Sally Richards

Communication Skills Training for Practice: the Ethical Dilemma for Social Work Education

A recent review of the literature on the learning and teaching of communication skills revealed that little attention has been paid to the appropriateness of communication skills training for the contemporary social work environment. Current approaches to skills teaching in social work education emphasise the development of empathy within the context of a ‘helping relationship’. The disparity between this model of social work and contemporary expectations, that social workers seek to understand and categorise individuals primarily through bureaucratic procedures, causes confusion and difficulty for students. As social work educators we face an ethical dilemma. Should we teach students to communicate in a way that conforms to the priorities and pressures of current practice? Or should we retain the focus on inter‐personal skills and on engaging with the worlds of service users? In this paper we examine the disparity between social work as conceived within communication skills training and as practised in the current UK context. We consider the implications for social work education and conclude with suggestions for developing communication skills teaching in ways that equip students to engage with the ‘realities’ of practice and to challenge the shortcomings encountered.

Look after yourself: active ageing, individual responsibility and the decline of social work with older people in the UK

The idea of active ageing retains a broad appeal and has a global reach, particularly through the influence of the World Health Organisation (WHO). However, in practice it has been the subject of criticism. In this article, it is argued that the incorporation of active ageing into the policy agendas of the welfare systems for older people should be understood by reference to the perceived effects of demographic trends on demand for services. In the context of the British welfare system, the active ageing agenda has become inextricably linked with the broader policy agenda to reduce older peoples call on public resources in order to manage the increasing proportions of older people in the British population. The implications of these developments for social work are significant.

The meaning and importance of dignified care: findings from a survey of health and social care professionals

BackgroundThere are well established national and local policies championing the need to provide dignity in care for older people. We have evidence as to what older people and their relatives understand by the term ‘dignified care’ but less insight into the perspectives of staff regarding their understanding of this key policy objective.MethodsA survey of health and social care professionals across four NHS Trusts in England to investigate how dignified care for older people is understood and delivered. We received 192 questionnaires of the 650 distributed.ResultsHealth and social care professionals described the meaning of dignified care in terms of their relationships with patients: ‘respect’ (47%), ‘being treated as an individual’ (40%), ‘being involved in decision making’ (26%) and ‘privacy’ (24%). ‘Being treated as an individual’ and ‘maintaining privacy’ were ranked as the most important components of dignified care. Physical caring tasks such as ‘helping with washing, dressing and feeding’ were rarely described as being part of dignified care and attributed much less importance than the relational components.ConclusionDignity in care is a concept with multiple meanings. Older people and their relatives focus upon the importance of providing physical care when describing what this means to them. Our participants focussed upon the relational aspects of care delivery rather than care itself. Proactive measures are therefore required to ensure that the physical aspects of care are met for all older people receiving care in NHS trusts.

Mary Marshall and Margaret-Anne Tibbs, Social Work and People with Dementia: Partnerships, Practice and Persistence , Policy Press, Bristol, Avon, 2006, 256 pp., pbk £17.99, ISBN 13: 978 186134 702 2.

8, Bytheway, Ward, Holland and Peace ask what roles researchers play in the distillation of their results. They wonder whether narrowing the focus excludes the very people experiencing the risk. In the last and unfortunately abbreviated section, Moody along with Warnes and Phillips cast their gaze ahead. Moody is on his game, posing pertinent and insightful questions about social justice and just desserts. Joining the chorus, it would seem the globalised perspective on moral economy and deciding what is fair and just is fraught with ambiguity – Moody in prime form. Finally, Warnes and Phillips scrutinise the accumulated contents of the journal Ageing & Society to decipher who are the players, who are the power brokers, and who gets included or excluded from discussions of who is helping whom in old age. All those years ago when Malcolm Johnson launched Ageing & Society I expect he did not anticipate how very crucial the journal might become to the gerontological enterprise. Despite being a series and anthology editor myself, I cannot distinguish whether editors or authors have provided the thrust to this finely-honed collection. Bernard and Scharf are to be lauded for bringing together an exemplary panel of scholars and have polished their collective contributions to good effect. Are all the significant contributors to critical theory present? Hardly, there simply is not enough room. Are the omissions fatal? Heavens no, there is ample food for thought already. Are some of the chapters anything less than stellar? I would be hard-pressed to identify any that could have been displaced by marquee players. I recommend Critical Perspectives on Ageing Societies to all scholars attuned to the need to attend to macro-level considerations of the ageing experience.