This week, the Department of Health and Social Care, in partnership with NHS England, launched the Change NHS campaign. This is the beginning of an ongoing conversation with the public as, together, our government and healthcare leaders seek the widest range of views possible to shape a new 10-Year Health Plan for England.
Another Mental Health Awareness Week is almost over – its importance given added resonance by the way the coronavirus pandemic has affected the physical and mental wellbeing of each and every one of us.
Of course, supporting people to maintain good mental health is a continuous and collaborative effort. Our colleague Mark Trewin, the Mental Health Social Work lead in the Chief Social Workers for Adults’ office has been proving the truth of this statement.
Worshiping in a time of pandemic poses unique challenges, but our faith communities are finding ways to adapt and maintain connections. Likewise, our social workers of faith are taking the time to reflect on how their practice can dovetail with community traditions to maintain love, friendship and fellowship with those they serve and hold dear.
Social distancing during the current pandemic is pushing social work practice online, but is it possible to maintain relational approaches through smartphones, tablets and laptops? Tanya Moore, Principal Social Worker at Hertfordshire Adult Care Services, believes 'hi tech' shouldn’t mean 'low connection' and asks us to consider how we can maintain sensitive and purposeful relationships in these unusual times.
New coronavirus guidance aimed at all social care practitioners and managers responsible for providing services to adults in the community has recently been published by the Tavistock and Portman NHS Foundation Trust. It draws upon approaches to challenges informed by the …
Behind every statistic there is a person. Vanessa Hodge, Principal Social Worker for Adults at Somerset County Council, reflects on social work's role during the coronavirus pandemic as it continues to affect all our lives, not least those working in or being supported by community adult social care services.
Claire Wood is a first placement social work student from Bradford College. She is currently placed at Roshni Ghar, a mental health charity providing culturally appropriate, responsive services for South Asian women experiencing mental ill health. Like many in her situation, her placement has been paused because of the COVID-19 outbreak.
Claire offers some honest, empathic and ultimately positive reflections on the world we find ourselves in and suggests how we can look out for each other, professionally and personally, in these most unusual of times.
A month ago, Mark Harvey and Fran Leddra, Joint Chief Social Workers for Adults, were finalising their annual report and filming a video message to release on World Social Work Day.
Like the rest of us, they now find themselves in a period of uncertainty and worry. With this in mind, they reflect on what it means to be a social worker in these unusual times and how we can all prepare ourselves for the challenges to come.
An issue frequently raised by mental health social workers and their managers is the desire to better understand the range, scope and access to roles, professional support and development opportunities available within local partnerships. Our fine colleague, Mental Health Social Work (MHSW) Lead here at DHSC, Mark Trewin and Health Education England (HEE) have been working on plans to help social work colleagues do exactly that, as he explains in his latest guest blog.
Georgina Hollingworth was, until recently, a mental health social work adviser at the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO). She was seconded to the FCO through Heathrow Travel Care, a charity supporting vulnerable people passing through the UK’s busiest airport. During …
It's Time to Talk Day and, therefore, a great opportunity for the social work profession to consider how it can support this brilliant and positive event to reduce the stigma around mental health and engage with people experiencing mental distress – wherever they may be.