The reality of working as a social worker at Christmas...

From care home parties, and festive duty visits, to emergency call-outs for mental health assessments...

This Christmas Day and Boxing Day, as many of us are tucking into the turkey, or munching down on a box of Miniature Heroes infront of the Strictly Christmas Special, Irfan Aziz will be at work.

“I don’t celebrate Christmas personally, so I try and opt to work over Christmas if I can, for the benefit of colleagues that do celebrate, and would like to be home with their families,” says Irfan, a social worker, who does AMHP work in Liverpool, and Mental Health Liaison work in a Greater Manchester A&E department.

“I find Christmas is often reflected in the volume of call-outs we get, as it can be really busy during the festive period.

“There will be instances where individuals and families are in crisis, or where people have been detained under Section 136 of the Mental Health Act and require assessment, so I will be spending that Christmas weekend responding to requests that come in.

Irfan Aziz

Irfan Aziz “THERE ARE A LOT OF REASONS PEOPLE MAY NEED OUR HELP THIS TIME OF YEAR. IT COULD BE TO DO WITH A RELATIONSHIP, IT COULD BE ALCOHOL-RELATED, OR SOMEONE DEALING WITH POOR MENTAL HEALTH, INCLUDING PSYCHOSIS.”

Irfan says he feels the responsibility of his job every single day, which can see him undertaking mental health assessments anywhere - out in the community, in A&E depts, on mental health wards, and at police stations.

“It’s a 24/7 service, 365 days a year,” he explains, revealing that rotas are usually done six months in advance, to allow people to make plans.

“It’s a huge responsibility, as potentially you could be depriving someone of their liberty, when you’re talking about detaining patients on mental health wards, so it’s important to be thorough.

“I do sometimes find at Christmas that you get professionals who, just before the festive period, panic and think ‘we’re going to be off for a week, so we’d better refer this case for a mental health act assessment. Sometimes, it’s not proportionate, and the least restrictive options should be explored.”

Cleo Straughan

Cleo Straughan will be at home this Christmas Eve for the first time in years. After a decade of putting herself forward to work, so that colleagues with young families could be at home to celebrate with their children, Cleo - who is currently on maternity leave - will be spending this Christmas Eve at home with her new baby boy.

“I never really minded working Christmas Eve,” explains the adult social worker, who is based in London.

“I UNDERSTAND THAT IT’S MORE MEANINGFUL WHEN YOU HAVE CHILDREN, SO I WAS ALWAYS HAPPY TO OPT TO WORK, AND LET OTHERS STAY AT HOME ON THOSE DAYS.

“Although not everybody wants to work at Christmas, I do find that people are generally quite chipper, which is nice, and though it varies from officeto-office, and team-to-team, in my experience, those working tend to come together and make the best of it.

“There are usually Christmas jumpers, food, and a bit of tinsel and battery-powered lights - as long as it doesn’t break any fire safety regulations! “It can also be quite quiet, especially between Christmas and New Year. I work in an adults team where we deal with longer term work, so we’re generally able to plan things in advance and make sure things are in place for the people that will need them over that Christmas period.”

Cleo started her current role just four weeks before lockdown, and spent last Christmas Eve working remotely, which she said was incredibly difficult.

“The level of stress, pressure, and anxiety was unbelievable, and the amount of time that my colleagues and I were working was extraordinary,” says the 38-year-old.

“Compared to the NHS, social care workers are often the forgotten team, working tirelessly to get people out of hospital in time for Christmas, making sure they’re safe - empowering, supporting, and advocating all the hours of the day and night.“

Last year I often worked 10-11 hour days in the run-up to Christmas to get things done.”

And Cleo also says the people she visits seem to welcome her and appreciate her time more at Christmas.

“I do find that people who aren’t always happy to see me at other times in the year tend to be a bit friendlier, thanks to a bit of Christmas spirit.

“I also think care homes are joyful places to be at Christmas, as there is always a lot going on, and people are in great spirits. The homes I visit often invite me for Christmas dinner, which is really lovely too.”