Fighting Monsters

Happy Birthday, NHS

2008-07-05T04:43:18Z

Today is the 60th anniversary of the founding of the National Health Service. There has been a lot of coverage over the last week in every kind of media source to commemorate this. From finding people born on the same day to relive their lives through Read More......(read more)

A Career in Care

2008-07-04T04:15:47Z

Earlier in the week, as a result of the Care Ambassador scheme that I am a party to, I had a meeting with a someone from Skills for Care who is involved in setting up some of the meetings and training sessions with schools. The Read More......(read more)

Direct Payments - Chapter Two

2008-07-03T04:34:24Z

So, a week from the start of my journey into a Direct Payments referral and I have sent the appropriate forms, documents and paperwork to the appropriate people. The figures are being checked and the amount that has been requested matched up against Read More......(read more)

Trouble at Southern Cross

2008-07-02T01:43:48Z

Both The Times and The Guardian reported that Southern Cross Healthcare Group have been launched into some kind of financial crisis following the failure to repay a loan of some £46 million. Times are getting harder and a lot of firms are failing - but Read More......(read more)

Assumptions

2008-07-01T04:27:35Z

I work in the inner city and have since I did my first practice placement in the first year of my social work course almost 10 years ago now. For as long as I have been working as a social worker , I have only ever worked in the inner city - different Read More......(read more)

Looking for beds

2008-06-29T05:49:39Z

The new president of the Royal College of Psychiatrists, Professor Dinesh Bhugra, will according to the Guardian use his inaugural speech to lament the problems caused by the shortage of acute psychiatric beds in the system. This is something we hear Read More......(read more)

Legislating for Equality

2008-06-28T04:59:32Z

Details regarding the new Equality Bill were announced last Thursday. The Bill seems to be an attempt to consolidate existing legislation related to discrimination - a seemingly uncontenious issue - however combined with this are some new proposals which Read More......(read more)

Multi-disciplinary working.. or not.

2008-06-27T03:49:50Z

I read in on the Times website that a letter has been written to the British Journal of Psychiatry, in which 36 signatories complain that ‘patients with serious problems are often referred to psychologists and social workers rather than clinicians Read More......(read more)

Direct Payments - Chapter One

2008-06-26T04:10:36Z

Direct Payments is the system of, basically, rather than giving a direct service, providing money to the user of the service to ‘buy’ the care that they need directly. ‘Direct Payments were introduced in the UK - for adults with a disability Read More......(read more)

A Golden Touch

2008-06-25T02:27:39Z

I like talking to people. One of the things I enjoy most in my job and the area that I work in is that I find that the stories people have to tell about their lives fascinating and a part of getting to know someone, their needs, hopes and aspirations Read More......(read more)

The Death of the Giro

2008-06-24T03:51:38Z

Image via Wikipedia I was minding my own business, listening to Moneybox on the Radio at the weekend - when I heard that Benefits Cheques are to be phased out. The Giro is on its last legs. I don’t want to be pessimistic at all, in the face of the Read More......(read more)

*The Road Not Taken

2008-06-23T04:49:44Z

I was asked over the weekend by someone who is just about to finish her Social Work degree and if I would recommend she goes for statutory or voluntary Social Work when she qualifies. I had no hesitation in recommending voluntary sector Read More......(read more)

With or Without Your Consent

2008-06-21T04:14:32Z

Last week was quite a difficult one for me, work-wise. I’ve already mentioned a couple of the Mental Health Act Assessments I did a few days ago. There was another one yesterday and it was the most troubling I have been party to. At the moment, Read More......(read more)

IT and me!

2008-06-19T03:09:38Z

I like to think of myself as somewhat knowledgeable about technology . Not on an advanced level or at the level that would merit any kind of expertise - but basic stuff like checking my email regularly, being able to use database programs and getting Read More......(read more)

On Assessments

2008-06-19T03:01:42Z

This week I completed two Mental Health Act Assessments (not on my own, of course, I’m still not warranted!). So I probably don’t need to elaborate on the fact that it’s been quite busy. Just a few aspects as I saw them. I spoke to one Read More......(read more)

‘New Media’ and Social Work

2008-06-18T04:33:04Z

One of the main reasons I starting writing this is because I wanted to be reading a blog by a social worker in the UK who was currently practising as a social worker. Doing the kind of things that I was doing. I’m pretty sure I’d have been Read More......(read more)

Self advocacy

2008-06-17T04:50:14Z

I’m not sure how obvious it has been but there are certain rumblings at work that have been annoying me lately. Mostly behind-the-scenes things about lack of management support and what I see to be some institutionalised ageism and lack of respect Read More......(read more)

Not managing stress at work

2008-06-15T08:04:40Z

I wasn’t intending to follow up the post I wrote on Saturday but then, yesterday, I read that Social Workers are buckling under the stress burden according to The Guardian, and the coincidence seemed to be too ripe to pass up. Anushka Astana writes Read More......(read more)

Managing stress at work

2008-06-14T03:32:45Z

I am still constantly learning about coping mechanisms and ways of dealing with stress in the workplace - I would like to think I manage the stresses better now than I used to but its been a slog to get to this point at times. Yesterday morning as I arrived Read More......(read more)

An Afternoon with the Magistrate

2008-06-13T03:09:20Z

I had a referral for a Mental Health Act Assessment earlier in the week and needed to go and get a warrant from the local Magistrate’s Court. Well, when I say, I needed, it was me along with another ASW as I’m not yet approved and she had Read More......(read more)

