Carers' views on social workers sought.

[MAstudent]

I am a postgraduate social work student seeking carers' views on the contact they have had with social workers. As part of my course I am making a DVD for a target audience of social workers and social work students. My aim is to raise awareness of what carers value and what they do not find helpful, be it in terms of their relationship with the social worker or the outcome of the social workers' involvement. I have not included any set questions, as some research does, because I do not want to presuppose what is important to you. I will not include any names in my presentation so as to ensure confidentiality. This is an opportunity for you to raise awareness and contribute to the education of social workers. Thank you for reading this and I look forward to your replies.

[fluffycat]

Social worker is every where in PCT and SS. Do you collect many stories from every directions of Carers experience with SWs?

I am Adult Mental Health Carer for my husband, who needs lots of support from SS. One of his Community Psychiatric Nurse was qualified SW but he was very patronizing. I can only share my experience with that SW. Do you count Carers Support Workers as SW as well?

[Eun]

As I have mentioned in other postings I do not have a particularly high opinion of Social Workers. They seem to exist to only save their departments money instead of helping those most in need. I live in one of the areas assessed as having the worst social work department in Scotland. I together with my husband care for our severely disabled 24 year old son 24/7 and we both have health problems of our own. Good luck with your studies.

Regards

Eun

[Lazydaisy]

I have no faith in Social Services at all. They have failed our family many times, and ignore our needs. I care for my husband and son, who have varying needs. I have asked for support recently, I am at rock bottom after my younger son died suddenly last summer,and the Carers Assessment team have said they cannot help in any way. It seems to me that if your face fits, you get what you ask for. If you complain when something goes wrong, or stand up for your carees rights, or those of yourself as a Carer, you don't get anywhere.
I do not have any respect for most of the Social Services managers that I have come across. The staff who do the daily grind are usually willing,but do not have the support or teaching from their managers.
The standard answer from Social Services if I have any issues , is " well put in an official complaint then, and we will stand by what we are told to do". Too often, this is too much to cope with on top of my caring duties,and the twice I have done so, the complaint has gone in our favour and we have been proven to be in the right. Yet what do we get from it, nothing except more work, mosre expense,(all the paperwork and meetings), and a letter of apology.And that is it until the next time.
Good luck with your research. Just let your students out into the real world, and talk to real Carers and disabled people, without managers of Social Services listening in.

[fizzy lizzie]

I would just like to add my experiance of the so called social services . For my years it was a case of , if you are coping fine on your own we will leave you alone . At the beginning when mum came to live with me i had a full time job 2 teenage girls at home , but the powers that be seemed to think we were all jollying along and there was no problems even after repeated requests for help . As the years have passed i now find i can get all the help i need albeit 13 years too late . I think it totally depends on where you live , postcode lottery again . This year for instance i have had 3 weeks respite and only yesterday was given dates for the rest of the year , another 6 weeks in total . I think it is ridiculous that ALL s.s departments don't give the same service nationwide .I know i am one of the very few really lucky ones and i know exactly what everyone else go through to try and get their needs met .

[cotula]

I think social workers are damned of they do and damned if they don't. They are often abused by the very people they are trying to help, and the help that it is in their power to give is severely curtailed by 'budgets' - often chopped up arbitrarily into sub-budgets only to be used for this or that. In this area, instead of building up working with relevant parts of the NHS, they have been cut off by new systems of working. In this council, I am told 49% have been off on sick leave in recent times. This may be why the council is now using non-qualified 'Care Managers' for as much as possible - I haven't seen or spoken to a Social Worker for some considerable time.

[MAstudent]

Social worker is every where in PCT and SS. Do you collect many stories from every directions of Carers experience with SWs?

I am Adult Mental Health Carer for my husband, who needs lots of support from SS. One of his Community Psychiatric Nurse was qualified SW but he was very patronizing. I can only share my experience with that SW. Do you count Carers Support Workers as SW as well?

Thank you all for your replies so far. I really appreciate you taking time to answer my request. In answer to your question Fluffycat, I have in mind Carers' views on their contact with Social Workers, be they qualified or not, and others who may be carrying out carers' assessments. The information I am looking for is what will get Social Work students thinking about how they can make a difference to the quality of the service provided themselves on an individual level.

