In this week’s health column we hear from Penny Jones, Social Worker at Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust.

There’s no such thing as a typical day working in Adult Social Care! But that’s one of the reasons why I love my job. I studied Social Work at University because I wanted to make a positive difference to people’s lives and every day I get the opportunity to do just that.

Once a week I am ‘on duty’ which means I am responsible for handling any new requests coming in. The rest of the week I support the people that I am already allocated.

New requests for adult social care support can come in from individuals needing help, their families or carers, police, ambulance, GPs and more.

Requests are aligned to one of our four neighbourhood hubs; Birkenhead, Wallasey, Wirral South or Wirral West.

Over the next few months we will be further developing our neighbourhood model, linking us even more closely with other health colleagues and GPs.

I am allocated the relevant cases for my area, which could include an assessment request for someone new to us, a care agency asking that an individual has longer call times, or a carer breakdown situation, whereby someone’s usual family carer is ill or can no longer support them for some reason.

The rest of the week is supporting my usual caseload.

We all have about 25 people that we are responsible for. Every person that we support is different with their own unique needs, so how often we see them is all tailored to the individual.

My role is to ensure that they have the right support in place for their personal care, to make sure they are able to eat properly and can access the doctors, the shops, the bank and the hairdressers; daily tasks that many of us take for granted.

As Social Workers we also make sure that people feel safe in their homes and communities and that they aren’t isolated or lonely.

We tap into lots of volunteer and community groups to help make sure all these things are covered, putting people in touch with the appropriate support.

In June 2017 Adult Social Care transferred from the council to Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust.

It makes so much sense for us to be part of the NHS and the benefits to how we work have been amazing.

We now share offices with community nurses and GPs so we can share information and advice and work together to make sure the people we care for have all the support they need.

I feel so fortunate doing my job because I get to meet so many different people, many of whom have amazing stories to tell. Often they are at a place in life where they don’t want to be.

It’s a real privilege to be able to help them to get to a better place and be part of their journey.

Social Work really is the most rewarding job.

If you are interested in joining Wirral Community NHS Foundation Trust as a Social Worker or Care Navigator, drop in to our recruitment event: Thursday 20 September 3:30pm-8pm St Catherine’s Health Centre, Derby Road, Birkenhead.