redundancy and set up the Independent Social Work Partnership. The idea was to offer support to adults and older people who did not qualify for – or chose not to access – local authority services. “We felt there were a lot of gaps in the market
because people who were self-funders didn’t have any reviews of their care packages, either at home or in residential nursing care,” Liz says. “So we felt there was an opportunity for a private social work service to help people who choose not to approach the local authority or who couldn’t get the services that they required.” The need for such a service had become
increasingly clear during their final few years at the local authority. “People who were assessed as having critical
and substantial needs, but who had the money to be self-funders, were being disenfranchised because they were not actually given any help and assistance,” says Jane. “They were given a list of care homes and invited to help themselves. So you have carers, who may themselves be in their 80s, suddenly having to find a home for a wife or a husband who is suffering from dementia. It’s an almost impossible task.” From the outset it was obvious that many people felt intimidated by the care system and
needed someone to cast a professional eye over their circumstances and the options that might be available to them. The pair began offering information and advice, for which they did not charge, followed up by a bespoke email that listed various services that could be tailored to the client’s needs. “The information and advice is paid for by our
chargeable services,” says Liz. “We then send out our terms, conditions and fees and say ‘if you need us in the future then please get back to us’. But we don’t charge for the initial advice. We felt quite proud really
We have always believed that it’s our responsibility to help whoever turns up
at the door, whatever their circumstances
because our USP was that you could actually ring a qualified and experienced social worker and get hands-on advice and information immediately.” Becoming a pilot practice will allow the two
social workers to expand this part of their service. They are currently developing a ‘virtual office’ that will allows clients to access their services online and they are planning to set up weekly advice sessions by appointment from two GPs’ practices, one rural