Lockdowns may have ended but out duty of care as social workers goes on - and that includes encouraging colleagues and those we serve to make sure they remain fully vaccinated against COVID-19 and a potentially resurgent flu virus.
It is with a sense of relief, but also pride in our collective resilience as a profession, that we are able to publish the Chief Social Worker for Adults Annual Report 2021-22 in a world which has, at long last, regained some of the familiar trappings of normality.
As we approach a festive season that will be very different for all of us, we wanted to say thank you again for the support you have provided our communities during a very challenging year.
We continue to be moved by stories of dedication, kindness and empathy across the social care workforce and by your equally dedicated NHS colleagues. We know many of you will continue to provide care and support in your communities and go the extra mile to work over the holiday period. Likewise, others will take a much-needed rest with their loved ones before shortly returning to work.
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.