Don't blame us for doing society's dirty work

Social work is often vilified because it does the “dirty work” of sorting out society’s problems that many would prefer not to acknowledge existed.

In the face of this, it's vital the profession celebrates its successes, said Dr Neil Thompson, a leading social work consultant, trainer, author and practitioner.

Dr Thompson was speaking at the annual BASW Cymru Social Work Awards in Cardiff.

He said: “Social work is often criticised unfairly. A core part of social work is in effect doing society’s dirty work, so in a sense we shouldn’t be surprised that there are misunderstandings when there are significant parts of the population who would like to think these things we wrestle with don’t happen in a civilized societies like ours.

“In recent years it has gone well beyond that level of understanding to in some cases outright vilification.

“So it is important that we focus on the positives we care about despite the unfair criticisms that are rife and we feel proud of the important work that we do.”

Mr Thompson was one of the judges of this year’s awards, which were attended by Health and Social Care Minister Mark Drakeford and other members of the Welsh National Assembly. Outstanding practitioners were recognised in four categories covering the spirit of social work, social work team, innovative practice and lifetime achievement.