Susan, the situation you describe is ridiculous.
Your Social Worker is talking utter rubbish!!
Please don't let it get to you.
Difficult, yes, but your SW is talking utter nonsense. If your Mum is in hospital under a Section 3, then you do not need to be put through this distress.
If you have a local Alz Soc branch, get in touch with them tomorrow.
If you have a local Age Concern branch, get in touch with them tomorrow.
If you have a CAB branch locally, get in touch with them tomorrow.
If you have a MIND branch locally, get in touch withe them tomorrow.
Any one of the above 4 would be a positive move, but I'd go for the MIND branch.
And if I were you, with your own problems, then I would talk to your own GP and explain the situation in full. Ask your GP to be the 'go-between' between your Mum's Social Worker and you, for the time being, just to give you some breathing space - perhaps your GP will be able to get some sense from the SW. Do you have the same GP as your Mum? That would be useful.
The one thing I recommend you do - and this may sound harsh - do not allow your Mum to be discharged from hospital until this is all sorted. And make sure the GP and Social Worker and the Hospital know this.
Have you talked to the Consultant at the hospital about it all? Or is it just the SW that is giving you this rubbish information?
Main thing, don't worry - Social Workers often get this sort of thing completely wrong, and remain in blissful ignorance.
Stay calm!
PS. If you can face printing this link out and putting it into the hands of your Social Worker, it might concentrate their attention:
http://www.communitycare.co.uk/Arti...der-section-117-of-the-mental-health-act.html
.