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: social care, social work, social issues, older people, dementia, work, carers, socialcare, mental health, discrimination, local authority, old age, elderly, health, carer, direct payments, local government, Disability, Mental Health Foundation, personal, personal budget, resource allocation system, ras, burstow, the small places
Remembering 11th September and the aftermath

I don’t have any grand or notable memories from 11th September 2001. I wasn’t connected to New York in any personal way but this last Friday, after work, I spent the evening by coincidence with the friend whom I spent the evening of the 11th September...

Published 11 Sep 2011 7:26 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: personal, United States, 9/11, Canary Wharf, memorial, memories from september 11, New York, New York City, Pennsylvania, september 11 2001, September 11 attacks, World Trade Center
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: social care, social work, social issues, work, health, Education, personal, Social media, social work and technology, psw, shirley ayres, social work career development blog, sw4sw
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: social work, work, health, local government, Trade union, Employment, personal, British Association of Social Workers, basw, Association
Docking Benefits and Blaming the Poor

I know I covered this more generally on Monday in my rant about ‘benefits’ but it’s worth coming back to with the proposals explained in the Guardian Magistrates and crown court judges could be asked to dock benefits from convicted criminals under preliminary...

Published 8 Sep 2011 7:16 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, social issues, work, benefits, politics, london, social justice, Department for Work and Pensions, personal, david cameron, iain duncan-smith, Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, evil tories, Crime, Riot, blame the poor, Kenneth Clarke
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: social care, work, mental health, politics, health, nhs, personal, david cameron, andrew lansley, lansley, destruction of the nhs, evil tories, end of the nhs
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: social work, work, health, technology, Social Sciences, personal, Google, social work and technology, Associations, Occupational therapist, Occupational therapy, online forum for social work, Professions, social work webinar
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: social care, social work, older people, work, old age, long-term care, health care, health, nhs, local government, National Health Service, decision-making, personal, personal budget, continuing care panel, funding panel
Technology, Social Media and Social Services – Finding new ways to ‘help’

I have some across lots of discussions and debates about ways of using social media and new technologies and interactions to ‘help’ social services become more effective. Most of it seems to revolve around building online directories and databases of...

Published 30 Aug 2011 6:39 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, older people, dementia, work, carers, socialcare, local authority, old age, carer, direct payments, Disability, personal, election, Twitter, british social work, personal budget, Social media, social work and technology, social media and social work, IPad, technology and social work, using technology with service users, YouTube
Weekly Social Work Links 29

After my absence last week, I’m back with some of the links I’ve come across that I’ve found useful over the last week (or two because I’m covering some of the posts I missed during my weekend away!) which relate in some way to social work – some more...

Published 28 Aug 2011 8:01 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, work, links, Social Work Blogs, personal, England and Wales, blog links for social workers, Gestalt therapy
Perspectives, Students and Ageing

I enjoy having students around. It helps keep me fresh and enthusiastic and to see my job through the eyes of someone coming into it rather than through the occasionally blurred eyes of someone who has been working for a while. I had a student shadowing...

Published 26 Aug 2011 7:21 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, older people, work, old age, elderly, social worker, personal, Student, shadowing a social worker, getting old, shadowing
Hemming and Haigh – The Journey of an Injunction

A curious news story broke on Monday. Curious because it is rare that the Family Court make public judgements. As the Yorkshire Post reports Victoria Haigh “caused” the girl, now aged seven, to repeat the untrue child sex abuse claims she had “manufactured...

