Hi, and Welcome to this Section.
One of the areas which is closely allied to the
primary issues that we dealing with, are the
areas of Health Care and of Social Care. We in fact, broaden this to include
aspects of Policing and other Community Services. This page and the links to
the left
and the 'boxes' to the right, are 'core' locations for this area of information.
If someone has experience any kind of trauma;
Physical, emotional, or psychological; they often turn to one of these
services at some point. The service themselves are not representative of
people's problems though. The person is still central to any service.
This is a requirement of all Community Services, health & social, although
specific services may be specialist for particular problems.
Most of the website is dedicated to following the
'individual' & their needs, responding to their questions & interests,
including those expressed by others who are involved in their (your) support. We then follow the path that their
'problems' take us down. We try to remain 'Person Centred', but your
problems may have to be dealt with by different specialist, however.
For this and other reasons, you will find material
that may be of interest, and references to Health & Social Care, and related
subjects, in other sections. We don't follow our rules blindly. We try and stick
to the basic principles though. We will guide to to the critical information
from the key pages and provide links to others sections that may be helpful,
provide information and explanation, or allow to to gain a more fundamental,
radical understanding.
I will try to maintain 'Key' links to these other
sections to the Top Right of any page. This is quite a task. If you see any
omission anywhere, please let me know. To the Right are brief descriptions
of each potential contributor to Community Care, as it should be. These
contain 'Text' Links to other
information on the site, with additional external links in the text.
Health & Social Care is quite a broad area and we approach if from an
essentially 'British', western, developed world, viewpoint. This is because
it is the area and region I have the most experience of. Our interest is not
just in these perspective though. That said, this is an interactive &
dynamic site, in that we welcome contributions from all groups and from all
nations. The issues we deal with show up in various forms everywhere, even
if they are identified differently and have different priorities. With the
expectation that we will get wider contribution, the site will develop
accordingly.
To the top left are the links to the broad subject of Health & Social
Care, like the history of the development of the concept and the services,
and outlines for the two broad areas of Health Care and Social Care. These.
in turn, will have more detailed pages on each service.
As in most sections, there are a number of elements to most of the pages:
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A general introduction that is, hopefully
easy reading for most people, informative and guiding them towards what
information they need and where it can be found, or suggestions to how
they may best be able to find the information.
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There is usually a more academic section,
which is designed to assist interested Service Users and Family Carers
and non-specialist Professional and Paid Carers, in understanding the
nature & structure of services available
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There is the often a more intellectual
component, dealing with theory and practices, especially those which are
very much alive at the time. This is there for anyone of that
inclination, to better understand, or make a contribution to the
understanding, of the problems and issues that arise in these area of
work. Ethics is quite a regular one.
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The next component is what I call
'Critical Perspectives'. This is an often sharp debate about 'critical
issues' presented in a 'critical' way.
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The final component, if it can be called
that, are conclusions, reflections and questions that arise from the
previous sections. The may result from ideas that come along,
suggestions made that are not yet quite formulated into something that
can stand for itself, in one of the other sections. Its a catch all.
Eventually, as each of these sections becomes large enough to stand in
its own right, the arrangement then will be one where the general
information is on the 'lead' page and the other sections have their own pages
(listed to the top left of 'lead' page.
The Nature of Tragedy & Distress:
I would like to make something clear here and I will be repeating myself
perhaps with different emphasis and perspective:
Individual suffering, whatever its form, involves personal catastrophe and
tragedy, which 'will' have profound & lasting effects on the individual and
their families. These effect do not have to all be 'bad'. Some may even be
'positive', but there will still be vulnerabilities.
Sometimes it is in the nature of things that events happen; like earthquake,
flood, storm, bereavement & personal loss &
catastrophes. These are a 'big' focus for recognising the problems than can
ensue.
In addition, there are the 'Man Made' catastrophes and distresses. Some; Like
War, Revolution, Genocide, Prejudice and Child Abuse, are active participations that are
know to produce Tragedy & Distress; others are of a more Neglectful Nature;
These 'neglects' may more deliberate, a direct form of 'active' indifference to
the effect of Human Development, Commerce, or other selfish human activity,
OR, they may be a more accidental, 'naivety' concerning potential side effects
of commercial, technological & scientific progress and exploitation, or more personal,
'selfish' activity.
Often these events and circumstances are linked; where one catastrophe leads to another and a
whole chain of personal tragedies and problem are the result. I have never met an exception to this, although peoples resilience often sees them
soldiering on, tackling them one by one, in their stride.
