Social skirmishes

● We’re recruiting more staff to the team – hurrah. But it turns out it is only an NQSW, oh well, we can soon train them up to EP status and one is better than none.

The chosen candidate must be hot on APT, ADP, general CEF practice and the CYPP. We want our little helper to assess for DAMP, SARA and EBD plus be fully conversant with ARCS.

Other parts of the department are querying why are we getting the extra staff when they need it?

Throughout the week we are visited by interested parties such as the PRU and YOT. The SMAT tried to start a row but were sidelined by a demarcation dispute with a delegation from the DAAT. Then we had a bit of a showdown one lunchtime with the IAT followed by a debate in the corridor with a passing CAMHS representative. One older member of staff even said we were going to get a poke from the JOLT until we pointed out that team had gone long ago.

Yet, as we kept telling everyone, all of us are about helping CIN, we’re all part of the wider TAC, so what’s the fuss?

I’ll be doing the APA, so I was thinking of dumping all the MIS and CAFIS work onto the new staffer, assuming the ESCR will ever work. We’ve even lined up for the first few days some shadowing of client assessments: NEET, PPO and a FIN.

Then we’re let down. It’ s not an NSQW we will be gaining but an RRSSA. So, all the hard work and arguing with other members of staff about our qualified appointment was for sweet FA.

Oh well, at least I don’t have to be baffled by acronyms anymore.

E-mail your anecdotes and observations to rosie.warlock@yahoo.co.uk