To not want them in my home?

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Ok I'll try to keep this short

I have a 10 month old baby and I'm under the perinatal team due to history of OCD and depression. Worth noting i am absolutely fine on the whole! No one has ever raised concerns over my parenting or anything like that.

As well as the psychiatrist team I have a support worker whose role, as i understand, is to provide less medicalised support and a person to talk to.

The first time we met up we had the meeting as a home visit at my house. I'm not a massive fan of having people i don't know that well in my house, especially health professionals. My house is a safe place for me and I would always prefer to meet at a children's centre or out for a walk. Growing up my family had to have visits from health professionals due to my sister being unwell so it makes me feel like my privacy is being invaded and I'm being 'watched' if that makes sense. Basically it makes me really on edge! I explained all this to her.

Anyway, i was hoping to continue doing walks and meeting up with my baby out of the house but the support worker now seems insistent that there needs to be more home visits??! She mentioned that she wanted to visit at home and I told her I'd prefer to meet elsewhere so we arranged a meet at the local park, but when I arrived she called me saying she was at my house and where was i?! It was very confusing. This evening she's texted me saying that she and 'a new care coordinator' would like to visit me at home next week. I've replied back once again asking if we could meet at a park or even the local children's centre as I'd find this easier and more helpful. No reply yet.
As I said earlier there's never been any safeguarding concerns. I live with my husband and our baby. When the support worker visited the house was tidy and well presented. No one has ever raised any concerns and I'm doing absolutely fine aside from occasionally having obsessive thoughts and being a bit low.

Can anyone shed any light on why the support worker is being so insistent on meeting in my house even though I've made it clear on several occasions I'd rather not?

Thanks x

I expect it's part of their intervention that they consider home conditions. She's probably been asked in supervision whether your home conditions are fine and hasn't been able to answer. You definitely don't have to have a home visit if you really don't want to but you may need to be explicit.

The social worker needs to keep an eye on you and baby. This includes your home and baby's living environment.

YANBU to not want them in your home, but YABU to resist it and not let them. Youll make things tricky for yourself over nothing.

Have they any legal right to enter your home is the question?
If not I think it is worth emailing in your repeated preference for privacy in your home.
Ask them for the basis of there insistence when you have stated your preference.
Create a paper trail, noting that they ignored you last time.

Well we only have your word for it that your home is clean and safe and everything else.

Home visits are essential to seeing a full picture of your wellbeing and ability to care for your baby.

Everything in the home is lovely and sweet- then allow it?

It's not a social worker. They don't have to see the home if OP doesn't want them to.

They don't.

Im just playing devils advocate btw. If you don’t want them in then insist.

However I don’t think it reflects well on you.

They want to see your home life. Get it over and done with before they escalate it.

OP is entitled not to have professionals in her home and if there is no concern raised about poor home conditions then they don't need to come in.

OP it might be best to have an open conversation with them. Explain you know they may want to check the home conditions are all fine, but you'd rather not have a visit in the home. Ask if they would like to do a video walk through if you'd be comfortable with that, or a brief look in before you go out for a walk with them.

Escalate to who? They aren't social services. It's mental health support for mum.

I agree with you- but I also think it’s the path of least resistance to allow a simple home visit.

Not allowing them access to seeing you in your home will most likely flag you in some way which potentially may end up more harmful to you than the feeling of being watched/invasion of your space. Speak to your husband. Perhaps he could be present too if appropriate.

I understand your reasons for not wanting them in your home, but I can’t help but feel like you might be making things more difficult for yourself by blocking access to your home. They aren’t there to judge your home or pass comment on whether you’ve dusted recently, they just want to check that you and your baby are living in a safe, happy environment.

From the perspective of an HCP who does home visits, repeatedly being refused entry to your home might make me suspicious and wonder what could be going on in your home that you don’t want me to see. Would you be willing to compromise on one quick home visit at a time that suits you just to tick the box, and then ask for the rest of your appointments to be at a children’s centre? I think they would probably back off a bit if you agreed to let them in lot your home, and I can’t imagine the stress of them hounding you to let them in is doing much good for your mental health.

It's not going to 'flag her'.

True, but also as a social worker anti oppressive practice is very important to me and steamrolling into someone's home for a home visit that isn't warranted due to vague threats about 'flagging' and 'escalating' is not at all anti oppressive.

I think that’s naive to be honest. They will have a safeguarding protocol and will be used to referring to social services. What SS does about it is another matter…

I think you need to tolerate the home visits. Not sure what you will gain by resisting.

You cannot say that with certainty. I know I’ve made a referral to Social Services when a woman kept making excuses not to let me visit her at home and I grew concerned for the welfare of her toddler. Turns out there was a violent, drug-taking new boyfriend on the scene so I was right to ‘flag it’.

That’s not correct the Rio or Transform platform that health professionals use would have this information logged. Doesn’t mean “flagged” as such though. None of this is a bad mark against your name. It might mean support is increased or is for longer. That might not be. Bad thing?

.

I suspect as long as you continue to engage with the MHSW and the other services then all will be well and it’s really really positive that they have got someone you can talk to. That kind of light touch support is really valuable.

so do not fret about this home visit- maybe a friend or your husband could be there at the same time for some support?

Your gonna have to clean your house again OP, sorry 😀

I’m afraid you have aroused suspicion by not wanting them in your home.

You will have to “grin and bear” it.

These are mental health support workers to help the Op with her wellness. She really doesn’t have to let them into her home if she doesn’t want to and it has absolutely no impact on anything else. They aren’t social services concerned for her kids.

Because you have a history of significant mental illness, you have a tiny defenceless baby, and your home will give additional context for them as to how you’re coping and therefore if she’s safe.

Just to confirm, this support worker has already visited my home as stated in the OP.

Also she's not connected with social services, she's part of the perinatal team.

Thanks for all the responses so far x

I'm a social work manager in a child protection team. Nobody can force their way into a person's home other than police. Unless the MH worker actually has evidence of poor home conditions then social services would not do a thing with this 'information'. All they could say is that OP's home was fine on last visit and since then she has declined visits in the home. How do you think that's going to 'flag' anything? Social work involvement in this country is by consent.