If we come across someone who has experiences serious tragedy, neglect,
or abuse, we will find a whole string of other
problems that are a result. Some of these are hidden for years & only become
issues when a new crisis hits.
Some of the 'psychodynamics' is understood, but the 'socio-dynamics' is not
appreciated for reason I explain else where.
Sometimes we focus so closely on the 'presenting problem' (in and out of the
'head') that we loose
sight of all the other problems, which are going to be having a serious impact
on the person's well being, even if they (or we) are unaware of them.
The associated problems I am talking about are those that developed before,
at & around the time of an identified 'abuse', or 'neglect' but were more
'subtle' and for reasons I will explain are unattended to.
Because, as a culture, we do not pay them the attention they deserve, these
problems, grow and fester and create most of the social distress and criminal
issues that affect us all in the end.
Sometimes these 'other' problems are, in fact, 'the real primary problems'. They are the ones that magnify all the others
that we more comfortably identify.
The personal consequence of missing these other contributions includes; the
experience of further 'abuse' & the physical & mental
health effects from 'all' these known and hidden, or indeed, ignored problems.
The social consequences are underestimated and affect our collective
Social Health.
See link on left.
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Additional Links:
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Who Cares? - Domiciliary, Residential, Day Care. |
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Social Care - The Transforming Profession:
Direct Social Care, as it is required to be
practiced, is probably one of the most responsible, multiple skilled,
least intellectualised areas of professional development. The challenges
facing Social Care workers are greater than in the other 'Care'
Professions.
Latest Perspectives |
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Family Carers, Neighbours, Volunteers, Police |
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Who Cares? - Community Nursing Specialists. |
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Community Nursing
- The 'Social' Healing Profession:
Community Nursing comes in many forms. The
most potent form is the Specialists. Hosting a mix of skill from Health,
through Social Care. They are increasingly independent practitioners,
with diagnostic & therapeutic skills. They are fast becoming the
specialist advisors to GP's, with direct input in Primary & Secondary
Health Care.
Latest
Perspectives |
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GP & Consultants, Psychologists, Counsellors, OT |
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Who Cares? - General & Specialist Social Workers. |
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Community Social Work - The Challenged
Profession:
Specialist Social Work carries the legacy of
its Generic Masters. It Seeks to apply the fundamental principles of
Client Centred, Least Restrictive Practices & Empowerment. Social Work
is in Crisis but Modern Social Workers are up to the task. It may be
necessary to revise our position and objectives to get there.
Latest
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Community Workers, Service Administrators |
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Who Cares? - Service Users - More Than You Know. |
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Service Users & Volunteers -
The Forgotten Experts:
Service Users are Experts & Specialist in
their own rights. They make great volunteers. There are amazing stories
of the initiative taken, with encouragement and support, in putting
forward ideas, promoting interests & developing services. Watch this
space.
Latest
Perspectives |
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Service Users Groups, SU Volunteers, Radicals |
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Who Cares? - Family Carers - More than is Human |
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Family Carers
- The Most Challenged Carers:
Family Carers are Experts and Specialist in
their own rights. There are again, amazing stories of the initiative
taken, in challenging and changing attitudes, putting forward ideas,
promoting service user and carer interests and developing support
services.
Latest
Perspectives |
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Carers Associations, Carer Support Groups |
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Who Cares? - Voluntary Workers - More than most |
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Volunteer Workers
- The Challenged Service:
These are not unpaid alternatives to
Professional Services. They are not slaves to institutional
perspectives. They never will be, however much we try to 'constrain'
them. Volunteers, & their organisations, create the models the rest of
us copy, 'badly'. They are independent, committed people with open
perspectives. They get things wrong, like the rest of us. Back off, let
them do what they do best!
Latest Perspectives |
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Supporting Individuals, Services & Communities |
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Who Cares? - Families in General - In spite of it all. |
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Families - Single Parent, Broken, Challenged,
Normal?:
Just being there, getting it wrong, putting
things right, caring and loving. Lost to know what to do. Watching
things fall apart, in spite of their efforts & concerns. Criticised,
judged, restricted, overridden, ignored, punished, intruded upon and
under valued. Mostly told one thing at one moment and something else
tomorrow. Experts are the bane of their lives and confidence is being
lost in their role.
Latest
Perspectives |
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Asking Questions, Confused, Angry, Frustrated |
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Who Cares? - Communities - Yes, They Do Exist |
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Communities
- They do care, in their various ways:
Contrary to the beliefs and opinions of the
two most powerful experts on Health and Social Care; Ronald Ragan &
Margaret Thatcher (and their entourage of philosophical & political
offspring) Community does exist. Welcome to Social Care Maggie!
