“Above and Beyond” Message of week 6th October 2016 A major report, highlighting the workload pressures faced by social workers, has been welcomed by Sean Holland, the Department of Health’s Chief Social Work officer. The Northern Ireland Association of Social Workers report “Over and Beyond” showed that staff are having to work additional unpaid hours in teams where there are vacancies, to ensure the public aren't at risk. Among the greatest challenges for staff was the burden of paperwork and lack of administrative support. Commenting on the report, Sean Holland said social work is a job that requires huge level of commitment. are grateful for the hard work and dedication of all the social workers in the “We HSC system, the majority of whom go and every day. ‘above beyond’ that individual social workers, like nurses and doctors, “It is, however, important practise in accordance with their professional codes and within the limits of safety and are supported by their employers to do so. They should never be going so far and that they compromise their ‘over beyond’ own or others’ wellbeing.” Sean also pointed out that as part of the Social Work Strategy the Department had been working with NIASW and the Directors of Social work within each Trust to tackle some of the issues highlighted, including unnecessary bureaucracy. want to see exactly what NIASW want to see - qualified social workers spending “We the majority of their time practising social work and we recognise that paperwork is one of the greatest frustrations and challenges for frontline staff. have invested in initiatives in Trusts to tackle these issues, the impact of which “We has not yet been fully realised. Department officials recently met with the Directors of Social Work from each Trust who have agreed to drive forward the next phase of work to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy at a systems level, reflecting our joint commitment to supporting social workers.
“Above and Beyond” Message of week 6th October 2016 A major report, highlighting the workload pressures faced by social workers, has been welcomed by Sean Holland, the Department of Health’s Chief Social Work officer. The Northern Ireland Association of Social Workers report “Over and Beyond” showed that staff are having to work additional unpaid hours in teams where there are vacancies, to ensure the public aren't at risk. Among the greatest challenges for staff was the burden of paperwork and lack of administrative support. Commenting on the report, Sean Holland said social work is a job that requires huge level of commitment. “We are grateful for the hard work and dedication of all the social workers in the HSC system, the majority of whom go ‘above and beyond’ every day. “It is, however, important that individual social workers, like nurses and doctors, practise in accordance with their professional codes and within the limits of safety and are supported by their employers to do so. They should never be going so far ‘over and beyond’ that they compromise their own or others’ wellbeing.” Sean also pointed out that as part of the Social Work Strategy the Department had been working with NIASW and the Directors of Social work within each Trust to tackle some of the issues highlighted, including unnecessary bureaucracy. “We want to see exactly what NIASW want to see - qualified social workers spending the majority of their time practising social work and we recognise that paperwork is one of the greatest frustrations and challenges for frontline staff. “We have invested in initiatives in Trusts to tackle these issues, the impact of which has not yet been fully realised. Department officials recently met with the Directors of Social Work from each Trust who have agreed to drive forward the next phase of work to reduce unnecessary bureaucracy at a systems level, reflecting our joint commitment to supporting social workers.
06_10_16%20Above%20and%20Beyond%20MOTW.docx