Council / Recruitment a ‘critical risk’ to social work service delivery, report warns
THERE continues to be difficulty in recruiting people to key posts in social work and care in Shetland – with accommodation remaining a hurdle.
Meanwhile some staff are becoming “very tired” as they work additional hours to ensure services can be delivered, a meeting heard.
A report from Shetland Islands Council’s chief social work officer Denise Morgan said recruitment drives do not always attract the number of quality candidates needed.
The report, presented to the council’s education and families committee on Tuesday, looked back on the 2021/22 financial year.
Some of the roles in the service includes social workers, who support and manage individuals at high risk or with complex needs, and staff who provide daily care and support, enabling people to live in their own homes or in residential care.
There are also mental health officers with specific duties to carry out independent assessments on individuals in crisis, and occupational therapy staff.
But Morgan warned that recruitment is a “critical risk” to service delivery.
Recruitment difficulties are nothing new, however, with other departments in the council and wider industries also affected.
The warning within social work and care is that there is a lack of human resources to “deliver the amount of assessed need we have”.
The report highlights that there is an increase in high-level care packages that are resource intensive in terms of staffing and finance.
“Staff are mitigating some of this risk by working additional shifts but this is not sustainable in the long term, and we are acutely aware of the staff teams becoming very tired,” Morgan wrote.
“Shetland continues to have high employment, and we constantly compete within our services and other sectors.
“Attracting individuals to Shetland has also been difficult due to the lack of accommodation. Maintaining the balance of increasing needs, personal outcomes and choices when resources are reducing will continue to be challenging for services.”
Morgan told Tuesday’s meeting that officers continue to work on solutions, with a review of job descriptions and training opportunities on the agenda.
She said staff were tired after the rigours working through the Covid pandemic. “They did not have a break at all during that period,” Morgan said.
Meanwhile education and families committee chairman Davie Sandison expressed concern that people were “running on empty”.
Allied to this is an increased reliance on temporary agency workers to provide cover, which has come at a “significant cost” to the council.
“The ever changing environment we are working within is also placing increased pressure on executive managers, who do not have the capacity to meet all the competing demands,” Morgan added.
Tuesday’s meeting heard there have been a “few” agency workers in children’s social work, but the need for this is reducing.
Morgan said in the last six months three people have joined the team from university, and she encouraged anyone thinking of a career in social work to get in touch.
Meanwhile as of 31 March all children and young people requiring care outwith their own homes were being catered for within Shetland.
It comes after a residential facility opened in Tingwall last year in the aim of reducing the need for off-island placements, which in turn results in less expenditure for the council.
The report highlights that the number of looked after children and young people in Shetland has decreased over the last couple of years. “We are supporting more children at home, preventing the need for compulsory measures of care,” it added.
Meanwhile Morgan reiterated there is concern over the prospect of a national care service which is being proposed by the Scottish Government.
She said there is a worry the local team could “lose our professional voice” if there is a national service.
“I think it’s difficult to say what the full impact will be because we don’t have enough information yet,” Morgan added.
Council leader Emma Macdonald took time to praise the social work team for delivering services in a “really challenging time”.
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