Published 24 Aug 2011 6:37 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, social issues, work, socialcare, local authority, politics, personal, Christopher Booker, daily telegraph, Family court, Injunction, Elizabeth Watson, High Court, john hemming, john tune, Nicholas Wall (judge), sunday telegraph, superinjunction, vicky haigh, Yorkshire Post
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: social care, social work, social issues, older people, work, old age, elderly, health, direct payments, local government, Employment, Disability, social workers, personal, personal budget, personal budgets, neoliberal social work, professor jonathan parker
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: social care, social work, social issues, work, discrimination, benefits, politics, london, health, personal, cameron, david cameron, Prime minister, iain duncan-smith, philosophy, Chipping Norton, broken britain, Emma Harrison, gang culture, gangs, Single-parent
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: social work, work, health care, health, stress, personal, book review, jessica kingsley, jkp, kate van heugten, social work book, social work under pressure, van heugten
Blame the Poor – A Riot Rhetoric

I apologise for keeping on one track in my posts this week but I am preoccupied by events of the last week. I’m not the same person I was a week ago. Some of the pillars that I held on both tangible and intangible have gone now, never to be replaced....

Published 12 Aug 2011 6:58 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social issues, work, local authority, london, television, England, poverty, personal, london riots, Clapham, Croydon, Ealing, Riot
Communities

One word that has come up a lot in the last few days are discussions about communities. Whether is it ‘affected communities’, or ‘community leaders’ or ‘rebuilding communities’ and it has made me wonder about what the meaning of the word is. whizchickonabun...

Published 11 Aug 2011 6:55 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social issues, work, local authority, london, community, personal, david cameron, community building, Online Communities, boris johnson, Chipping Norton, Community leader, Community management, what is community
London – Some thoughts and hopes

I didn’t sleep much last night. Or the night before. Or the night before that. My city is burning. There is a tangible fear in the air. I’m not above it because I feel it and I see it. I don’t want to listen to politicians being parachuted in (when they...

Published 9 Aug 2011 6:58 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social issues, local authority, london, England, personal, david cameron, big society, london riots, Tottenham
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: social work, work, health care, health, nursing home, links, personal, Southampton
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: social care, social work, work, mental health, local authority, health, local government, Home Care, Disability, caregiver, personal, Commissioner
Rankings and Musings

Quick post today as I have a few things on the go. So, Wikio sent me their top 20 UK Health Blogs and again, I’ve made the list. Thanks to everyone for your support and do check out the other sites there – there are some real gems and it’s a pleasure...

Published 3 Aug 2011 7:14 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, older people, work, old age, technology, links, personal, care homes, Wikio, activities in care homes, august, technology in residential care, wikio rankings, wikio top 20 health blogs
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: social care, social work, work, mental health, health, mental health social work, carer, social worker, approved mental health professional, personal, cmht, social work in the uk, NHS Trust, AMHP, Best Interests Assessor, Community mental health service, mhsw, what does a mental health social worker do, what does a social worker do
Life as a Social Work Student 4 – The Half Way Point

This is a guest post from the student who has contributed since before her course started. She first wrote here about her pre-course shadowing experiences, her initial impressions after a few months on the course, the start of her first placement and...

Published 1 Aug 2011 7:04 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, work, Education, social work student, Employment, Social Sciences, university, personal, social work in the uk, social work course, Colleges and Universities, guest post, blogs about social work, masters in social work, reflections of social work student, studying social work, university experiences, what's it like to study social 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: social care, social work, work, local authority, politics, health, conservative party, public sector, National Health Service, member of parliament, personal, david cameron, conservative party policy, KPMG, Oliver Letwin, Public policy, the nasty party
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: social care, social work, work, long-term care, health, adult care, Home Care, nursing home, BBC, Disability, personal, Ofsted, Care Quality Commission, cqc, panorama, paul burstow, castlebeck
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: social care, social work, work, mental health, politics, uk, health, Mental disorder, personal, AMHP, philosophy, injustice, Sadness
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: social care, social work, work, socialcare, mental health, politics, health care, health, nhs, National Health Service, personal, Guardian, Secretary of State for Health, david cameron, andrew lansley, lansley, Primary care, private sector healthcare, privatisation, selling the nhs
Light Touch Inspections, Winterbourne View and the CQC

There was a report on the Community Care website on Friday that the CQC were ‘calling time’ on their so-called light touch inspection ‘regime’ thereby rolling out potentially to annual inspections for adult services and care homes. As the article emphasises...

