Social Policy On Community Care Mental Health Provision Social Work Essay

Social Policy On Community Care Mental Health Provision Social Work Essay Social policy is a governments application for welfare development and social protection carried out in the community. The Margret Thatchers conservative administration and Tony Blairs labor administration had different approaches towards the issue of community mental health care policy. The policy made vital steps towards the right direction but met obstacles on the way complicating its sustenance and achievement of desired goals. Generally it is believed that the policy did not meet its desired goals of helping the mentally ill patients in the communal setting. Community care is the British policy of, deinstitutionalization treating and caring for mentally disabled people in their homes rather than in an institution or hospital. Institutional care was the target of widespread criticism prompting the government of Margaret Thatcher to adopt a new provision of community mental health care. This was after the Audit Commission published a report called making a Reality of Community Care which outlined the advantages of domiciled care (Baker, 1986). Social policy is influenced by a number of factors that include needs of the population; demands from groups, priorities of the community, specific societal issues and critical incidents. The major intend of social policy on community care is to keep people in their homes where possible, instead of giving them care in other institutions. It was almost taken for granted that this policy was the best option from a humanitarian and moral perspective. It was also thought that the policy would be cheaper (Baker, 1986). Therefore this paper will focus on Margaret Thatchers conservative government and Tony Blairs labor government to see how their different policy approaches have impacted upon the provision of community care of mental health. The paper will also be analyzing the advantages and disadvantages of both parties to ascertain where they have helped and where they have displayed poor services. Finally the paper will conclude by giving an insight on the impact of the current social p olicy on community mental health care. Margaret Thatchers administration and community health care policy When Margaret Thatcher came to power in 1979, she made it clear that she would reduce public expenditure and make drastic changes for the betterment of the country.   She was acutely aware that Britains welfare state system needed urgent restructuring as it was costing the country too much money in the event putting the country into economic free fall.   Between 1979 and 1990 she successfully introduced changes to social policy, the organization and delivery of services and the role of the state welfare provision. As a result the era became known as Thatcherism. In 1983 the Mental Health Act was introduced by Margaret Thatchers government to  put in place safeguards for people within the hospital system. Section 117 of that act imposes a duty on district health authorities and social services departments in conjunction with voluntary agencies, to ensure that after Care service is provided for people after discharge from hospital. The approach taken by the conservative government to social problems was known as the market liberalism or neo-conservatism, and this was very influential in the way it operated. Thatcher believed in having a market economy allowing people to create their own wealth in the event taking care of themselves and their families without the interference of the government.   This approach was evident in the health care and community care reform brought on board in 1990. The aim of this act was to standardize and improve community care and establish duties for the English Health Authority.   This piece of legislations not only led the way in developing the new internal market system in health and social care but divided the organization of care into purchasers and providers of care thus creating an artificial market to increase efficiency.   It then caused a major development in the 1989 White Paper (Caring for people) as a response to the Griffins report. This was effectively putting the responsibility firmly at the doors of the health authorities and families thus freeing up more money to be put back into the system.   However, due to flaws within the assessments, lack of funding and the failing of community care, people were being discharged into the community without proper supervision, care, help and support. As a result of this some individuals became homeless ending up on the streets while some are being cared for by overstretched family with financial difficulties.   Despite of the positive approaches on Margaret Thatchers implementations she had some bad sides too.   As a result of these policies, a number of changes started to appear in the society, where members of families who suffered mental health had to rely on children to take care of them, which consequently put burden on them causing isolation, social exclusion and to some extent extreme poverty. Because of these negative impacts and lacking of a proper system in place for home care (proper monitoring and provision of communal health care officials to treat patients at home), Margaret Thatchers government was unable to adequately address the issue of community mental health care. Community mental care act 1990 In the act passed in 1990 on community care health services (NHS ACT 1990), individuals with mental problem difficulties were able to stay at their homes while being treated. This state of affairs raised concerns especially after some individuals with mental health problems were involved in violent behavior against members of the public. Even though the community has recorded a few murder cases caused by people having mental health difficulties, it is more probable that healthy individuals can as well attack the mentally ill. Mental Health is always portrayed in the media as negative but nothing has ever really been highlighted about the way people with mental ailments are being subjected to attacks and  abused on a daily basis from the general public. It is sad to note that no one seems to take account of their plight, not even the government.  So as much as this act made it possible for patients to be personally assigned specific community workers to monitor and take care of them, it posed a major risk in the community. These patients were under risk of being abused, attacked, neglected and untreated making the act look inefficient. Mental health patients eventually became uncontrollable ending up on the streets. These issues are usually prompting arguments between the public administration, health services officials and the department of social service on who should be held responsible of the whole matter. One such lack of help to detrimental effect was when Christopher Clunis, a mentally ill patie nt, stabbed and killed Jonathan Zito, an innocent person, in Finsbury Park tube station.   