Popping out the opposite aspect
It’s with a way of aid, but in addition satisfaction in our collective resilience as a career, that we’re in a position to publish the Chief Social Worker for Adults Annual Report 2021-22 in a world which has, in the end, regained a few of the acquainted trappings of normality.
Now that now we have a largely totally vaccinated inhabitants, COVID-19 will not be the menace it as soon as was. Society has opened up once more and a few of the safeguarding and entry challenges confronted by our career have begun to drop away.
After all, sector strain remains to be excessive. Social employees and social care and well being colleagues proceed to assist people and households course of the disruption, loss and trauma of the final two and half years. Now after all, they are going to be contending with the stresses of the price of residing disaster and the warfare in Ukraine, each of which actual a psychological and bodily toll, even on these circuitously affected.
So, it’s acceptable that we publish this report within the midst of Mental Health Awareness Week. Social work’s contribution to this space is required now greater than ever.
On this very level, following publication of the Psychological Well being Act Reform session, we had been delighted to nominate Jason Brandon on a two-year secondment into the function of Psychological Well being Social Work Lead. He’s working exhausting with the MHA Reform crew and stakeholders to strengthen the accepted psychological well being skilled (AMHP) workforce – an typically unseen bastion of brilliance!
Though the overwhelming majority are social employees, within the spirit of the reforming integration agenda, there’s a rising cohort of AMHPs drawn from medical disciplines. It is a nice alternative for social employees to share their years of expertise and likewise for NHS colleagues to contribute to our apply.
Continuity in a disaster
After all, this report, by its nature, seems to be again on the challenges and achievements of a tough 12 months. Within the darkest days of the pandemic, I’m so glad the grownup social work career had the advantage of the collective knowledge of not one, however two Chief Social Staff, Fran Leddra and Mark Harvey.
While I took time away from the function to look after my mom in the previous couple of months of her life, Fran and Mark picked up the baton and delivered some extremely vital work, while additionally demonstrating the compassionate management, perception and assist our colleagues wanted.
They helped shepherd the ‘Revisiting Safeguarding’ steerage to publication and enabled practitioners and others concerned in grownup safeguarding to re-evaluate their apply and maximise responsiveness to these susceptible to hurt. A companion piece, Bridging the Hole, targeted on our function in enhancing apply and assist for younger folks shifting into maturity.
In the meantime, additionally they championed the a lot wanted social care office race equality commonplace (WRES), presently concluding its first part of cultural and institutional reform in 18 native authorities. I do hope we see this willpower to mirror, honour and promote range adopted in all social care settings and permit everybody, no matter background, to realize their potential. Social work – and social care typically – can solely be really efficient if it mirrors the society it serves.
Our voice within the reform agenda
Wanting forward, serving society will assume even higher significance as social work lends its assist to social care reform and strengthens its voice inside it. There are numerous challenges forward in making ready for its implementation, addressing workforce challenges and making ready for assurance of native authority social care responses to supporting folks.
I proceed to be amazed by the way in which wherein social employees step as much as meet such challenges, as they proceed to give attention to folks, the outcomes that matter to them, and relentlessly be sure that folks’s human rights and their possibilities to have the very best
