The role of the social worker

A concern with social justice and countering inequality are fundamental to the value base of social work. Ageism and the stigma of mental illness are issues to the fore of social work practice in older people’s mental health. Social workers operate within the parameters of several prominent pieces of legislation, which have been detailed in this brief article. There is a degree of overlap with the work of other professionals and collaborative working is crucial. Particular social work preoccupations are the preservation of service-user networks so that family and friends maintain contact, the underpinning of service users’ rights to take risks when they have the ability to decide, and assisting people to remain living in the community by the provision of practical services like home care. Relating to people holistically implies garnering practical help to wider psychosocial issues, and professionals in community mental health teams aim for supportive working relationships with service users and carers. Entry to permanent care, where it occurs, needs to be the result of rigorous, measured, multidisciplinary assessment. Salient matters during the process of care home admission are – the practicalities of the move, contact with the service user and the home in the initial post-admission period, and the encouragement of ongoing involvement of significant people in the service user’s life. In general terms, judgement and discretion are required to cope constructively and optimally with practice dilemmas to the benefit of service users.