subject: Song for the Unsung Social Worker [print this page] Song for the Unsung Social Worker Song for the Unsung Social Worker
I have a confession. Those headphones in my ears while I'm on the train: they're not on. You might want to look around you the next time you have a personal conversation on the bus, or tube, because there exists a breed of person called "The Eavesdropper." I am a self confessed Eavesdropper and I highly recommend it, because it may just unearth something you never even knew.
Two old friends set out for a day trip and dislocate their jaws nattering about Whatsit's drink addiction and how is Thingame after her hip operation? And a phrase kept cropping up, at the crisis point of each anecdote there emerged a sort of angel, the social worker. I have had the good fortune never to require one, but it would seem that there are qualified social workers intertwined in every sector of society.
Out of curiosity I searched a social care recruitment site to decipher what exactly a social worker does. A qualified social worker is there at every stage of life from child protection to helping older people become more independent. Whatsit (with his alcohol problem) saw a social worker who discovered he had underlying issues with anxiety, and thanks to a locum social worker, Thingame could be in the comfort of her home with her recovering hip.
And it seems there is a demand for more social workers in London and Major cities in the UK. After the tragic death of Baby P, social workers were unfairly branded the guilty culprits. But these qualified specialists of their work are burdened with such a large caseload that tragedy seems unavoidable. Many of those in the business of Social Care choose locum Social Work. The transient nature of locum work means that they continuously take on new and varying cases, and there is an added amount of stress in a profession that is severely understaffed. Rather than placing blame, we should be encouraging and acknowledging those who choose such an admirable line of work and prioritising their needs.
A poll was conducted to determine job satisfaction and why some social workers choose leave their profession. The research concluded that pay was not the issue, but rather that social workers do not feel valued and respected by society. There should be more incentive to recruit social care workers, and denying them the respect they deserve in this way can only prove to be ruinous.
On the website of a London based social care recruitment company (www.fireflylocums.com), there is a page dedicated to overseas candidates. With the elections fast approaching, "immigration" is a buzzword, and yet we should look inward at our cynical social attitudes and ask why a noble profession is so undervalued that we have no choice but to import qualified social workers. The LGA are pushing a campaign to recruit more Social Workers and according to Director of Campaigns, Chris Lawrence-Pietroni, the government have shown support for the scheme. But is it really enough when it seems a complete overhaul in social attitudes is what is truly needed.
Approaching Victoria station the two friends on the train start another conversation. Apparently David isn't allowed to see his kids, "social worker sticking their oar in." I sniff in contempt at this remark and almost give myself away. Even they, who had apparently encountered a lot of people with true issues, have failed to acknowledge the hard work of these silent social heroes.
