BASW Cymru Social Work Award winners

Now in its fifth year, BASW Cymru’s Social Work Awards has become a key date in Wales’ calendar.

This year’s event, held at the Welsh Assembly’s Pierhead Building in Cardiff Bay, showcased the very best in social work across the country while also providing a platform for the profession to celebrate its successes.

Below are the winners

Spirit of Social Work – Sue Marshall

Sue was nominated by a family she supported in the final days of looking after a loved one.

Mary Hampson, aged 79, was hospitalised with health complications and dementia and her daughter Ruth and husband John were struggling to have her needs met.

“She got a chest infection and was admitted to hospital. They were fantastic at treating her but they didn’t understand the implication of dementia,” said Ruth.

“We had such long conversations where they wanted to do several invasive interventions. We were clear that if my mum was saying no that should be respected.

“We had real trouble in getting the physical ward staff to understand what dementia was like. Then Sue turned up and she was just amazing.

“She listened to us and understood totally what it was we needed and made it happen.”

Sue, a Senior Social Work Practitioner in the family intervention team at Pembrokeshire County Council, ensured the hospital staff took on board and respected the family’s needs.

“She was wonderful,” said John. “She was wonderful. When we had a meeting with her she explained the way the illness goes and made us realise that the dementia had taken hold.

“She did it very gently and we realised it was going to be final. It is not a job I would like, explaining these things to people, but she was a wonderful help to us.”

Runner up in the award was Tina Roberts, who works for the Llangatwg Community Children’s Team at Neath Port Talbot County Borough Council.

She was described as a “true team player” always willing to support her colleagues “practically and emotionally” as well as being a “thoughtful and reflective” practitioner.

Tina, who only qualified last year as a mature student, said: “It is the job I always wanted to do, but I waited until later in life because of my life chances and background.”

Making a difference to people’s lives is what motivates her and she lists as key qualities of a social worker “listening, understanding, emphasising and not judging people’s life choice”.

“It is a tough area of work but all social work is tough,” she said. “You are advocating on behalf of children and young people and families that have difficulties at one point of time. It is important that they are given the opportunity to move forward with support.

“No matter who you are working with it is about treating people with respect.”

The pressure of the job, such as long hours, can be a juggling act with other family commitments, said Tina, but added: “What motivates me is the satisfaction when you have worked with families and there have been positive changes.”

Practice Teacher Award – Alison Reeve

Alison was praised for having an “energy and enthusiasm which is infectious” and a passion for treating people fairly.

A social worker for Wrexham CBC Adult Social Care specialising in working with people with brain injuries, she qualified as a practice teacher four years ago.

Described as “approachable and supportive”, she was recognised for helping students overcome personal and professional obstacles and enabling them to challenge issues professionally on behalf of service users and their carers.

Runner up Trish Mellor, who works for the family intervention team at Pembrokeshire County Council, was described as “highly dedicated, supportive and committed to the students with whom she works”.

She said she was “thrilled” to have been nominated for the award.

Social Work Team Award – Adopt Swansea

Adopt Swansea has gained a reputation for excellence. The City and County of Swansea based team has taken part in a television campaign aimed at recruiting adopters for hard to place children including sibling groups, older children and those with disabilities.

It was also selected to be the lead authority and host of the new Western Bay Adoption Collaboration under the Welsh Governments regionalisation plans.

Manager Anthony Hewitt said it was “fantastic” to be recognised through the award: “It is about raising the profile about what social workers do. A lot of it goes on behind the scenes.

“With the media it is too easy for negative stories to be put out there so something that puts the positive side of what we do across is very good. It gives a true reflection of what social work really is. The whole purpose of what we do is to help people.”

Runner up in the category was the Family Intervention Team at Pembrokeshire County Council which was praised for the “holistic way” it prepares children for adoption.

Manager Amanda Hamilton-Radford said: “It’s wonderful that the whole of the team has been recognised. Social work is an unsung profession, but there is huge commitment from the team. It’s also really great that Pembrokeshire is moving forward at an astonishing rate. It now has the lowest looked after children rate in Wales.”