Published 19 Jul 2011 7:39 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, work, long-term care, nursing home, BBC, Disability, personal, Inspection, Care Quality Commission, cqc, panorama, care in the community, paul burstow, cynthia bower, winterbourne view, bower, light touch inspection, winterview
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: social care, social work, work, mental health, uk, health, Social Sciences, Department of Health, personal, General Social Care Council, Child protection, British Association of Social Workers, british social work, munro report, chief social worker, department of education, generic social work, social work development
Age Discrimination and Language – or why I don’t like ‘The Elderly’.

What is age besides a classification? When do we become old? What language is used in relation to people who reach certain points in their life cycle. Does a child become an adult at 18? Legally perhaps but in a sense these are rough brush strokes which...

Published 13 Jul 2011 7:03 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, older people, work, old age, Age Discrimination, Disability, personal, Independent living, Disabled, ageing, Adult
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: social care, social work, older people, work, local authority, old age, government, politics, elderly, long-term care, uk, health, Southern Cross, Southern Cross Healthcare Group, nursing home, care, Department of Health, personal, Care Quality Commission, david cameron, White paper, big society, Public services, uk government, GMB (trade union), open public services white paper, opswp
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: social care, social work, work, mental health, discrimination, local authority, old age, politics, health, personalisation, advocacy, Home Care, Unison, Social Sciences, Disability, personal, British Association of Social Workers, social work in the uk, british social work, individual budgets, personal budgets, Internet forum
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: social care, social work, social issues, older people, work, socialcare, discrimination, ageism, old age, politics, elderly, health, local government, Age Discrimination, Home Care, nursing home, personal, philosophy, agism, dignity in care, elaine macdonald, elaine mcdonald, kensington, mcdonald v kensington and chelsea, r v royal borough of kensington and chelsea, Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea
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: social care, social work, older people, dementia, work, carers, socialcare, mental health, local authority, old age, politics, elderly, long-term care, health, carer, nursing home, Disability, personal, british politics, Means test, Andrew Dilnot, dilnot report, Funding, funding of care, care and funding, dillnot report, dilnot report on funding of care and support, dilnott report
Trade Unions and Strikes

I’ve written about my background and my somewhat ambivalent relationship with Unison in the past but today, as there is to be a widespread strike in the UK, I almost wish we had also been called out to strike alongside the teachers and the civil servants...

Published 30 Jun 2011 7:06 PM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social work, work, public sector, Strike action, Trade union, Unison, personal, Civil service
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: social care, social work, older people, work, local authority, old age, politics, elderly, health, Home Care, nursing home, Disability, personal, Guardian, White paper, Andrew Dilnot, dilnot commission, care and support, dilnot report, Funding, funding of care
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: social work, social issues, mental health, health, Social Sciences, personal, fostering, Foster care, philosophy, power and 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: social care, social work, older people, work, carers, socialcare, mental health, discrimination, local authority, old age, politics, elderly, health, carer, direct payments, local government, Home Care, Disability, personal, personal budget, budget
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: social care, social work, social issues, work, discrimination, learning disability, political correctness, health, Disability, mencap, personal, Crime, Hate crime, pc correctness gone mad
Mrs J and the Mystery Bristol Care Home

There is a story on the Community Care website this morning about an ombudsman’s report relating a woman, Mrs J, who was placed in a care home in Bristol. lovestruck@flickr This was a care home which was not only rated ‘poor’ or had no stars under the...

Published 21 Jun 2011 6:34 AM by Fighting Monsters

Filed under: social care, social work, older people, dementia, work, mental health, old age, politics, elderly, long-term care, carer, csci, local government, Home Care, nursing home, Commission for Social Care Inspection, personal, Care Quality Commission, Standard of care, bristol, care homes in bristol, Local Government Ombudsman

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