This could have been averted had there been proper home care and supervision provided.   These types of cases are common but there seems to be very little done to alleviate such tragedy. There ought to be no contentment therefore in ensuring good quality community care for patients with mental problems. The main challenges to the policy of the rundown traditional psychiatric hospital are the concern that homelessness is being increased among the mentally ill and the fear of public safety because of homicides by psychiatric patients (Mathews, 2002). Other issues involve appropriate assignment of social workers who would take care and monitor these patients. Over the last few years activists in opposition to community care have diverted their aggression to the concern of public safety. These has prompted the government of Britain to put into practice a key review on mental health policy. It is also apparent that issues on public safety are the ones driving the review. Tony Blairs governments approach on community mental health care When Tony Blair was elected the people had high expectation that he would put in order the NHS system.  Ã‚   Although he did not have any viable alternatives to the existing policies of Margaret Thatcher, he ridiculed them. He even used the same strategy to in his campaign resulting in a NHS historian, Charles Webster, calling it the meanest spending package on the health service since the second world war.  His promise to the people of the country was that he would not cause any structural upheaval to the NHS but he would carry out some reform which would be gradual involving consultation and experimentation. Unlike the decentralization that Margaret Thatcher adopted in her era which was against the nanny state mentality, the approach adopted by Tony Blair was that of a democratic society. Despite his belief that the government should play a greater part in monitoring what goes on in the society and intervene when necessary to ensure that fairness, he was tolerant with the idea of free enterprise. It has now been a decade since Tony Blairs government vouched that they would tackle the NHS mental health service with vigor promising that equal priority would be given to mental health issues as that of heart disease and other ailments. This is what was stated by the then health secretary Frank Dobson in 1999. The National Services Framework for mental health 1999 (ten years plan) promised seven standards of care and treatment, these standards included primary care, access to services, prevention of suicide   and caring about careers. Regardless of this the labor government under Tony Blair made some changes within the health service. His successor Gordon Brown is worse as he has not made much with the NHS. He set his sight on more cuts and closures which effectively caused more damage to an already damaged NHS.   He has not carried out the National Service Framework 1999 that had been promised by the labor government, so together they have failed to effectively implement the policies even though they have been in power considerably long. Their failures are also manifested further as the national frame work for mental health deadline expired last month and yet it still did not meet its targets. However the department of health announced a package of measures in January 2009 for the design and development of single sex accommodation within the health system. This will include a  £100 million Privacy and Dignity Fund for improvements and adjustments to accommodations. The new initiative came into effect as of Ap ril 2010 which was a big step in ensuring privacy needs of male and female patients are fully met. Still some changes have been made by the two previous governments and their respective leaders (the Margaret Thatchers conservative party (1979) and Tony Blairs 1997 labor party), with regards to the implementations of the Mental Health Act 1983 the NHS and Community Care Act 1990, and the National Service Framework Act 1999.   Even though it still appears that not much has been done to help especially members of the ethnic minority groups. There are still disparities in the way services are being distributed and how they are being treated as patients compared to their white counterparts.   For example, they are discriminated against  more and are more likely to be given higher dosages of anti-psychotic drugs or sometimes even put into seclusion. The Community Care Act 1990 was put in place mainly as a cost effective measure, thereby moving people with mental health issues out of hospitals into the community. However, some people are still not receiving the necessary care that was promised by the government, although to some extent they are being empowered by being encouraged to be more proactive in their own assessment and  care plans. Of late these provisions are ineffective as they do not meet the required specification. The organization of health services concerned with mental problem was simple previously before the current NHS and social reforms came into play. The government was responsible of the NHS and controlled fund allocation, functionality, and supervision of these health services. Local government played a very small role in the care for mentally ill individuals, there main was in housing and social work sustenance. Initially, it was the responsibility of sanatorium community divide. In the 1980s important reforms were made to both the NHS and social services. These reforms were largely aimed at changing the management arrangements for delivering general health care in the NHS and at reforming the community care of elderly people provided by social services. Little thought was apparently given to how the reforms would affect the care of mentally ill people. We believe that these changes, each of which on their own might have been valuable, have combined to damage provision of care, at least for severely mentally ill patients (Mathews, 2002). Mental health policy defines the vision for the future mental health of the population, specifying the framework which will be put in place to manage and prevent priority mental and neurological disorders. Therefore as shown in this paper the approach to the social policy on community care and mental health should focus on communal mental health problems and generate solutions for curbing these predicaments. The primary aim of this policy is to identify the most useful and efficient measure to successfully address these issues. On other hand the bringing of new policies in the mental health sector has totally transformed mental community care provision. Simple systems have been replaced with complicated organizational and financial structures requiring almost impossible feats by local health and social service staff to coordinate care for patients to whom continuity of care is critical for their survival in the community (Mathews, 2002). Critical mentally ill individuals are ensnared by these problematical issues. The formation of a community care authority that is localized which is accountable for the issue at hand could be the best solution.

