![\"swimming](\"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/rural-social-work-scotland\/files\/2020\/05\/View-from-my-desk-768x1024.jpg\")
View from my desk<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li> ![\"swimming\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/rural-social-work-scotland\/files\/2020\/05\/Swimming-at-home-in-Marwick-1024x768.jpg\")
At home<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li> ![\"Picky](\"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/rural-social-work-scotland\/files\/2020\/05\/Picky-centre--1024x768.jpg\")
The picky center<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li> ![\"cliffs\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/rural-social-work-scotland\/files\/2020\/05\/my-walk-around-Marwick-768x1024.jpg\")
A walk<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li> ![\"kirkwall\"](\"https:\/\/blogs.iriss.org.uk\/rural-social-work-scotland\/files\/2020\/05\/kirkwall-1024x768.jpg\")
Kirkwall<\/figcaption><\/figure><\/li><\/ul><\/figure>\n\n\n\n \u2018Here\u2019 is Orkney, cue the stats. Orkney has a population of around 22 thousand people spread over 70 islands, 20 of which are permanently inhabited. Orkney is regularly voted the best place to live in Scotland (and arguably the world), we also have the highest levels of fuel poverty. Orkney has a higher life expectancy than Scotland as a whole and the second-highest levels of access deprivation in Scotland. So, it\u2019s a mixed picture full of contradictions. For our clients it\u2019s the same, if you are part of, and embedded in the community you will have a solid support system around you with people who have known you all your life and will absolutely go out of their way to help you. However, that same sense of community can feel very isolating if you are on the fringes, for whatever reason. One lesson from this is not everyone has someone, even in Orkney.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Back to social work, and my pool view. I have been redeployed to the COVID Community Support Hub. The Hub was set up to contact people on the NHS \u2018shielded\u2019 list and offer support with shopping, collecting prescriptions and identifying other needs that people may have. Dog walking took the lead (sorry) in \u2018other needs\u2019, but \u201chow do I pay for things over the phone, I only use cash\u201d is a regular query. The hub is staffed by redeployed workers from other council departments: they work now as call handlers gathering information, arranging food parcels and medication pickups and this is no easy job. Remember we are a group of islands only accessible by boat and plane, which have greatly reduced their timetables. They offer a friendly voice with sound advice and they listen<\/em>. However, these call handlers do not have care backgrounds and some of the calls they get are upsetting and can understandably cause them distress. My role in the Hub is to support the call handlers with their reactions to calls and take any callers who need more or different support. I also cross-reference the NHS \u2019Shielded\u2019 list with our own clients and service users so that we can offer people the right levels of support at the right time. The Scottish Government requires twice-weekly reports containing a multitude of statistics, I help gather and make sense of them from a social work perspective.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what has happened to my day job as an Adult Social Worker? My colleagues have dispersed, some are working from home, some have been redeployed. We keep in contact through \u201cTeams\u201d and emails. We are still unable to do some tasks remotely, so trips to the office are needed and I always hope I will see my friends on these flying visits. My clients have mostly withdrawn, and although I phone it\u2019s not as reassuring as getting \u201ceyes on\u201d. Some clients are living with family or have stopped care services going into their homes. Others are saying \u201cIt will wait \u2018till all this has passed\u201d. Those who have no family or social network continue to be supported by overstretched, but extremely dedicated Homecare Teams and care at home providers. Those patients in hospital and ready for discharge take priority, so that beds are made available for the wave of COVID patients that we all fear will come. At the time of writing, there are six confirmed cases of COVID-19 in Orkney and sadly we have had two deaths. I accept these numbers are very small compared with other places, but so is Orkney: we all knew these people and feel the loss for their families.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I worry that families who have taken on the care of their elderly or disabled relative will not manage the emotional intensity of being a 24-hour carer. I worry that people who struggle with their mental health will not see a light at the end of this lockdown. I also worry that relationships held together by the space that work, school and social activities provide will not survive the immediacy and confinement that we all now face. In short, this is the wave that worries me, the one that comes after, and how we will manage. But…I have hope, and where would Social Workers be without that! I hope we learn from this. I hope we now see that societal change can happen in a heartbeat where there\u2019s a will and a plan. I hope we realise our own and other peoples worth, not in their bank balances, but in their contributions. I hope we continue to recognise actions over rhetoric and skills, effort and commitment over titles. These are the changes I hope for.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So, what has changed now? That\u2019s the question I asked myself when I sat down to write this, what\u2019s changed? My first reaction was, everything, EVERYTHING\u2019S changed! But, after writing this my answer is nothing,<\/em> Social Work is still Social Work. We continue to try and support people to have the life that want, we build relationships, we advocate and fight for our people, we organise and plan, we talk, listen and care. The sand under my feet has shifted in the last few weeks, and my view is certainly different, but I\u2019m still a Social Worker doing and loving my job.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Gillian Ritch
Orkney
24th April 2020<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Well, life changed fast didn\u2019t it. Four weeks ago, I was sitting with my Adult Social Work team in the office we share with Children and Families, All Age Learning Disabilities and Criminal Justice Social Work teams. Today I\u2019m sitting on my own in our local leisure centre with a view of the swimming pool. …<\/p>\n