Inside Alzheimer’s

2008-06-12T05:49:59Z

There is an interesting article published by Geriatrics entitled Does Alzheimer’s really exist?. It consists of an interview with two authors of a book called The Myth of Alzheimer’s. I thought it raised some crucial points. Of course, biologically Read More......(read more)

Caring for Carers

2008-06-11T05:03:32Z

This week is Carers Week. There has been quite widespread coverage in the press - certainly from where I’m sitting anyway. Yesterday the government printed it 10 year Strategy for Carers. It has been widely reported that the main tenet of the strategy Read More......(read more)

Talking shop

2008-06-10T04:19:48Z

Last night at an event which had nothing to do with work by any stretch of the imagination, I met the neighbour of the daughter of a woman that I visit. She recognised me because I had visited the flat next to her and she’d have seen me coming Read More......(read more)

Is Care Management Social Work?

2008-06-08T05:14:15Z

How much of social work exists in the Care Management model? It’s a question I’ve been toying with for a fair amount of time - especially as most of my work, post-qualification anyway, has been situated very much within the care management Read More......(read more)

Speaking in tongues

2008-06-07T05:29:50Z

Yesterday seemed much longer than 24 hours. A busy day! I had quite a lot to pack into a relatively short (seeming work day and it felt like I was scuttling all over the place). I visited a man who asked me to explain to him why his life was worth living Read More......(read more)

Reasons to be angry

2008-06-06T04:55:56Z

Reuters reports that lower levels of Serotonin can lead to increased anger. There is a scientific reason why people become more grizzly when hungry, namely that ‘the essential amino acid needed for the body to create Serotonin is only obtained through Read More......(read more)

Of cars and kittens

2008-06-05T04:09:52Z

I don’t drive. Not only do I not drive, I don’t actually have a driving license. My last driving lesson (14 years ago) ended in my driving instructor actually telling me she did not want to teach me anymore (2nd crash - in my defence it wasn’t Read More......(read more)

Help to care

2008-06-04T04:40:19Z

I first saw on the news over the weekend about the report produced by the Institute for Public Policy Research related to Personalised Budgets for Carers and it baffled me a little bit. Don’t get me wrong, I completely think that carers need Read More......(read more)

It’s good to talk

2008-06-03T04:01:48Z

The Commission of Social Care Inspection are, according to the BBC, reporting the groundbreaking news that when staff in care homes talk to residents with dementia, it helps to prevent the residents from becoming withdrawn. twenty_questions @flickr Read More......(read more)

Who’d be a Social Worker?

2008-06-02T05:52:58Z

Yesterday, I met a old friend for lunch. She is also a social worker - in fact, she was the person who persuaded me to do the MA in the first place. We don’t meet as often as we probably should (work, distance, children) but it’s always a Read More......(read more)

Safeguarding Adults?

2008-05-31T05:58:56Z

One of the key policies that I’ve worked a lot with over the past few years, has been the introduction of the ‘new’ Protection of Vulnerable Adults (POVA) scheme and the Safeguarding Adults procedure - when there is a suspicion of abuse Read More......(read more)

Walk away

2008-05-30T04:40:21Z

Yesterday I was called to an ‘emergency’. Well, as I don’t operate strictly in a crisis setting, it was more to act as a gatekeeper to the ‘real’ emergency services. In essence, did Mr A need to come into hospital? It wasn’t Read More......(read more)

Differences in Depression

2008-05-29T04:51:39Z

Breaking completely unsurprising news.. Men and women express different symptoms of depression according to a study from Cardiff. But there are some interesting points that I wasn’t aware of. The breakdown of the symptoms is quite interesting. According Read More......(read more)

Into the ‘hoods

2008-05-28T04:44:34Z

Yesterday was European Neighbour’s Day. I know about this because I read The Guardian’s website! It was a timely then, that yesterday I spent a morning with the neighbour of one of the people that I work with. We’ve met a number of times Read More......(read more)

Get out of Jail Free

2008-05-27T04:33:23Z

I haven’t had much experience of working within the criminal law system but I noticed an article via Mental Patient about Town from the Independent which was depressingly unsurprising when it states that there are a growing number of people who Read More......(read more)

Ageism - the ‘acceptable’ face of prejudice

2008-05-26T05:14:35Z

Social workers are supposed to be a liberal group. We are trained extensively in anti-discriminatory practice. I can’t imagine there are any social work courses in the country that don’t, at least explore, the implications of discrimination Read More......(read more)

Indulgence

2008-05-25T06:05:56Z

A completely self-serving and indulgent post if I can be forgiven, so I’ll keep it brief! It’s Sunday, it’s a holiday weekend and I’m fairly busy but I did get a letter yesterday from the university confirming that the portfolio Read More......(read more)

A Healthy Mind

2008-05-24T04:38:13Z

A lot of discussion exists around mental illness and disorder but while I was reading the Oxford Handbook of Psychiatry yesterday, I came across an interesting passage about good mental health. ‘Good mental health is more than simply the absence Read More......(read more)

Prevention before cure

2008-05-23T04:56:22Z

It is all very well for the government to call for better preventative care for older people. It is a noble aim - and a cost effective policy too. But I can’t help but be a little bit cynical. As long as the Fair Access to Care bands exist and restrict Read More......(read more)

Gaining Approval

2008-05-22T05:07:21Z

In order to become an Approved Social Worker (ASW) the requirements are as follows - undertake a course of sixty days training (a mixture of lectures, seminars and supervised practice in a placement setting ) -apply for a warrant (after some more supervised Read More......(read more)