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| Mental Health Programme of Care |
MENTAL HEALTH PROGRAMME OF CARE
SOCIAL SERVICES RESPONSIBILITIES FOR PERSONS WITH A MENTAL ILLNESS
The Director of Social Services is professionally responsible for social work within the mental health programme of care. Some of the professional social work responsibilities under the Mental Health (NI) Order 1986 include:-
System of approval for social workers. Approved social workers have significant responsibilities in relation to:-
- Compulsory admission to hospital
- Consultation with the nearest relative
- Guardianship
This service is provided by a social work team based at the Mental Health Department, Daisy Hill Hospital.
Duty System
A duty rota system operates within the directorate from Monday to Friday, between the hours of 2.00pm and 4.00pm. The duty social worker / community psychiatric nurse can be contacted at these times by telephone (028) 30835026, extension 4525/4526.
The duty rota aims to:
- Improve client access to services
- Have a professional person on site to deal with referral /queries
Telephone calls are directed to the social worker / community psychiatric nurse on duty who has information available as to likely contacts or services required.
For clients presenting in person at these times a professional is available to interview the client, assess needs, take referrals and organise an appropriate response.
Weekends and After Hours
At weekends and from 5.00pm to 9.00pm the Newry and Mourne area is included in the Southern Board out of hours stand by service for social services. This service can be contacted via your GP or local hospital in case of urgent or emergency situations that arise and cannot wait for the week-day time services to resume. In a crisis the GP can arrange for an approved social worker to make an assessment or an admission to hospital.