By Charlotte Webster-
A meeting of the Isle of Wight Council’s Audit Committee on Monday exposed the failings of social services. Members were told that at the end of March 2017, 84 case reviews were overdue by more than 15 months. Shockingly, this worrying lapse in operational activity is an improvement on the state of affair in 2016.
At the beginning of December 2016 when 735 reviews were overdue by the same period. Committee members were told that only 41 per cent of all reviews were completed on time during the quarter ending March, 2017, and 210 assessments were awaiting management authorization at the end of December 2016.
POOR
The poor state of affair improved to 113 by the end of March 2017, but was still deemed a ‘far from acceptable level of performance’, according to the report.
None of the adult safeguarding investigations were completed within the 28 day standard during March in 2017, and there were 732 outstanding Deprivation of Liberty (DOLS) applications at the end of March – 56 received in that month and only 13 completed. Locals from the Isle of Wight are generally discontent with social services- the eye of media.com have had 4 proposed complaints for articles this year, 3of which were resolved during our investigation, calling off the need for publication.
The report also decries the fact that changes to the Isle of Wight council’s internal decision making process has not led to a reduction in the numbers of people placed in permanent residential or nursing care. This means the internal decision making is faulty.
The delay in case reviews suggest a lack of adequate skill in completing the reviews on time, although some social workers believe the usual issue of heavy case load is the problem. Burdensome case load has always been the best excuse provided by social workers failing to live up to expectations, but regulators and assessors would take into account the workload when evaluating the performance of social workers.
INEPT
Social workers are collectively believed to be slow and inept in getting their acts together when it comes to paper work and completion of their duties. In light of their centrally important role in both children and adult services, social services in Britain have been a disappointment for too long.
Disciplinary actions were multiple in 2016, including dismissals. However, social workers generally have their identity protected even when undergoing disciplinary actions for professional incompetence. Their useful and important role in society affords them that protection even when caught slipping, the psychological pressure of their job always taken into account.
However, no amount of pressure faced by social workers excuses a failure to get work done well, except the load was unbearable. Pressure is not necessarily the same as workload, though the latter is pressurising. Workload should never be so much that they are overwhelming, otherwise efficiency may be compromised.
Reviews are necessary and conducted for a reason. Compromising reviews in a profession like social services is dangerous.Failing to complete so many reviews is every bit worrying.
The British government has injected more funding into social care, funding on top of previously increased funding added to social care. The extra funding should raise standards, there can be no excuse for a profession central to the fate of millions of families in the UK.