Mall Culture In Cities

City outskirts are sprouting malls. Will they help decongest Bangalore? Mall culture is here to stay and new malls coming up on the city outskirts seem to be offering a ray of hope to the jam-packed city centre. Hopefully, these will cater to the lifestyle needs of people living beyond the Outer Ring Road. But will it be a boon? Expert opinion has it that if planned and executed properly, malls can keep people from travelling into the city for their leisure. This will reduce traffic within the city, many feel.According to town planner Swati Ramanathan, â€Å"It is a fact that we do need more malls. The purchasing power of people has increased and malls do provide people with several options. But they have to be strategically positioned and they can't afford to have poor facilities just because they are on the outskirts.† Says traffic expert MN Sreehari, â€Å"Malls in the outskirts will definitely give relief to clogged streets in the city.†He believes that Bangalore as a city needs and can house around 70 malls. â€Å"The correct ratio is one mall for one lakh people. This is how it has been done in the west,† he says. But architect Kevin Ross says, â€Å"When people put up structures like malls, theatres and restaurants in the outskirts, they normally cut corners. They wouldn't try it within the city because market needs demand the next structure is better than existing one. If the malls coming up in the outskirts are not upto the mark, they will fall flat and fail to attract crowds.You will still have people coming all the way from Yelahanka and Hebbal and going to Koramangala for a mall experience.† There's the case of a city multiplex that opened with a lot of promise in the outskirts, but once other multiplexes opened up in the city centre, people didn't mind travelling the distance for a more swanky experience.Swati cautions, â€Å"We can't have the market dictate where and how the malls should be. Government agencies need to be activated to look into permits for these malls. Otherwise we'll be Gurgaoned.Every third building is a mall in Gurgaon. This will result in ghost malls. One mall will attract everybody and We'll have the same problems of congestion and road blocks all over again.†She feels that it is the government agencies which need to look into the density of population in various areas and allow for malls to come up in the right zones. †¦Says Ramesh Reddy, who's invested in a mall, â€Å"Colleges, IT companies and even hospitals have gone to the outskirts. I feel if malls are put up just outside residential areas, they will have takers.†Leena M, a young professional, says, â€Å"We need to follow the Mumbai model. The city is spread out and each suburb has it's own mall nucleus.† But for this to happen in Bangalore, it will take some time, she says.Swathi adds that town planners need to have the foresight to plan for this sort of growth. It needs detailed planning. à ¢â‚¬Å"In our governance, forget about detailed planning, there's no planning at all,† she says.Sreehari believes that malls need to operate for at least 20 hours a day. He adds that in cities like Singapore, malls are open 24 hours. This has to happen eventually for malls to be really successful.

