Definition of safer staffing levels in social work proposed to inform legislation

Researchers have proposed a definition of safer and effective staffing levels within social work to inform legislation on the issue in Northern Ireland.

The definition, based on practitioner feedback, is believed to be the first of its kind, and covers both staff sufficiency and practitioners having access to “regular supportive, reflective supervision”, “compassionate line management” and a “supportive team”.

The research team carried out 10 focus groups with social work teams from all five health and social care (HSC) trusts, interviewed over 20 practitioners and analysed time diaries that they provided.

It also analysed workloads across children’s services and older people’s teams in Northern Ireland’s HSC trusts, which identified both caseload sizes and vacancy levels.

The research was commissioned by the Office of Social Services (OSS) within Northern Ireland’s Department of Health (DoH) and is designed to inform the development of safe and effective staffing legislation for the region’s health and social care services.

It was carried out by a team of academics from Ulster University and Queen’s University Belfast led by Paula McFadden, professor in social work at Ulster University.

Analysis of social work workloads

The team collected staffing data from 249 teams across the five HSC trusts, dated to February or March 2023.

In family intervention teams – long-term children’s services teams – the study found that the ratio of social workers to allocated cases was 1:18, while when unallocated cases were included, this increased to 1:20.

While the report did not make recommendations around caseload size, the 2022 Setting the Bar report, commissioned by Social Work Scotland, recommended a limit of 15 in children’s services.

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Impact of high vacancy levels

The situation was driven in part by high vacancy levels, with 22.4% of posts in family intervention teams being unfilled at the time.

Were these posts filled, the case ratios would have fallen from 1:14 for allocated cases and 1:16, once unallocated cases were added.

Children’s social workers interviewed for the research reported that both the complexity and urgency of cases, and administrative burdens, had increased over time.

Working conditions were better, the research found, when there was camaraderie and positive relationships within the team, with a supportive manager who promoted shared risk-taking, and there was regular formal and informal supervision.

Meanwhile, in older people’s community teams, the research found there was one practitioner for every 48 allocated cases, while the ratio was 1:55 when unallocated cases were included.

Again, this was partly driven by vacancies, with 12.6% of posts in the teams being unfilled. Filling these would have resulted in ratios of 1:42 for allocated cases and 1:49 when all cases were taken into account.

Social workers’ views on their caseloads

However, social workers who took part in the research suggested that the ideal caseload in an older people’s community team was 35.

“There was wide agreement that a ‘safe’ and ‘fair’ volume of cases for each social worker should consider time, travel and case complexity, acknowledging that complexity can fluctuate over time, alongside the level of liaison with other professionals and services required for each case,” the report added.

Most social workers who took part in the research perceived their caseloads to be high and, in many cases, unmanageable, while researchers also found that practitioners’ health and wellbeing were being “increasingly impacted by workload pressures”.

Like children’s services colleagues, older people’s social workers also highlighted the importance of their line manager, a supportive team and regular supervision in promoting safe staffing.

The report was published against the backdrop of significant concerns about social work staffing in Northern Ireland that has led to several rounds of strike action by the main union for the profession, NIPSA.

Chief social worker ‘recognises challenges facing staff’

In a foreword to the research report, Northern Ireland’s chief social worker, Aine Morrison, who works within the DoH, said she recognised “the significant challenges social work services NI face currently and the pressures this puts on staff”.

“There is a complex interplay of factors affecting current staffing levels including population factors causing increased demand for services, the aftermath of the COVID-19 pandemic, funding shortfalls and the resultant impact on staff wellbeing,” she added.

“While defining what safe staffing means is complex and brings many challenges, I believe that it is essential that we set some standards for what we believe to be reasonable workloads.”

The British Association of Social Workers (BASW) Northern Ireland, which contributed to the study, welcomed the proposed definition of safer and effective staffing.

‘We need more social workers’

“We need more social workers, that is beyond doubt,” said BASW NI professional officer Noeleen Higgins.

“However, the safer and effective staffing report is helpful in highlighting that achieving safe staffing is not only about having enough staff. It correctly focuses on the importance of supporting and developing staff to have the right knowledge, experience and skills.”

The report will be followed by a further study that will make recommendations for caseload sizes and models and tools for calculating these.

The chief social worker added that both reports would inform DoH guidance on safe staffing levels in social work.

Consultation on safer staffing

The DoH is currently consulting on the content of its legislation on safe and effective staffing, for which it has proposed:

• Introducing guiding principles for health and social care staffing in Northern Ireland that the DoH and health and social care trusts must have regard to.
• Placing the DoH and the health and social care trusts under a duty to carry out evidence-based workforce planning.
• Requiring health and social care providers to take all reasonable steps to ensure suitably qualified staff in such numbers as are appropriate for the health, wellbeing and safety of patients and the provision of safe and high-quality care.
• Placing the DoH and health and social care trusts under a duty to take all reasonable steps to ensure there are sufficient numbers of specific staff groups, including social workers.

The consultation closes on 14 October 2024.