New social work out of hours response service to cover all of Ayrshire
31 Jan 2012 12:07:25
A new Social Work out of hours response service that will serve the needs of all Ayrshire communities will soon be up and running.
The service has been established in order to provide a more localised response to social work crisis situations which may occur outwith office hours. All of the Ayrshire councils have previously been part of the West of Scotland Social Work Standby Service operated by Glasgow City Council.
The work to set up the service is being led by a pan-Ayrshire working group consisting of senior social work officers from North, South and East Ayrshire Councils. The new service will be based at Crosshouse Hospital which will enable close working links with NHS out of hours crisis services. East Ayrshire Council will host its management and delivery.
Councillor John MacKay, Spokesperson for Community Health and Wellbeing, East Ayrshire Council said: “The recruitment of the Senior Social Work practitioners who will work in the standby service is going well and the new service will be up and running by April. Having a joint service that is focused on the needs of Ayrshire residents will greatly enhance the service provided and help to ensure that the more vulnerable members of our communities are being helped when and where they need it.”