Social work - Health work

The implications of a series of Social Services Inspectorate reports on social services for hospital patients are critically discussed. These reports emphasise the strengths of hospital based social work, but also reveal continuing uncertainty about the contribution which social work can make to address the personal and social causes and consequences of illhealth. The reluctance of the Government to acknowledge inequality as a key determinant of health experience is also a key criticism of the strategy White Paper, Health of the Nation. While embracing aspects of a social model ofhealth on examination this can be identified as an individualistic, lifistyle approach rather than one underpinned by a structural analysis. Nevertheless the White Paper, almost totally ignored by the social work press, creates the possibility for social workers and social services agencies to engage in important debates about the nature of health work and the contribution social work can make.