Overwhelming demands on social workers highlighted in report
Bridget Robb outlines plans to support practitioners following the Inquiry into the State of Social Work report
Robb, B. (2013). Guardian UK.
The findings of the Inquiry into the State of Social Work won't be news to social workers throughout the country all too familiar with the often overwhelming demands of their jobs.
Published on behalf of the all-party parliamentary group on social work by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), the report offers the wider public some insight into the unmanageable caseloads, lack of support and a bureaucracy that works against, not for, the busy practitioner.
The scope of the inquiry meant MPs were able to hear just what these challenges mean in practice.
Unmanageable caseloads means unmanageable risk, as one social worker emphasised when explaining about a particular case he was grappling with at the time: "I have niggling concerns about the mum and her two children but I don't have the time to go back frequently to tease out the situation."
Lack of support means social workers doing their own administration instead of visiting children and families or meeting with multi-disciplinary colleagues. And that obstructive bureaucracy means ICT systems so unwieldy that social workers sometimes use their own computers to do their work; again, time not spent on the things that matter.
Social workers giving evidence to the MPs painted a picture of complete neglect, though not of the children or vulnerable adults on their caseloads but of their profession. Social work is like an office basement where you chuck the old chairs but every now and again a manager makes a visit and yells to someone else to "sort this out". But nothing really changes.
In their attempt to find a way to demonstrate authentic care for the ultimate caring profession MPs issued a series of recommendations for change, from the humdrum, such as putting an end to anti-social, demoralising hot-desking policies, to the fundamental – protecting not just the title but the role of social workers to confer greater professional identity and make plain to those colleagues in multi-disciplinary teams the importance of the contribution made, especially in the NHS.
More practically, the axing of local authority car allowances for social workers isn't just a back-door pay cut but stymies practitioners wanting to make one last visit on their way home. It is a policy that MPs rightly say should end.
But saying something and making it a reality, especially in the current political and economic climate, are very different things. To make these recommendations a reality BASW will:
Work with employers to:
1. Pare back ICT processes to their minimum to reduce cost and time spent by social workers and others on unworkable systems.
2. Employ administrative staff to fill data collection roles.
3. End unpaid overtime for social workers.
4. Work closely with other professions to be clear on casework responsibility, so that every person who is using the service is clear about the person taking lead responsibility, with that person given a caseload that will allow them to undertake the necessary work.
5. Be clear on the social work contribution to multi-professional teams and how that contribution is recorded.
6. Restore car allowances.
Work with ministers and the chief social workers to:
• Ensure clear messages from the social work pilots are being translated for adoption by other local authorities.
• Promote the location of social workers in community settings and engage with the community as part of their role.
• Work with ACPO to take action on social worker hate websites.
Much of the reform process over the past five years has been handed down to frontline social workers, and has largely failed. Now is the time for social workers to take the lead. This report is a first step in that direction.
Bridget Robb is chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers
Published on behalf of the all-party parliamentary group on social work by the British Association of Social Workers (BASW), the report offers the wider public some insight into the unmanageable caseloads, lack of support and a bureaucracy that works against, not for, the busy practitioner.
The scope of the inquiry meant MPs were able to hear just what these challenges mean in practice.
Unmanageable caseloads means unmanageable risk, as one social worker emphasised when explaining about a particular case he was grappling with at the time: "I have niggling concerns about the mum and her two children but I don't have the time to go back frequently to tease out the situation."
Lack of support means social workers doing their own administration instead of visiting children and families or meeting with multi-disciplinary colleagues. And that obstructive bureaucracy means ICT systems so unwieldy that social workers sometimes use their own computers to do their work; again, time not spent on the things that matter.
Social workers giving evidence to the MPs painted a picture of complete neglect, though not of the children or vulnerable adults on their caseloads but of their profession. Social work is like an office basement where you chuck the old chairs but every now and again a manager makes a visit and yells to someone else to "sort this out". But nothing really changes.
In their attempt to find a way to demonstrate authentic care for the ultimate caring profession MPs issued a series of recommendations for change, from the humdrum, such as putting an end to anti-social, demoralising hot-desking policies, to the fundamental – protecting not just the title but the role of social workers to confer greater professional identity and make plain to those colleagues in multi-disciplinary teams the importance of the contribution made, especially in the NHS.
More practically, the axing of local authority car allowances for social workers isn't just a back-door pay cut but stymies practitioners wanting to make one last visit on their way home. It is a policy that MPs rightly say should end.
But saying something and making it a reality, especially in the current political and economic climate, are very different things. To make these recommendations a reality BASW will:
Work with employers to:
1. Pare back ICT processes to their minimum to reduce cost and time spent by social workers and others on unworkable systems.
2. Employ administrative staff to fill data collection roles.
3. End unpaid overtime for social workers.
4. Work closely with other professions to be clear on casework responsibility, so that every person who is using the service is clear about the person taking lead responsibility, with that person given a caseload that will allow them to undertake the necessary work.
5. Be clear on the social work contribution to multi-professional teams and how that contribution is recorded.
6. Restore car allowances.
Work with ministers and the chief social workers to:
• Ensure clear messages from the social work pilots are being translated for adoption by other local authorities.
• Promote the location of social workers in community settings and engage with the community as part of their role.
• Work with ACPO to take action on social worker hate websites.
Much of the reform process over the past five years has been handed down to frontline social workers, and has largely failed. Now is the time for social workers to take the lead. This report is a first step in that direction.
Bridget Robb is chief executive of the British Association of Social Workers
No comments:
Post a Comment