Meet Celia our new Principal lead social worker
Date added: 08 March 2021
Celia Dunn has been a practicing social worker for over 27 years specialising in mental health and during this time has had a varied, interesting and hugely rich career working in social services, community mental health teams, inpatient and community forensic mental health and Child and Adolescent Mental Health Services (CAMHS).
The role of Principal lead social worker is a new role for the Trust and offers an exciting opportunity to develop the social worker profile across the organisation, particularly at a time of transformation and improvement.
Part of Celia’s role will see her look at social workforce planning to develop the social worker role, career pathway and required governance within the KMPT.
Social work is an essential part of support, care and recovery for individuals living with mental health issues across all areas of society. Social workers must balance issues regarding safeguarding and public protection. They have a duty to ensure that individuals receive the appropriate, support, treatment and care for their mental health and are protected from harm.
The Care Standards Act 2002 made Social worker a protected title. Social workers are a registered profession and are bound by the standards of professional practice set out by registration body Social Work England (SWE). These reflect the value and diversity of social work practice and the positive impact it has on people's lives, families, working with carers, communities and the individual’s right to self-determination and social justice.
Social work is different to social care. Social work is an academic discipline and practice-based profession. It seeks to promote social change, development, cohesion and the empowerment of people and communities. Social care includes providing personal care, supporting individuals with tasks of daily living and supporting people to engage with their communities.
The social work profession’s core mandates include promoting social change, social development, social interconnection, and the empowerment and liberation of people through principles, knowledge and practice.
As a local authority Kent County Council and Medway Council continue to provide statutory interventions for adult mental health service users. Examples of this include:
- Social care assessments – (Care Act 2014)
- Provision of social supervisors - (Part III Mental Health Act)
- Mental Health Review Tribunal (MHRT) reports
- Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) or Best Interests Assessor (BIA) assessments
- Section 117 provision and reviews
- Section 42 safeguarding investigations
During Social Work Week (8-12 March 2021), the first week of its kind in England we will be introducing you to a few of our mental health social workers that work in our services.
