Think Ahead gives evidence to Health and Social Care Committee on community mental health services 

This week, we gave evidence to the Health and Social Care Select Committee as part of our ongoing inquiry into community mental health services.

Our External Relations Director Penny East appeared alongside Stephen Parker from Turning Point and Duncan Tree from the Association of Mental Health Providers.

Importance of a social approach

We train social workers and there is a real lack of understanding that social workers actually work directly in the NHS.

Penny East

During the session, we emphasised that social workers are uniquely placed to address the wider social factors – such as housing, employment, and relationships – that shape people’s mental health and overall wellbeing.

“Whilst for many people a clinical response is necessary, it needs to be in combination with a social work response who understands the social approach and can look at things like poverty, housing, domestic abuse and education and employment opportunities to give them that holistic care.”

Blind spot in workforce planning

We also shared our concern that the contribution of social workers is too often overlooked in policy and workforce planning, despite the fact that many work directly in NHS mental health services.”

“We train social workers and there is a real lack of understanding that social workers actually work directly in the NHS” Penny told the Committee.

“In terms of what we could be doing, increasing the number of mental health social workers. Three and a half to four thousand in the NHS is obviously a very small number.”

Widening clinical perspectives

We highlighted the vital role that mental health social workers play in widening clinical perspectives and offering support to the person as a whole.

“It is social workers who look at the power dynamics between the service user and the clinician and are able to help the person navigate a system when the system can feel really traumatising”.

The case we made to the Committee is at the heart of our current campaign calling for everyone with severe mental illness to have the vital support of a mental health social worker.