Any social workers?

[QuizzicalLady]

Hi, looking for some advice. Sadly, a friend has received a call at 3.30pm today from social services MASH team. She struggled severely with harassment from them prior to Covid and has only just recovered from their interference. I don't want to go into why they have called but am just wondering what the timescales are for assessments and child protection conferences? She suffers severe mental health issues and am worried as, no matter how much you tell social workers, that their interference is making the situation worse, they simply don't care and it becomes a self-fulfiling prophecy because they get what they want in the end - further mental health episodes to prove their point. I want to support my friend by giving her some timelines to give her an idea of how long she has to endure this unnecessary stress. I'm so sad for her as I watched her go through this last time and it destroyed her. I saw another article today where a mother killed herself because of social services and I know my friend can't hold out for this long overdue overhaul of their failings by the government which seems to be taking an age.

She has sustained her MH but it has recently had a blip.

Well then, can't you see it is fully appropriate that SS make some further assessments?

It's the quality of assessment that worries her. The council is rated inadequate and the social workers employed don't seem to acknowledge that some of their thought processes are, at best, irrational, at worst, severely damaging. It's very touch and go whether you get a social worker who has a brain and intuition. Three quarters of them are newly qualified and have no life experience. Then they become ill and you get a huge turnover of workers, some with questionable skills.

Look, the fact that they were previously on a CP plan suggests there were significant issues.

there has then been a gap over covid where there will have been less eyes monitoring these children.

I understand you want to support her but respectfully it is not about her, it is about her children.

for the record some of the best sw I have ever managed have been newly qualified- don’t write them off on this alone.