Welfare Department
Sir, —I was astonished to read Mr H. A. Clark’s reported comments of June 2. He believes that sufficient staff are available in the social work field, that it is only disorganisation which prevents their potential being fully utilised. I disagree. After seven months in Christchurch, after a five-year period in Community Mental Health in London, where reorganisation of the social ' services is taking
place, I am amazed by the amount that is expected of social workers here, particularly those in Government employ. They are overworked and seriously understaffed. Even with perfect communication, collaboration, and unification, they can only deal with crisis situations. Little or no preventative work can be tackled. If the Government does not spend more on further training and increased personnel in the social work services in New Zealand, they will be forced to by society to spend more on expensive alternatives in the penal, child welfare and mental health fields. —Yours, etc., ROSEMARY TREDGOLD. June 11, 1971.
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https://paperspast.natlib.govt.nz/newspapers/CHP19710615.2.98.2
Bibliographic details
Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32633, 15 June 1971, Page 12
Word Count
163Welfare Department Press, Volume CXI, Issue 32633, 15 June 1971, Page 12
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