National Care Service - social work: contextual paper

Describes the current status of social work in Scotland. It is part of a collection of papers, setting out key information about social care and related areas in Scotland linked to the development of the National Care Service.

This document is part of a collection


6. Conclusion

Social work is not unique in being shaped through economic and political changes. However, the scale and breadth of change which the profession has experienced over recent decades is stark. Viewed within a historical context, the 1968 Act set the foundation for the profession to pursue a clearly defined role. This role, over the intervening years, has fundamentally changed to incorporate emerging societal, political and economic priorities.

Social work proves itself to be a profession which responds pragmatically to an ever changing world and has evolved such that it is now time to reflect on the role of the profession within and potentially outside of a National Care Service. This paper describes a number of key milestones which have fundamentally changed the role and function of social workers across Scotland. Whilst policy changes have been underpinned by sound rationale and intent, practical implementation has often fallen short of the spirit and intention of policy and legislative change. This has often left people, communities and the profession disappointed and frustrated. Under these circumstances, the social work profession has often been viewed as an unwilling participant in the change process. This perception has undermined morale, job satisfaction and led to a high attrition rate as compared to other similar professions.

On 20 June 2022 a National Care Service (Scotland) Bill was introduced to parliament, its primary objective being to improve the quality and consistency of social services in Scotland. In such, there is a coherent case for realigning social work professional practice with an early intervention and prevention agenda, building on policy intent and universally supported within the Independent Review of Adult Social Care in Scotland (Feeley 2021) and the Promise.

Contact

Email: OCSWA@gov.scot

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