"COVID made us do it" - how a pandemic changed the work of Leeds social workers for the better

Unable to attend face to face appointments to carry out assessments, family meetings or even tribunals in a court-room, the teams in Leeds City Council's social care teams have been using technology to keep in touch with people and keep the system working - and say in many ways it is working better.

In the final day of a series by the Yorkshire Evening Post to highlight the work that social care teams have been doing behind the scenes during the coronavirus lockdown, we catch up with one of the city's three regional Neighbourhood Teams, which co-ordinate activity to support any vulnerable person in the city.

Nyoka Fothergill leads a team which covers the Armley, Yeadon, Pudsey and Holt park areas of the city and says just last week a tribunal was held for a person detained under the Mental Health Act. In a normal working situation it could have taken several weeks to co-ordinate family members, social workers and solicitors into a hearing date but instead the hearing was done via Skype in one day and resulted in an outcome that suited everyone.

Ms Fothergill said: "You can't just say you are going to keep someone detained indefinitely. It is so important that we use that technology. Just think how many people would have had to travel in terms of that. We got an outcome everyone was pleased with and it was via Skype.

"We have not embraced the technology but COVID has made us do it. We have always had it but don't use it but hands down we need to change the way that we work."

She added: "Whilst in lockdown we can't get and see everybody face to face. Video calls have been so important to have that face to face contact. We want to get to know a person, know their story and relieve any anxieties over decisions they have to make. You are seeing people for sensitive things like if a care situation has broken down or they have to enter the care system."