When will social services contact me

[PiperIsTerrysChoclateOrange]

I took an overdose in which resulted in an automatic referral to SS.

This was on the 29th and I have not heard anything.

It has made me have an anxiety attack every time the door knocks or every letter that comes throught the door.

I know SS are busy and tbh I don't even need them, I have a supportive husband and family. What is the time frame in which the SW will come.

Any one, this is the 3rd thread I have started in MH and no reply :(.

I took a few overdoses when DS was a baby. I had PND. The hospital did a referral to ss but they never came. Instead ss rang the health visitor to come and speak to me which was good as i was already seeing her regularly.
They might not come. They might get information from your GP, CPN or health visitor etc and then decide whether they need to come.
School made a referral to ss 2 years ago over something unrelated. All they did was ring DS's ASD specialist first and then ring me to say they weren't concerned and wouldn't be following it up.
If they are getting involved then i would expect them to have made contact within 2 weeks. I think they are supposed to make a decision within 48 hours of the referral as to whether they need to do an initial assessment or not.

I just wish one way or another they could ring or send a letter.

If I lost my children I don't know what I would do.

If you have a supportive husband and family and your children are cared for then you won't lose them. Taking children is a last resort, ss work to try and keep families together.
Could you ring them and say 'I know a referral was made on xxx date and i wondered if anyone is coming out or not?' then at least you will know either way.

That sounds good, but there is a voice in my head saying if I phone them it will raise suspicions.

My mind is telling me if I phone them, I must have something going on to them and it will make it worse iygwim

I see where you are coming from because i would think the same. You don't want to say anything in case they don't know and then it draws attention to you.
Are there any professionals involved that you trust that you feel you could ask? If any health workers are working with you then they should know if ss are looking into things.

Both my DC are 5 and over so I haven't seen the HV for years now.

They will be under the school nurse then and you never see them!
I think if they were going to do anything then they would have been in touch by now. If they were really really concerned then you definitely would have heard from them already.
I think you might be ok. It's really hard though. I get anxiety so i know how hard it is to try and forget about something. As long as your children are looked after and you are supported then they won't be concerned.

Piper stop worrying NOW! I am a retired social worker (30 years experience in all) and I would be extremely surprised if they came out, as they are so under resourced they can barely cope with their statutory work. When you say you took an overdose and this prompted an automatic referral, who made the referral. Were you treated in hospital at all?

But one thing I can tell you with absolute certainty that there will no question of losing your kids. I always feel so upset when I see so many young mums on MN worrying about losing their kids because they have a MH issue, and some who won't even see their GP because of this fear. Believe me, asking a court's permission to remove a child from their parents is an absolute last resort and is only used when there is serious abuse or neglect of the children.

They may phone the school to ask how the kids are at school (if they know which school they are at) and if there are no concerns they will probably leave it at that, so please stop worrying. You have enough on your plate as you felt desperate enough to OD without worrying about something that isn't going to happen. Don't bother phoning because the social worker on duty probably won't have a clue about the referral and will have to search for it - they get dozens of referrals every day of every week and they are supposed to check to see if the family is "known to them" in the sense that there have been concerns in the past for the children, and if so, this would probably prompt them to visit.

I think the most they might do is phone and ask how you are and will be only too relieved to hear you have support and your kids are doing ok.

OK so just look after yourself and forget all about social workers.

Do listen to NanaNina: I have seen her on lots of threads and she always talks complete sense.

A social worker came out to see me when I had really bad PND after the birth of my second child (I was pleading to be institutionalised, it was not good). He was very nice and reassuring. Obviously I was worried like you about the possibility of my children being taken away or placed on some kind of 'at risk' register. However, they told me that they essentially had no role with me, and would not be intervening because I had good family/ partner support and was engaging with medical professionals. The referral to SS is triggered automatically: it's a safeguarding thing.

Don't forget you have a partner - your child's other parent - who is (hopefully) totally capable of taking care of your baby. You aren't on your own.

I hope you feel a bit better soon.

I did the same a few weeks ago and SS wrote to us a week later and also left an ansa phone message wanting to visit. I spoke to them to see why and they said they want to see how I am coping and what support they can give us. A different SW came last Dec when the school raised ( unfounded ) concerns and she was fab and said we were great, supportive parents, so I kinda believe them. It does seem to be an automatic referral where suicidal ideation becomes a factor. They have suggested that dd (who is 13) joins a 'young carers' group so she can mix with other children with parents with similar issues and I think this may help her. They are coming tomorrow so I will update this afternoon they have been ....

piper iv given some advice on the same threads as you before under a different name I think.