[cotula]

what will get Social Work students thinking about how they can make a difference to the quality of the service provided themselves on an individual level.

The ability to recognise when to use clear, relatively simple language to explain fully, and when the person in front of them needs higher level communication because they already know much of what needs saying, and/or they are more articulate. fluffycat possibly got the patronising manner, because English is not her first language - although it is clear to us on this board that she is a capable and intelligent person. I found I could use higher-level language with the few Social Workers I have dealt with than the support people like the 'Care Manager' and the lady from the organisation providing support for DPs, who both needed simpler language. In order to communicate appropriately, the first requirement is to listen .

Listening will also help them find out what matters most to the person they are dealing with.

These points may seem screamingly obvious, but in welter of distractions like 'which form?' 'which budget?', 'who needs to be informed/asked?' etc, these basics too often get lost in the noise.

[Lazydaisy]

I think that Social Workers should have the confidence to stand by their own decisions and responsibilities. I do feel that some of the younger people who have visisted us have had senior staff breathing down their necks, stopping them making some decisions of their own.
This happened with us, and then a new member of staff, a trained nurse stepped in, and said "look, this family need some support". She worked really hard and involved me in everything, including research for our son's needs. She was employed by NHS. Social Work staff should be supported and encouraged to have minds of their own, it can make a lot of difference to a family.

[pmailkeey]

We had a SW. She left for another area. A change-over meeting was arranged. It never happened. Haven't got a SW now.

[susieq]

Just reading these boards would give SW students a fair idea of how Social Workers are generally viewed, and of what 'service users' (horrible term) want from the system !

[beaglelady]

I can't believe I didn't see this post sooner!

Social workers - well don't get me on my soap box!!! I have a very dim view of them due to past experiences. They NEVER get you help in a crisis, always let you down, some of them have been down right rude to me and when you complain about any issue they ALWAYS stick together and back each other up and won't admit when they are wrong.

I asked for help back in November 2009, I care for my mother who has Alzheimers, I had my husband in hospital after having an operation on his knee (he came home and couldn't walk) and to top it all my son was in hospital (not the same one as hubby but 10 miles away!). When I was DESPERATE for help and rang SS what did they do - nothing! It's taken until now - March 2010 for me to get extra help for Mum and I just had to cope on my own looking after hubby and son when they came home. This is just one recent example of my experience with SW, believe me I have plenty more and I could probably write a book!

I shouldn't feel like this about Social Workers - my father was one until he died back in 1974. Probably the stress of the job that killed him! He would turn in his grave if he knew how much difficulty I have had trying to get some help for myself and my mother.

Well you did ask!!

Elaine.

[no1mum]

We were only assigned one during the last two weeks of nan's life, the appts made had to be cancelled.

[cheekipixi]

Social Workers arelike if not much worse than any other proffessional.
I have been treated with contempt, I have been victimised,
I have not been listened too, I have been riduculed and demoralised and I have also been put through 3 child protection conferences, I feel so horrible because my children are my life and I would die for all of them. That is how I feel.
My son have many many disabilities, he is scared now of social workers, police, sessional workers and hates being away from me, my other children are older but have felt the need to go it alone and have left home. He is so worried that he will be taken from me, all down to the 10 social workers we have had since 2006. I cannot imagine how my son really feels but I do know he would a lot happier without the involvement of social services, who, I will add, were contacted by myself for help some 8yrs ago. 8 long yrs of me fighting for help to give my son a better future.
I do blame myself, I should never had contacted them in the first place.
I found a solicitor in 2008, who has been wonderful, she has enlisted independant SW, who has done assessments on my family, these have been the opposite of the authorities and has informed me that the protetion issues and assessments have been totally illegal.

[paul stephens]

social workers are a waste of time when it comes down to carers or carees, had a appointment with one along with a ot for my partners mental health needs. ot turned up social worker cancelled, didnt tell us no letter or phone call to say sorry or re-arrange. there just are not interested. cant wait to see if one does done my carers assessment, i'd put money on it being done by a cpn or ot not a social worker