Lyn Romeo, Chief Social Worker for Adults at the Department of Health.
This is my farewell post before I step down as Chief Social Worker for Adults. It was a privilege and an honour to take on this role over 10 years ago, the first of its kind in England. I am so very grateful for all the support I have received from so many people...
Guest blogger, Simon Duffy, has made a significant contribution to work on self-directed support, personal budgets and putting people in control. Citizenship and inclusion are the cornerstones of social work. Making sure we are working with people with learning disabilities to achieve positive outcomes is imperative.
Lyn Romeo: "As the year draws to a close, I find myself reflecting on the journey we have undertaken together over the last year. We have continued to relentlessly seek improvement in the health and wellbeing of individuals, families, friends and carers."
Deborah Sturdy, Chief Nurse for Adult Social Care and I recently visited Salford to hear about the way social care colleagues work with the council, the NHS, providers and voluntary and community sector partners. I was delighted to hear from one of their social workers, Donna Sharkey about her positive career journey...
I am delighted to host this blog from Gerry Nosowska, founder and Director of Effective Practice, which supported the Social Work with Older People research project. For too long, this vital area of practice has been largely unseen. Hopefully, as we build a stronger evidence base, more social workers will be deployed to work with older people and their carers.
It is an honour to host guest blogs from social workers, researchers and people with lived experience of health and social care. This blog addresses core challenges for Approved Mental Health Professionals (AMHPs) and others involved in anti-racist mental health practice.
October is an important month as it marks World Mental Health Day and Black History Month. These two themes were explored at a brilliant webinar on anti-racist perspectives and the Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) role. Shantel Thomas and Neil Sanyal share reflections on allyship and what it means for all involved in improving lives of those who experience racism in our society.
On a recent visit to Harrow council, I was delighted to meet their cohort of apprentices and to hear about their amazing journeys towards qualifying as social workers or occupational therapists. I am delighted to introduce Angie Beaumont as our guest blogger to tell us about her experience.
I am delighted to support the launch of a free online training course for social work in disaster situations. Maris Stratulis, National Director, BASW England, and Joe Hanley, lecturer and researcher in social work with the Open University, have kindly drafted this week’s blog promoting this excellent course, so please read it and consider signing up!
The first contact with someone in need of care and support is at the beginning of an assessment conversation and there are many routes for this to happen. With increasing need and complexity, this new 'principles of proportionate assessment' guide offers support in setting out a range of assessment methods and how best to utilise them.