No advice on SS but just to say I'm so sorry you have had such a bad time lately and please take care of yourself you an amazing mam and offer sound advice to others suffering.

Thank you for your kind words Phoenix and hope Piper comes back on the thread so she can be re-assured. Glad you're feeling on a more even keel Carbonel and your mind was put at rest by the social workers who visited. Time was when social services would have been able to provide some support to families with young children and mental health issues, but sadly that's no longer the case.

Can you ask DH to call them, if you're not comfortable to?

Thank you for the replys especially nananina.

DH was home the time of the overdose.

The hospital didn't ask about what school both dc.

I just can't wait to DH to come home I have a terrible headache and I haven't got access to the medical cabinet. DH has both keys as he don't trust me with the tablets in there.

piper maybe ask him to leave 2 tablets where you can reach them in future especially if he's going to be out.

How are you feeling in your self?

I was referred to SS after I was seen in A&E for being suicidal. All they did was phone me to check that I was ok. I know it's hard, but please try to stop worrying.

I was referred to social services when my midwife found out I had been diagnosed with OCD in pregnancy. It took them nearly two weeks to get in touch. It was agony waiting at the time but I would take it as a good sign that they aren't worried. They decided to stay involved because of me being pregnant and they're worried I'll take a nosedive after the birth. I think that's peculiar to pregnancy though, since I don't have a baby yet I can't prove myself until it's born!

I'm taken day by day.

It's still early days, but thanks to the sleeping pills the doctor prescribed I'm sleeping a lot better and not waking up several times a night with panic attacks.

I just want this nightmare of this illness to be under control.

Hope you're OK Piper. SS came and spoke to dh as they were late and I was picking up ds from school. They wanted to check that we were getting the support they had previously advised was needed and that was it. Hopefully when they see you it will be good.

Yesterday was a very bad day, all I did was sleep and sleep and sleep.

I'm not to worried about SS atm, my DC rarely miss a day of school and always clean and tidy going into school. I also attend every parents evening and school plays.
Every medical appointment they have ever had I have taken them to, while they was younger always went to the HV and MW appointments.
My home is clean and tidy and my cupboards are always well stocked and the kids have mountains of toys.

My back garden is secure with a trampoline and a huge swing set.

I need advice regarding a situation where I recently had a baby hes 1month and 3days and my manager offered to help with moving our furniture into new place,however if I am honest the last place was abit dirty in some areas,I didn't throw shampoo bottles away as i should of so I can take accountability of that I let myself go in cleaning it due i really hated living there and just it didn't feel like home..so we have moved into the new place keeping it clean..just to mention I am new mother and i have no family to help me with the baby so iys just my Partner and I. so the first week was hard and stressful since I have been working as well due to help work with workload,as i needed some funds too and i and my Fiancé did have 2 arguments where i would say i dont know what to do and this frustarted my partner because he took it as me giving up so one evening it was hard with the baby because he hasnt established a routine so we both sleep deprived and my partner said he's gonna take him to an adoption center out of anger,thus few hours later we spoke and he admitted he said out of frustration because i said i dont know what to do and I confided in my manager about this and I have been going to counseling sessions for new mothers, and I was told today that my manager has contacted her to involve social workers, my counselor has mentioned that she is going to fight for me and My child as she has seen improvement from when i first started and that the baby is doing well and Great,I have also had a nurse that said the same when I took him for his checkup at 2weeks. So this is really bothering especially since it's my manager and I feel she's getting involved in personal matters and causing unnecessary drama that isnt even valid she is taking things oout of context comparing the first week when I was stressed,how previous place looked and what was said by my Partner and even though i was stressed my son was fed,bathed taken well care off and loved whereas I have a few people that can vouch for me where we have a routine with the baby now so are not sleep deprived,new place is clean and that the baby is growing and doing really well. But this has bothered me because its my manager at work and shes causing unnecessary drama that is not needed. A social worker has not contacted me at all. Just my counsellor has mentioned this yesterday at my session

Old thread @Chanedesiree please start a new one