Celebrating Social Work Week

This week is Social Work Week and we are celebrating the fantastic social workers across our Trust.

Social Work Week is hosted by Social Work England and complements the annual Social Work Day on 21 March 2023.

Social workers encourage people to identify their own strengths so they can connect with their communities and make informed choices about their own lives.

We have almost 100 social workers working in a whole range of our services. From supporting people experiencing mental health crisis and those who are being cared for in our inpatient units, to supporting people, their families and carers out in the community, our social workers are a vital part of the holistic care that we offer.

Fran Ashton, Principal Social Worker, says:

“As we celebrate World Social Work Day on 21^st March, as part of Social Work Week, I wanted to say thank you to social workers and social care staff in the Trust for all their hard work in ensuring that people are at the centre of all that we do.

Social workers lead the way in promoting the rights of those in need of support, along with those of their carers and families.

Social workers lead the way in helping and supporting those we work with to make positive changes and to live the life they choose.”

We spoke to three social workers to find out what makes their jobs so special:

Hannah Bumford works with adults leaving secure care:

“I enjoy supporting people to move forwards in their lives as well as supporting them in making positive decisions and at times stepping outside their comfort zone.  I also enjoy helping and empowering others to achieve their goals and to live a fulfilled life.

The best thing about my job is working with a range of people with a range of needs and being able to reflect with them on the positive changes they have made in their lives and in their recovery.

I enjoy working as part of a caring team who take a strengths-based and problem-solving approach, working together towards meeting a service user’s holistic needs. 

Although it is challenging it is also very rewarding and social work is a profession I am very proud to be part of.”

Toyah Pardoe is a social worker who has recently taken on the role of Clinical Effectiveness Lead for the Specialist Treatment and Recovery Service (STaRS)

“As Clinical Effectiveness Lead for STaRS my role is to lead a multi-disciplinary team in the delivery of an effective, high quality mental health service to those who are experiencing complex and challenging mental health difficulties with a focus on rehabilitation.

I am a Social Worker by profession and came into the Social Work field as I am passionate about supporting people to achieve their goals and to improve their quality of life and functioning.

The best thing about the job is that it is a new and developing service and I am proud to be part of the team’s success. STaRS prides itself on person centred, trauma informed care with the emphasis being on independence and recovery.

The jobs pulls me in lots of different directions which is developing my skill set and knowledge whilst also giving me the challenge I feel ready for.”

Paul Sullivan is an Advanced Practitioner in our adult mental health services

“For me, social work is fundamentally a vocation of true meaning. It’s one of the few careers where you have the privilege of being able to work closely with some of the most vulnerable people in our communities, to build on their strengths and truly make a contribution to an improvement in their lives.”

We hope you will join us in celebrating these extraordinary people this week.