Why do Service Users and Carers Complain about Family and Child Care Social Workers? Lessons Learned from Complaints to the NI Social Care Council (2006-2015)

David Hayes, Patricia Higgins, Helen McVicker

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperpeer-review

Abstract

The Northern Ireland Social Care Council (NISCC) is the statutory regulator of social workers in Northern Ireland. The NISCC investigates complaints made about social workers with the threshold for regulatory action being that there is ‘admissible, substantial and reliable evidence to prove misconduct’. A substantial number of complaints do not reach this threshold and are closed at the investigation stage. It is, however, important that lessons are learned from these complaints which, whilst not meeting the threshold for regulatory action, do highlight issues in relation to good practice.

Complaints from service users make up approximately half of all the complaints received and have highlighted particular concerns about how social workers interact and communicate with service users. Learning the lessons from such complaints is increasingly important for social workers given that the Codes of Practice have recently been replaced by new Standards of Conduct and Practice for Social Workers and that the NISCC has moved from a model of regulation based on misconduct to one based on fitness to practice.

This presentation discussed the findings from a research study involving analysis of all complaints to the NISCC received from service users and carers (n=134) about social workers over a ten year period (2006-2015) of which 122 (91%) were in relation to social workers employed in Family and Child Care settings. The presentation:

• Provided detailed data relating to the source of complaints, the characteristics of social workers about whom complaints are made, and the outcome of complaints;
• Provided a detailed analysis of the nature of the complaints made and the context in which they are made;
• Set this analysis within the context of national and international literature on service user expectations of social workers and the importance of relationship within social work practice;
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusPublished - 2018
EventFitness to Practice: Professional Standards Authority Academic and Research Conference - Cumberland Lodge, Windsor, United Kingdom
Duration: 08 Mar 201809 Mar 2018

Conference

ConferenceFitness to Practice: Professional Standards Authority Academic and Research Conference
Country/TerritoryUnited Kingdom
CityWindsor
Period08/03/201809/03/2018

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