Call to win hearts and minds

Social workers must stand up for their values, rather than act
as purely managers and gatekeepers, urged Edinburgh social work
convenor Brian Cavanagh.

‘Social workers must recognise that they need to shift the
balance of power from themselves to users.

‘We should see our service as a resource to the community and
perhaps go back to community social work,’ he said.

Cavanagh said social work should be developing democracy at all
levels in society, returning to people with little or no power or
real rights in a meaningful sense.

‘Social work at a professional and political level needs once
again to win the hearts and minds of people, to make them see that
social work is a key part of our society,’ he said.

‘It must construct new alliances, and we need to do this by
giving practical examples of how change can be achieved and how it
can work.’