Community Care is workable but the Communities need their own support. -
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Ignorant, Prejudiced, Confused, Angry, Frustrated |
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Who Cares? - Police, Fire & Emergency Service |
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Emergency Services - They care in their
actions:
Police are often criticised for their
prejudiced & overzealous commitment to aggressive policing. This
criticism is unfair in some instances & appropriate in others. Fire
Officers get frustrated with the selfish attempts at Suicide and poor
consideration of others safety. They all care but don't always fully
understand the context -
Latest Perspectives |
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Ignorance, Prejudice, Confusion, Frustration |
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Who Cares? - You Do, or you wouldn't still be here |
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Individuals
- It is in all our interests to care about 'us':
Individuals are; Current and future Service
Users, Members of the Caring Communities, Providers of Caring Services
and Support, Tax Payers (funders) of Caring Services, Critics Caring
Professionals and Institutions, Providers of Employment, etc. . . . . .
. . .
Latest Perspectives |
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Asking Questions, Confused, Angry, Frustrated |
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Radical & Critical Perspectives:
It is not our intention to be passive in
providing these services. It is part of our objectives to open up
debate, advance 'established' good practice and develop theory & good
practices further. We intend to do this to the benefit of user's of
services, families, general members of the community, professionals, and
their agencies. I have found that by appropriately and intelligently
meeting the needs of each, or any one, it can usually, eventually,
benefit all.
Latest Perspectives
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Technology & People:
I have had some complaints from
technologically minded people and those with better aesthetic taste than
me, that the web site lacks 'taste and quality' of presentation. Well, I
think they have a point. I just want to get everything up here. If you
believe you can improve the presentation, that would be great. I limit
myself to FrontPage and a few enhancements. It would be great to see
something more graphic and exciting. Help us out and I have a deal for
you. Check it out:
Latest Perspectives
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This Space is reserved for You:
This is a genuine
offer. If you feel that your cause will not be too badly
affected by our general content and the general
philosophy of this site, and you want a channel to
express concerns or raise issues, we will give you that
space. We can provide links to your own site, and
actively support you in any way we can.
Latest Perspectives
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Community Action:
This always
sounds so aggressive! Within Inner Cities and larger
Towns, it is relatively easy to provide services and
generate (if it doesn't exist already) interest in
participation in developing and then running services.
In Rural areas this commitment is less easily obtain.
Contrary to the beliefs of Service Managers, Rural
dispersion and more isolated attitudes makes an
appropriate provision difficult to identify and
implement. This is why Rural Services are 20+ years
behind their suburban counterparts.
This is also has its benefit, to some degree.
Latest Perspectives
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NOTE:
This Document is still at some stage of
development. You are invited to respond and comment on its content and its
logic. If you return to the document at a future date, you will be able to see
its continued development, hopefully reflecting your own and others commentary.
I thank you, in advance, for any
contribution that you make. Please also feel free to visit and contribute, in
any valid way, to these and other social issues, through our Forums. There is
also a Chat Room and protected Chat Space for more serious group discussions and
individual counselling. Please feel free o use this space for your legitimate
activities.
Copyright:
Although you will see very few reference
to other formal writings in this document, I acknowledge general recognition to
the discussions and debates that I have had with students, practitioners and
clients over the years. Most of the ideas and theory has evolved through this
rather pragmatic process (operational research), rather than any formal reading.
If any content of this document
describes concepts, theory, or ideas that have been established else where,
(prior to my writing, either here or else where - in part or in full), I
acknowledge their entitlement to claim them as their intellectual property for
financial purposes, if they can evidence this. I also reserve the right to
retain them as my intellectual property, with due recognition to those who have
made direct contributions, including other writers, should I identify such a
past influences.
Other than this, I invite you to share
and copy any content, to the benefit of intellectual debate and the benefit of
individuals and groups, without restriction, other than it be used for
constructive purpose, in the wider context of my writing.
Should you wish to use any material
presented here 'as is', I ask that you then make reference to myself and the web
site. The 'Reading Date' would be a useful 'publishing date' for the Current
Edition. 1980 is the core publishing date for most of the basic ideas and theory
(unless stated otherwise).
This 'Reading Date' may be an important
part of this 'reference', as the document (by its 'internet fluid' nature) will
be constantly changing and this may affect meaning and interpretation, for those
following up on such a reference at a later date.
Thank you for your cooperation.
TRC. eMail:
terry.couchman@visitweb.org
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