Social workers who provided a lifeline service across Dumfries and Galloway at the height of the pandemic are now suffering in its aftermath.
A “significant number” of staff in the department are now off sick with work-related stress.
Others are burnt out following two years of trying to support vulnerable kids, families and individuals across the region.
Lillian Cringles, the council’s social work chief, said: “They absolutely have worked above and beyond, and unfortunately for a number of them that is coming home now to roost in terms of a deterioration in their health.”
The social work department was already facing a staffing shortage before being put under overwhelming pressure over the last 24 months. In 2020/21 alone, it handled 81,010 calls – which is equivalent to 222 per day.
The effects on staff with limited resources was raised at the council’s social work committee.
A report for councillors showed that the social work department had an average rate of 5.4 staff days lost in the first six months of 2021/22 – higher than the target 4.5 days.
Highlighting the issue, Councillor Jane Maitland said: “I think we should have a comment from the chief social work officer about the level of pressure, and how we are tackling it. It is a problem.”
Ms Cringles said: “It really is a concern for us. It’s a concern in terms of our duty of care to staff.
“I have shared with members all the way through the response to the pandemic about the impact it was having on our staff and the huge demand that they were facing.
“We have got a significant number of staff who are currently off as a consequence of work-related stress.
“We are acutely aware that staff are suffering from exhaustion on some fronts.”
The social work chief explained that staff are given support via a national health and wellbeing hub and a range of services with the local authority.
She added: “We are coming out of the response to Covid, but we are certainly not anywhere near recovery – and I am concerned moving forward.
“We continue to have an issue around recruitment and retention, which again I have spoken to members about. For the staff that are left, the burden falls upon them.
“We have got some worrying workloads at the moment. We do have an increased level of demand.
“I will continue to work towards getting extra support, and I am thankful for support being provided, particularly for children and families.
“But we also have some challenges within the health and social care partnership to make sure that we’ve got adequate resource and support to deliver those services.
“There is quite a significant shortage of social workers.”
