Top tips for practice

The top tips for practice sets out the important messages from carers for how social workers can best relate to them.

DO

  • Come prepared, having read the notes
  • Be honest, show empathy and listen carefully Be friendly and professional so I can trust and have confidence in you
  • Explain what a carers assessment is (that it’s about my needs, not an assessment of my caring ability)
  • Prioritise the person I care for and make sure you listen to them
  • Find out about the situation on a bad day – to understand fluctuating needs
  • See me as an asset, part of a support network helping to support the person I care for
  • Be knowledgeable of services and suggest options that might help
  • Talk about what can be done, rather than what can’t
  • See beyond me as just a carer
  • Give me a contact number and a name of a person I can get hold of
  • Write a summary of what has happened so other people can prepare themselves before visiting

DON’T

  • Appear to be, or be in a rush Use jargon or buzzwords (in writing or speaking)
  • Make assumptions about what I like or can do Be afraid of saying “I’ll get back to you as I don’t know the answer”
  • Make promises you can’t keep
  • ‘Signpost’ me endlessly with no result – help me use the information that you can give me.

 

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Top tips for practice

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