Effectiveness depends on staff

The concept of empowering service users must be accepted by
social care staff to have a chance of being effective, Ian Baillie,
director of social work for the Church of Scotland, told the
seminar.

In a keynote address, Baillie said when staff were empowered,
they knew they had the authority to carry out the tasks expected of
them. It gave them boundaries, both restrictive and flexible, he
said. But misused empowerment could act against service users and
bring the service into disrepute.

Baillie added that managers had a heavy responsibility to ensure
they understood who should be empowered to do what, when and
how.