-represented! 1 PsyBlog –...

Published 2 Jun 2011 6:41 PM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: blogs, health, health blogs, links, mental health, uk blogs, Wikio, work
What makes a good care worker?

I haven’t been able to shake off the Panorama programme about the abusive care environment at Winterbourne View. We spent quite a lot of time talking about it at work yesterday as well, at meetings and in the office. It has pushed my mind back to the...

Published 2 Jun 2011 7:11 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Abuse, Care Quality Commission, care work, care worker, carer, carers, cqc, Disability, elderly, health, institutional abuse, local authority, long-term care, management in residential care, old age, older people, panorama, paul burstow, personal, residential care, social care, social work, support worker, winterbourne view, work
Undercover Care : The abuse exposed – A Review of Panorama

I sat down to watch Panorama yesterday and the trailers and name of the programme were something of a giveaway so I wasn’t exactly unprepared for what was shown. Panorama had been alerted to abuse within Winterbourne View near Bristol, which is a private...

Published 1 Jun 2011 6:57 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: Abuse, abuse exposed, abuse of vulnerable adults, bristol, burstow, Care Quality Commission, castleview, cqc, Disability, discrimination, health, hospital, learning disability, local authority, long-term care, MCA, mental health act 1983, mental capacity act, mental health, nurse, panorama, personal, politics, private hospital, section 44, social work, undercover care, winterbourne, winterbourne view, work
Sleep – Mental Health Awareness Week 2011

Yesterday, the Mental Health Foundation kicked off this year’s ‘Mental Health Awareness Week’ and the theme for this year is ‘Sleep’. In conjunction with this, the Mental Health Foundation have produced a report about Sleep which is available to download...

Published 24 May 2011 6:27 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: health, personal, social care, work

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