User perspectives in social work - Essay Example

User Perspectives in Social Work I. Introduction In recent times, there has been an increasing need to address various issues in social care. Due to the increasing number of people availing of the various types of social services, it has become more important for social care workers to effectively assess the needs of service users. According to the Department of Health, there are 1.5 million people in society that rely on the support and assistance of social services (Department of Health, 2005). The organizations tasked with providing social services are called upon to assess the effectiveness of the social service program in meeting the needs of the service users. Social care is a right of every citizen. It is the state's duty to provide assistance and support t citizens that are in need of such. The success of any social service program greatly relies on the proper identification and assessment of the needs of social care users. Moreover, the social care workers serve as the representatives of the service users in their attempt to make their needs known and understood. However, most of the time, the needs of the service users are not given the proper attention. Up until today, assessment of the types of services offered has been assigned to social care workers, politicians, and the government. Users of social services have been continuously left out of the assessment process. If there is any entity that can effectively judge what the real social care needs of the people are, it will only be the service users themselves. Their input and opinion is of utmost value in assessing the social service program. The following discussion will focus on the perspective of users regarding social care. The issues that service users identified will be analyzed. The primary basis for this discussion will be the studies conducted by various organizations that highlight the views and opinions of services users regarding social care. Service users have pinpointed several issues with regards to the manner by which the social service system addresses their needs. Moreover, they have likewise named various issues pertaining to the social care workers represent their needs. Issues may range from the usual fears that service users usually experience when communicating with the social worker and the failure of the social workers to empower the users so that they may eventually support themselves. The following studies will highlight some issues that service users have brought up regarding the social care system. II. Shaping Our Lives Project The Shaping Our Lives project was established to serve as the means by which the views of service users may be expressed and heard. The project was initiated in 1996 and it seeks to learn valuable lessons from what service users have to say. One of its projects deals with user-defined outcomes and its value in improving social care. In discussing the findings of the project, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (2005) identified several issues raised by service users. Primarily, it was pointed out that, "most users still do not have choice and control over mainstream services" (JRF, 2003). Moreover, another concern raised by the service users included in the project was the failure of social care workers to give them the respect they deserve. According to one observer, "People felt that the attitude of staff at the local social services was patronising and condescending. People thought that they were not treated with enough respect" (JRF, 2003). Social service is meant to ease the lives of those people who are vulnerable and are in need of assistance. However, service users feel that they are not treated properly. Not only are their views and opinions taken for granted, they are likewise not given the respect that they ought to receive. Service users feel that although they are in need of assistance they still deserve the same respect as any capable individual. III. Personal Service Survey In 2004, the National Health Service conducted a survey to determine what personal service users have to say about the quality of service they receive from their social care givers. The survey focused on physically disabled and sensory impaired users aged 18-64. Service users were asked several questions pertaining to their experiences with the personal social service they receive. One of the questions asked in the survey was, "Do you feel that your opinions and preferences are taken into account when decisions are taken about what services are provided to you" (Department of Health, 2004). Results of the survey showed that 29% of the respondents believed that their opinion and preferences were "always" considered and taken into account when decisions are made regarding the service they are given. On the other hand, 22% believed that their preference is only "sometimes" considered while 13% say that theirs is never taken into account (Department of Health, 2004). What these statistics show is that service users perceive a lack of involvement for them. This means that in coming up with decisions regarding social service, the voice of service users is left unheard. As earlier stated, assessment of their needs are left in the hands of social care workers and the organizations responsible for administering these services. The users themselves are rarely involved in the assessment and identification of the service they need. IV. The Need for Self-assessment The survey discussed previously brings up the possibility of pushing for self-assessment as a means of improving the quality of social services. In its analysis of the feedback from the Green Paper, "Independence, Well Being, and Choice," the Department of Health (2004) brought up the idea of shifting the assessment approach from professional-centred to user-centred or self-assessment. It was stated that 67% of the respondents were very supportive of self-assessment as the way to improve assessment thereby improving the quality of social care. It was stated that, "There was support for a shift towards self-assessment, but only if the interests of people using services are safeguarded by appropriate advocacy and/or support from professionals, or other relevant bodies" (Department of Health, 2004). Service users, as evidenced by the data presented above, believe that they should be allowed to determine what service they need. However, their support for self-assessment does not mean that professional social care workers will not take part in the assessment process. Instead, the shift towards self-assessment will likewise shift the role of professionals to being a "facilitator" in the assessment process. V. Service Users' Vision for Social Care A study conducted by Peter Beresford, et al focused on the views of adult service users regarding the problems of the current system. More importantly, the researchers determined what service users wanted social care in the future to be. The problems that service users pointed out were the following: Poor-quality provision poor processes for accessing and maintaining services and support inadequate support problems with agency staff having to struggle to secure good support the lack of reliability of social care problems of bureaucracy departmentalism patchy provision and inequity unequal treatment inflexibility poor practice insecurity poor-quality staff lack of continuity and security (Beresford et. al, 2003) Moreover, it was stated that, "The process of accessing social care was frequently negative for service users. The assessment process was widely seen as arbitrary and very dependent on the quality of the staff carrying out the assessment" (Beresford et. al, 2003). Service users alleged that assessment of their needs was very inadequate. Most of the time, the assessment of their needs was fast-tracked. As such, the services they are provided with are the result of an assessment aiming to find the fastest solution and not the best solution. This is especially true for service users with communication impairments who are seen as the most disadvantaged service users (Beresford et al, 2003). The vision of social care that service users have is one wherein there is more effective user involvement. Service users believed that their involvement is the main principle of positive social care. Some of those who took part in the study suggested that effective user involvement would ensure that diversity was recognized and the differing needs of different service users and service user groups addressed (Beresford et al, 2003). Service users feel that they must be involved in the whole process, not simply in the assessment of their needs. Lastly, service users believed that their involvement in social service is the foundation of a better social service in the future. VI. Conclusion Various views of service users have been discussed. Yet the one constant principle that stands out is the value of user involvement in social service. Service users believe that there is a great need to change the current assessment process. They believe that in order for social care to effectively meet their needs, their preferences and opinions must be taken into account. The betterment of social service, in the eyes of service users, lies in the effective involvement of the service users themselves. Bibliography Beresford, P., Shamash, M., Forrest, V., Turner, M. & Branfield, F., 2005. Developing social care: Service users' vision for adult support. [online].Social Care Institute for Excellence. Available from: http://www.scie.org.uk [cited 7 February 2006]. Department of Health, 2004. Personal social services: Survey of physically disabled and sensory impaired users in England aged 18-64: 2003-04. [online]. Department of Health. Available from: http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/09/81/38/04098138.pdf. [Cited 7 February 2006]. Department of Health, 2005. Responses to the consultation on adult social care in England: Analysis of feedback from the Green Paper Independence, Wellbeing and Choice. [online]. Department of Health. Available from: http://www.dh.gov.uk/assetRoot/04/12/16/24/04121624.pdf. [Cited 6 February 2006]. Joseph Rowntree Foundation, 2003. Social service users' own definitions of quality outcomes. [online] Joseph Rowntree Foundation. Available from: http://www.jrf.org.uk/knowledge/findings/socialcare/pdf/673.pdf. [Cited 6 February 2006]. Read More