What happens when your social worker is useless??

Blue_Gremlin

Registered User
Mar 15, 2006
89
0
45
Morecambe, UK
The social worker we have is worse than useless. She tells us nothing and expects us to know everything. I asked her to find out about care homes three weeks ago and when gav mentioned this to her today she said 'oh I will start looking into that then' :confused: Why is she STARTING to look into it now?? I get the impression she knows NOTHING about anything and is just the person we have to nag to get home help sorted for Jean.

FINALLY Nancy has told the SW that she has had enough and isn't going to feed or look after Jean anymore. Up til now Nancy has been saying that to us but then telling the SW that she is fine with things how they are and making me out to be a liar!!! :mad: She makes me soooooooo mad. I know it is hard for her but it also hard for us being so far away and everytime we turn round she is telling anyone who will listen (home help and SW included) that we are useless and not doing anything!! I am going round in so many circles I am getting dizzy!! At least we can move slightly forward now that she has told the SW that she can't cope - I guess that is something at least.

Tomorrow will be spent cleaning Jean's house since that is one of the things gav got yelled at by Nancy over today. And finally someone has told us WHAT to buy to feed her with at least in part. I am not a mind reader, nor have I lived with Jean so I do not know what she likes to eat, so I need to be told. This afternoon will be spent shopping for her to stock up the kitchen.

Sorry got a bit off topic there, what I really need to know is where I go if the social worker is rubbish??? How do I find out information on care homes in two different counties by myself??

Any help gratefully received.

Blue_Gremlin
 

jenniferpa

Registered User
Jun 27, 2006
39,442
0
I'm afraid I don't know the answer to your primary question (what do you do when your SW is useless) because I've never even seen a social worker with regard to my Mother. However, when I was researching nursing homes, I was told by the local SW department that they were unable to recommend a specifc home, simply provide you with a list of recognised homes in their area, which they did. It was up to us to decide which one was most appropriate. If you go to your local council website, you should be able to either download a local list, or find a phone number to get it sent to you. Alternatively, http://www.bettercaring.co.uk/index_pub.cfm has a search facility where you can put in your requirements and it will spit out a list of possibles.

Jennifer
 

Lila13

Registered User
Feb 24, 2006
1,342
0
I think you phone Social Services and ask to speak to the social worker's manager, but I don't know if they'll be any use.

I found that the problem with Social Services was that as far as they were concerned my mother was the client, and she gave them a false impression of her competence. They should learn to see through that.

Lila
 

mojofilter

Registered User
May 10, 2006
130
0
St.Helens
My mother's first SW was useless but after she started to attend the local mental health unit her consultant had her switched over to one of their social workers (The unit as it's own group of social workers that are used to dealing with AD suffers and their needs).

John (the new SW) as been fantastic, periods of respite are always arranged within 24 hours of contacting him (it took almost 3 months with the first SW). Plus he calls about once a month to see how things are going and if we need anything...

So it might be worth checking with your local health authority to see if they have people who are better qualified to deal with your situation.

Paul
 

Kayla

Registered User
May 14, 2006
621
0
Kent
Care homes

Kent has a Care Directory of all the Care and Nursing homes in the County, which some one gave us. I think she got it from her social worker. There were two local care homes, which were both family run and staffed by people living in the nearby villages. They both had excellent reputations and Mum went into one offering respite care, while a place became available at the one in her village. Later she went into a Nursing Home for the Elderly, which the Care Home recommended after she had her fall, when she broke her hip. I think a personal recommendation is worth more than just a written statement in a brochure.
We didn't find the Social Worker very helpful either. She was a friendly, chatty lady, but she didn't tell us anything at all that we hadn't already found out for ourselves. She kept telling me that I knew what was best for my own mother, but I would have liked her to give me more guidance as she was the expert, not me.
I have been very satisfied with the care Mum has received at all three homes and the staff have gone out of their way to be helpful. The premises have all been spotlessly clean and the food well cooked. It has been a relief to hand over the responsibility to trained people and just visit Mum to enjoy her company.
Kayla
 

Lila13

Registered User
Feb 24, 2006
1,342
0
My brother registered with an expensive agency to look up homes for my mother. I looked them up in Yellow Pages and on the Net, and phoned and visited a few. But some of them wanted a social worker's report before we could get an appointment.

We never managed to get my mother to visit any of them, except for the respite place which she only tolerated because it was only for 12 days, (and she didn't know how much she was paying for it).

Lila
 

Norman

Registered User
Oct 9, 2003
4,348
0
Birmingham Hades
Hi Blue Gremlin
there is an official complaints procedure,it might be enough for your SW to know that you are considering going down that route.
SS do not like complaints ,they are costly and the department get black marks.
Norman
 

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