Surrey County UNISON branch

Meeting with Graham Wilkin (Director of Social Care and Carer Involvement)

Paul Couchman (Acting Branch Secretary) and Andy Pattinson (ASW Convenor) from Surrey UNISON met with Graham Wilkin (Surrey County Council) at a meeting arranged by Ian Bass (Human Resources) on 4 October 2007.

Surrey County Council wanted the "green light" from UNISON to go ahead with plans made from the Joint Consultative Committee on 5 July 2007 regarding the implementation for the creation of the New Senior Professional Lead (SPL) positions within the Directorate.

These posts will also sit within the East and West of the County and Specialist Services.  The SPL's will be responsible for the professional supervision of the Senior ASW's and also offer Senior Social Work advice at strategic level. The number of existing Senior Social Work jobs will reduce to 5 substantive posts.

While Graham Wilkin and Ian Bass stated this was the focus of today's meeting, we did also manage to broaden the discussion to the ASW Modernisation "Models of Working" party and future strategies for implementation of the New Mental Health Act 2007.

The ASW Modernisation group have been meeting as an outcome of agreements made with Surrey County Council since the end of Industrial conflict last December.

ASW "models of working" have been discussed and meetings have been held, without any concrete decisions being made.

Graham Wilkin believes that due to the implementation of the new Mental Health Act, with the creation of the new approved Mental Health Practitioners role (AMHP's) to be in structure in October 2008, has meant that events have "shifted the goal posts" while trying to review exisiting services.

The AMHP role will include Professionals from other professions (Nurses, Psychologists, Occupational Therapists) to undertake Mental Health assessments under the Act.

Therefore Graham Wilkin is proposing that stakeholders from a variety of groups, including representatives from Health and Carers groups must be involved in a "whole systems" approach to reviewing how Surrey County Council can best deliver this service to the people of Surrey.  ASW representatives from UNISON were also to be part of this process.

Graham Wilkin was keen to stress that while the ASW Modernisation Group work should not be lost, ideas must be adapted in the light of a new AMHP role, to which he hopes Surrey will be a "Pilot" Service for the new Government proposals.

Andy Pattinson, ASW Convenor/Service Conditions Officer