Why Women Are Paid Less Than Men

Sample Teacher Interview Questions Teacher Relationships With Students 1. What kind of students do you like to work with? What type of students could you teach most effectively? 2. You give an assignment. A student ridicules the assignment, saying it doesn’t make sense. What would you do? 3. How do you help students experience success? 4. How would you individualize instruction for students? 5. What procedures do you use to evaluate student progress besides using tests? 6. How would you challenge the slow learner and the advanced learner within the same class? 7. What would your students say about you?Teacher Relationships With Colleagues 9. Tell us about yourself, and specifically what brought you to want to be an English, math, science teacher? 10. What is your philosophy about teaching English, math, science? 1. What kind of teachers would you prefer to work with? Why? 2. What activities would you like to work with in our school? 3. What quality or qualities do you have tha t would enhance our teaching staff? 4. What are some personality characteristics you find undesirable in people? 5. Who should be responsible for discipline in a school? Why? 6. What needs and/or expectations do you have of the school administration? . How do you collaborate with your colleagues? Teacher Relationships With Parents 1. What do you feel is the most effective way to communicate with parents? Describe how you have used this/these technique(s). 2. Describe the reasons why you would contact parents. 3. What would you include in your Open House presentations to parents? 4. What community activities would you like to be associated with? Why? Instructional Techniques 1. Describe any school experience you have had, particularly in student teaching (or in another teaching position) that has prepared you for a full-time position at our school. . How would you integrate technology into the curriculum you would teach? 3. Describe any innovative projects you have been involved in d eveloping. 4. Give an example of how you have used cooperative learning in your classroom. 5. What four words would students use to describe your teaching strategies? 6. What rules do you have for your classroom . Describe your teaching style and how you accommodate the different learning styles of the students in your classes. 8. What do you consider to be your strengths and how will you use them in your teaching? 9.In what ways do you keep students on task and well behaved during collaborative group activities? A Potpourri of Topics and Background Information 1. Why did you choose to become a teacher? 2. What are your hobbies and interests? 3. What are your plans for continuing your professional growth? 4. Tell me about an interesting article you have read recently in a professional journal. 5. What contributions can you make to our school? 6. What current trends in public education please you? Displease you? 7. Tell me about the three people who have most influenced your own educ ation and educational career. . Tell us about a golden teaching moment? Questions for Management Expertise1. Describe the management strategies and techniques you use to maintain an effective classroom environment2. In what ways do you keep students on task and well behaved during collaborative group activities? 3. Describe your expectations for student behavior? In other words, if I were to enter your class on an average day, what should I expect to see with regard to student behavior? 4. Keith is your busy seventh-grader. He is constantly moving in your class and always ready to throw spitballs.Although his behavior is not seriously disruptive, it is annoying. He is especially active when he believes that you cannot see him. How would you deal with this situation? 5. Describe the management strategies and techniques you use to maintain an effective classroom environment6. Describe your expectations for student behavior? In other words, if I were to enter your class on an average d ay, what should I expect to see with regard to student behavior? 7. Keith is your busy seventh-grader. He is constantly moving in your class and always ready to throw spitballs.Although his behavior is not seriously disruptive, it is annoying. He is especially active when he believes that you cannot see him. How would you deal with this situation? Personal Characteristics Questions1. How would a colleague describe you? 2. What are your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher? 3. As a teacher, how do you relate to students, colleagues, and parents? 4. What do you consider to be a major issue in public education today? Questions for Content Area Expertise:1. Describe your knowledge and experience with the California content standards applicable to your content area. . Describe any specific areas of strength within your content area (e,g. , Physical Science, Writing Workshop, Algebra, etc. ). 3. If you could teach just one grade level and subject within your content area, what would you choose? Why? 4. What sorts of assessment, both formal and informal, do you view as being important indicators of successful performance for students learning your content area? 5. If you could teach any novel, what would it be and what would your students be doing? 6. How do you adjust for reading level differences within your classroom?Questions for English Learner Expertise:1. We have a large number of English learners in our district. What knowledge and experience do you have that is representative of your ability to teach English learners? 2. What knowledge and experience do you have regarding the California English Language Development Standards? 3. Imagine that you are teaching a â€Å"regular† mainstream class in your content area. A new student arrives in your class one day, and you soon find out that this student possesses only limited English fluency (that is, some oral fluency but very limited reading and writing fluency).You realize that this is probably not the c orrect placement for the student, so you approach the counselor in charge of scheduling students. You are told that there is no room in the other classrooms for the foreseeable future and that you will just have to do the best you can. What would you do to accommodate this student until a better placement comes up? 4. In what ways, both formal and informal, might you assess a student with limited English fluency to be sure the student is truly learning the content of your course curriculum? Short Interview Questions § How would a colleague describe you? What are your strengths and weaknesses as a teacher?  § As a teacher, how do you relate to students, colleagues, and parents?  § What do you consider to be a major issue in public education today?  § Describe your knowledge and experience with the California content standards applicable to your content area.  § Describe any specific areas of strength within your content area (e,g. , Physical Science, Writing Workshop, Algeb ra, etc. ).  § If you could teach just one grade level and subject within your content area, what would you choose? Why? What sorts of assessment, both formal and informal, do you view as being important indicators of successful performance for students learning your content area?  § We have a large number of English learners in our district. What knowledge and experience do you have that is representative of your ability to teach English learners?  § Imagine that you are teaching a â€Å"regular† mainstream class in your content area. A new student arrives in your class one day, and you soon find out that this student possesses only limited English fluency (that is, some oral fluency but very limited reading and writing fluency).You realize that this is probably not the correct placement for the student, so you approach the counselor in charge of scheduling students. You are told that there is no room in the other classrooms for the foreseeable future and that you will just have to do the best you can. What would you do to accommodate this student until a better placement comes up?  § In what ways, both formal and informal, might you assess a student with limited English fluency to be sure the student is truly learning the content of your course curriculum?  § Discuss a curriculum project you developed which generated high motivation and engagement among your students.Tell us what the project looked like and what resources you used to develop it.  § How do you feel about participating in an advisory period or other master-scheduled differences?  § What kinds of strategies do you use to challenge students to have an in-depth understanding of mathematics, science, English literature?  § What strategies do you use to make curriculum meaningful and relevant to students?  § Since we will be held accountable for standardized test results, what will you do in the area of curriculum development to e3nsure that students do well on the test wit hout teaching the test? Describe the evaluation instruments you use to assess student learning.  § Describe your ideas for ensuring that you have positive communication with parents and the larger community.  § What do you envision will be your biggest challenge this year?  § How do you excel in working with students from diverse populations?  § Why are you interested in working at this school?  § Share with us your philosophy of teaching and learning?  § What is the role/responsibility of a teacher in a classroom?  § Tell us about a time when a student really got what you were hoping they would. An â€Å"Ah HA† moment. Why do you think students from diverse cultural and educational backgrounds do not excel in school in comparison to more traditional students?  § What kinds of things can be done to compensate for inadequacies in English or prior knowledge?  § Tell us about your approach to classroom discipline – how do you ensure your students are on- task, and what steps do you take when they are not?  § What do you think was your most successful lesson you have taught and why?  § What was the most challenging lesson you have had to teach, and how did you overcome the obstacles?  § What would be the ideal teaching position be? |

The Human World Of Space And Time By Ernst Cassirer

The Memory of a People In â€Å"The Human World of Space and Time† Ernst Cassirer describes the ideational processes through which human beings construct their world’s spatiality and temporality. In the case of the recollection of memories, Cassirer notes that recollection in humans is not a mere calling to memory of past events but rather â€Å"a rebirth of the past [that] implies a creative and a constructive process.† It is this ideational process of recollection what Cassirer has termed symbolic memory (Cassirer 1944, 51-2). Considering the animal symbolicum denomination that Cassirer attributes to human beings in â€Å"A Clue to the Nature of Man: The Symbol,† the following essay draws on the expressiveness of the symbolic art form and its capacity to engage with the subject through the sensuous to highlight the symbolic appeal of â€Å"The Bracero and Farmworkers Mural† among the Mexican American community in the City of San Juan, TX. Seeking to honor the memory and history of the Mexican American community in the United States, muralist Raul Valdez and his team of University of Texas-Pan American undergraduates and alumnus set forth to create a visual representation of the 1942-1964 Bracero Program. Their aim was, according to Dr. Stephanie Alvarez, to highlight the importance of being connected to one’s community, always knowing where one comes from; emphasizing the responsibility of giving back, specially among first generation Latinx, Chicanx college students who might be more likelyShow MoreRelatedMartin Buber5681 Words   |  23 Pagesutopian world. In fact, this dichotomy which began in the Renaissance and became a gaping wound in the 17th and 18th centuries as we embraced science and reason as our god, has allowed for 20th century aberrations like Hitler and his Aryan ubermenchen or Stalin and his totalitarian state. Clearly, the 20th century mind is in dire need of healing. But only reinventin g a healthy vision of humans in the world, one which integrates both the rational bent and the mystic bent of every human mind, willRead MoreCleanth Brookss Essay Irony as a Principle of Structure9125 Words   |  37 Pagestherefore, that it must be constantly applied to itself, and this is one of the focal points of these essays. At the same time this entails taking up a substantive position with regard to the urgent problems of the present; for according to this view of Marxist method its pre-eminent aim is knowledge of the present. Our preoccupation with methodology in these essays has left little space for an analysis of the concrete problems of the present. For this reason the author would like to take this opportunity