Learning outcomes On completion of this unit, you should be able to: understand how carers can sometimes perceive their role.
Introduction The caring people do for family members or close friends is often difficult to define, as you're probably aware. Sometimes people are reluctant to be described as being a ‘carer’ because it signals a change in a relationship, or a change in someone's lifestyle. How people talk about care, and the meanings that they give to what they do, can influence many aspects of caring relationships. It may determine whether help is provided in the first place, and also what kind of help is giv
2.3 Making choices and developing a personal care plan The social work task of supporting a person's admission to care involves many skills. Social workers must be able to assess the person's needs and coping mechanisms, and the quality of provision to meet needs. They must be familiar with the National Care Standards for their nation. To liaise effectively with service users, families, home providers and other professionals involved in assessment, good communication and negotiating skills are essential. If there is a need for residential c
Acknowledgements The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under licence. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: The content acknowledged below is Proprietary and is used under licence.
Author(s):
2.3 Video activity: Discussion A key aspect of this work is ‘partnership’. Service users are called ‘members’ at Redcar & Cleveland Mind and Jane spoke about their involvement as being integral to the service. Members may also be volunteers and have roles on the executive committee. For example, the co-chairs of the executive committee are also members of Redcar & Cleveland Mind. The service has evolved as a response to members and Jane likes to hear their views directly, as well as through colleagues. Jane conside
1.4 Service users' views: What services? When people are consulted about the services they have received they express strong views not only about access to services but also about what those services are. For example, the shift from a home help service to a personal care service has raised many concerns. The consultations for the book this unit was based on and other research (see, for instance, Sinclair et al., 2000) both indicate that (unknown to managers) workers sometimes go beyond their allotted tasks in order to meet service u
1.3 Service users' views: What views? Some views from our consultations are shown in Example 1, which has comments from people who have used mental health, physical disability, older people's and learning difficulty services, and Example 2, which has comments from the users of services for children, young people and families. 1.2 Service users' views: Whose views? Several questions arise about the kind of feedback from users that is most relevant for social care organisations to seek and respond to. What about people who are unwilling users of social care services? How important is it that their voices be heard? For example, people may come into contact with services as a result of formal detention in hospital against their wishes, under the Mental Health Act 1983. The views of children, adults and professionals have to be balanced. There are dilemmas Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: show knowledge and understanding of the critical importance of service users' views in all aspects of health and social care management. 2.2 What is constructive social work? Read the following article: ‘What do we mean by “Constructive social work”?’ While you're reading, make notes on the theoretical and philosophica References 1 LETS: A community development You will shortly be listening to a sequence of audio clips, which focus on the use of LETS as a community development tool. Should LETS come ‘from above’ or ‘from the grassroots’? Principles of self-help and co-operation work well in neighbourhoods and communities where there are resources and supportive networks. However, even in strongly cohesive communities, some people may find it difficult to join in, for reasons of disability, age or marginal status. In communities that ar Learning outcomes By the end of this unit you should be able to: give examples of how LETS work as a community development. 2 Pressure for change Bedford Mencap was founded in 1955, as a branch of the National Association for Parents of Backward Children. It provides services for its members, such as the Welfare Visitors Scheme, and also campaigns for change at national and local levels. When the branch was founded there was no provision for families other than the advice to put their child into a mental handicap hospital. Now, partly due to the efforts of Mencap, there is far more on offer. However, you'll shortly be hearing that whil 2 Gaynor and Liz comment on Brian and Sylvia's situation At the time of the recording, Gaynor was a social worker employed by social services. She specialised in working with older people. Liz was an occupational therapist also employed by social services. Both had extensive experience of carrying out assessments under the NHS and Community Care Act 1990. 1 Brian and Sylvia's experiences Brian and Sylvia, a married couple in their early sixties, were both bikers until Brian was diagnosed as having Parkinson's Disease. Sylvia became his designated carer, but her own health was deteriorating. Brian had an initial assessment by the social services department, followed by annual review assessments for home care. There were also assessments related to Brian's attendance at a day centre. Sylvia had assessments as a carer, but was looking at having an assessment as a service user. 2.1.3 Angela Yih Angela Yih was working for Age Concern Scotland, based in Edinburgh. She had been heavily involved in a campaign, with other vol Acknowledgements The content acknowledged below is Proprietary (see terms and conditions) and is used under licence. Grateful acknowledgement is made to the following sources for permission to reproduce material in this unit: The material acknowledged below contains Proprietary content which is used under licence (not subject to C 8 Comment on the audio clips In the cases of John and Danny, few, if any, of needs were being satisfied. Both were unemployed and, despite some assistance from Social Security, neither was economically secure. Neither of them had protective housing. Both were reliant on public toilets for clean water and, by and large, on charity to obtain nutritious food. Neither had ready access to appropriate health care, and both relied on the Accident and Emergency department at the hospital for medical treatment. John certainly did 2 Schemes run by Swansea Cyrenians in 1999 A hostel, which provided accommodation for 13 people, predominantly men, in individual rooms and an overflow shed. It was run in partnership with the Family Housing Association. Three-quarters of its funding came from the Welsh Assembly, and a quarter from the local authority. Another important source of revenue was Housing Benefit, through which residents were able to pay their accommodation charges. This varied enormously. Residents classified as ‘vulnerable’, like those with ment
Example 1: Some views from users of adults' servi
Activity 3
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