Social workers play ‘crucial role’ in helping older people to access essential support

Social workers play a crucial role in helping older people to access essential support, despite often going ‘invisible and unrecognised’.

That is one finding from a new briefing which draws on recent findings by the Social Work with Older People (SWOP) research project.

Led by researchers at the University of Birmingham and University of Bristol, the SWOP project sought to capture the details of what social workers do in their practice with older people and the impact this has on wellbeing.

The research found that in the UK, a number of intersecting challenges shape the need for, and the context of, social care services for older people. These include longer waits for assessment and support, delayed discharges from hospitals, and increasing pressures placed on carers, among other factors.

The research, funded by the National Institute for Health and Care Research, focused on two local authorities: one in an urban area in the West Midlands, and another in a rural local authority in the South West of England.

Researchers said they were in a ‘unique position’ to observe how social workers respond to mounting pressure as the fieldwork took place over the winter of 2022–23, a period of acute pressure for health and social care services.

The team worked with a local authority advisory group recruited in each site and an expert advisory group of social work practitioners, older people and carers. The researchers also had the support of a national stakeholder group made up of key policy and practice leads who will assist in taking forward the findings within and beyond their organisations.

Designed for anyone working in the health and social care sector, the briefing sets out the specialist skills and knowledge practitioners bring to their work with older people, and the factors that enable effective practice.

The briefing builds on learning shared in the Promoting good social work with older people and their families: Practice Tool. Including a series of practice tools designed to support practitioners, the tool explores insights and evidence from the SWOP research project.