Do you trust social service

dream

Do you trust social services or do you think the system let us down or that we get lost in the system because a lot of them can be incompetent not doing the job properly

theme79

LOL - of course I don’t ! As I always say Social Services has been a misnomer for years - Resource Allocation Assessors might be more appropriate.

We can’t avoid them and often need then but they are not on our side.

Without naming the authority - when working in a particular role I was aware that social workers were given training which was clearly about costs reduction not enablement of disabled people.

dream

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/949294#Comment_949294

I don't trust them 1 bit I don't

Littlefatfriend

Unfortunately dream the scale of fraud and the amounts of money they trade in necessitate as detailed investigations as are possible.

Technically, by demonstrating our disabilities (ie what we can't do because of them) we're proving a negative.

It's bound to be a complicated process which I certainly don't envy them. Disabilities are rarely straightforward.

Some of them could benefit from a personality translation but that's true of most groups of people.

I like to hope they're trying most to be fair.

dream

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/949298#Comment_949298

It annoys me when social service thinks we are incapable of doing things

durhamjaide2001

Some of them but not all of them

russ7

I am a carer for a visually impaired person,for the sixteen years living in this borough their hasn't been any help or support whatsoever,some people get everything others get nothing,social services are a waste of time.

SteveE

I guess it depends on each of our own experiences. For me, the 'service' has declined over the last ten years. We no longer have a nominated social worker who gets to know us well and to work with us on a number of issues; they don't do pro-active, just re-act to a request. it is all self-referral now, and if you get as far as speaking to someone (usually a new bod each time), they're often building their knowledge from the bottom up. No cross-working with other professionals. Often, to speed things along, arrange something that might not be suitable, just to be able to 'close the file'. Complaints don't really get the issue sorted. But to fair to the actual people at the coal face, they have always had a heavy caseload and nowadays are working under unhelpful rules and procedures, and with much less money and other resources than before. I believe almost all are usually competent, decent people wanting to help. But their hands are so tied these days. Please support them as you want them to support you. If possible.

Lindsey54

I have to disagree with many of the comments made here! My partner is a social worker, both she and her co-workers work very with hard long hours often some of it unpaid. When you are a caring committed person you get to a point where you wonder if it is worth going the extra mile. Looking at some of the comments made here about your social worker I am not surprised if they don’t have the enthusiasm to give that bit extra.
Not all social workers are angels, equally they are not all monsters. Ask yourself this question, “Would I want to put myself out for clients who are negative, moaners, serial complainers. Often with family who create difficulties for you the client, and your social worker. I have asked my partner “why do you carry on doing your job you get precious little thanks for what you do”. I get the answer, “I enjoy my job, I like helping people who find themselves in difficulties and I can help them”.

Think about the way you treated to hem? Did you thank them for what they were trying to do for you? Did you come out with a tirade of negativity. Take a thought on this, ‘Rubbish in Rubbish out’. We may not like the situation we are in, try to get your social worker on your side. Ask them what you could do to improve the situation you are experiencing. Social workers are bit like their clients, they cannot do the best job in isolation.

Try to get active in local community pressure groups, many of these groups are very active, ask what you could help with. Try writing letters to local Counsellors, the Mayor, your MP, all of these people will be up for reelection at some point. Do not forget the opposition parties or those looking to stand against the sitting representatives, they will often work harder for you, they want your vote.

I have found that many problems that people with disabilities have are, probably at the doors of the many politicians that fail to really understand the problems that their decisions make for us.

Many of the problems we face are created by the postcode lottery that exists in the UK. Depending on your location, this has a very real effect on the level of help you can expect. Our medical care in the main comes from the NHS. this is funded by central government. Social Care is funded by the councils, in the area where you live. Social Services comes under the control of your local councils. The way that they operate and allocate funding varies from district to district. We have a bad system of social care in the UK because we do not have any standardisation for Social Care across the country. This I believe can be firmly put at the door of Central Government. Successive Governments of all political persuasions have failed miserably to deliver on the needs of Social Care. This is where your anger should be directed, not at the local government but at central government.

Your Social Worker is not to blame for the underfunding of the department in which they work. If you want something from your social worker, you may have a friend who has something which you could use to help with your day to day living. Your Social Worker may say that they are unable to do this request because of budget constraints.

So please be nice to all of the staff that provide your social care. It is not always what they would like to see done for the client. It is what they are allowed to do or provide.

If you think that Social Care is in a mess do something about it and challenge your local politicians. An MP other elected officials will have regular meetings to discuss your issues. So get active take action do something positive. You may find yourself in the situation where you have had a positive impact on your locality, rather than getting nothing done other than loosing another person trying to do a good job under difficult circumstances.

Littlefatfriend

https://forum.scope.org.uk/discussion/comment/949300#Comment_949300

That's precisely the problem from the perspective of a third party.

Seen from outside I can do all sorts of things one wouldn't expect given my abilities.

For benefits we need to prove what we can't do, which is altogether more subtle.

dream

i know a lot of us have had bad