Finally getting a Care assessment can I record the meeting??

[Beannie]

Hi,

Not sure if anyone can help. After three different Social Workers and finding out the last one did not do a care assessment before saying I could get no funding for my husband in a care home, I have finally got a date for the assessment procedure to be started.

I have bought a usb stick that can record and then be listened back to on my computer. Does anyone have any knowledge of whether the Social Worker can refuse to allow this to happen or where I stand if I record it without saying anything? I want the conversation recorded as I have been mis-quoted in the past and it was my word against theirs.

Many thanks for any help anyone can give me.

 

[TinaT]

Usually if you are going to make a recording you must ask the person whose voice you are recording for their permission. I know that this sometimes defeats the purpose but if you do tell the social worker you wish to record the conversation it will at least make her/him realise that you are not going to go away quietly and forget what has been said.

If she refuses perhaps you can speed write or jot down notes quickly. I doubt anyone can refuse to let you write quick notes.

Good luck and please do stick to your guns. The less we go away quietly and the more we insist on what should be given to help us, the better.

xxTinaT

 

[MorbidMagpie]

You could ask to see a copy of the assessment and be given the opportunity to have a follow up meeting to go over anything you disagree with prior to the outcome being finalised. That is what I would do for any of my client's worried about the assessment process.

Try to work with your social worker rather than being on the defensive. I understand your previous issues but tell them your concerns with the assessment and give them the opportunity to be different to the others. They aren't all that bad. You may also benefit from asking what your local authority's process is for considering applications for residential care funding. In the one I work in we have to demonstrate that we have exhausted the consideration of all other options (not necessarily having to had tried them all).

It isn't actually the social worker that ultimately makes the decision about residential care funding in the authority I work in. We submit an assessment to a panel that demonstrates the considerations that I mention and a panel that we don't get to sit on makes the final decision. It is really important that you communicate with your social worker about why you feel residential care is the only option you feel will be appropriate.

Finally, I would not be happy with a client that recorded me without my permission. We deserve our privacy as much as you do and you will also be talking about sensitive information about your husband which could fall into hands you don't expect it to fall into. We are not perfect, we can word things badly or confusingly because we provide a lot of information in a short space of time, as do you about your circumstances, but you need to have open discussions when you feel things are not clear or could be misinterpreted.

I am both a social worker and my father has early onset dementia at age 55.

 

[Shedrech]

Really glad the assessment is to happen, Beannie.
My initial reaction accords with both TinaT and MorbidMagpie (welcome to TP - fascinating name) - I don't think anyone would want to be secretly recorded (really not sure about the legal stance on that), though I appreciate why you feel you want a detailed record of what is said. And the SW may agree, you could send them a copy for their use.
Could you take along a friend or family member (your brother?) who could take detailed notes for you? That way you can concentrate on the conversation but know there will be a record to look back on and someone else's memory to recall what was said. Maybe write out a prompt sheet beforehand, with all the points you want to raise and space under each for notes on the reply. (Why am I teaching .. how to blow eggs!)
I hope the meeting goes well and you get to ask all the questions you have and make all the points you want taken into account.