UK: Social Workers to inspect homes of all new parents?

[green73]

Social workers will routinely go into new parents’ homes to check for dangers such as staircases and sharp table edges, under ‘intrusive’ plans drawn up by safety campaigners.

They argue that the hour-long visits could prevent thousands of serious injuries every year – but critics believe they would be an invasion of privacy.

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents (RoSPA) wants all new parents to have their homes checked for hazards, saying a two-year pilot in which social workers and volunteers visited more than 300,000 families reduced accidents.

Public Health Minister Anna Soubry welcomed RoSPA’s Safe at Home project, saying it had shown ‘great results’.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2351774/Social-workers-meddle-family-home-bid-prevent-accidents-children.html

[Origanalist]

The Royal Society for the Prevention of Accidents

http://ts4.mm.bing.net/th?id=H.4952974493942227&pid=15.1

[Nobexliberty]

Did parlament pass something before tea time?

[tod evans]

Think of the children:rolleyes:

[lib3rtarian]

WTF? Probably coming soon to a state near you.

[ghengis86]

How can I get off this planet?

[Origanalist]

How can I get off this planet?

No one get's out alive.

[ghengis86]

No one get's out alive.

Got that right

[Philhelm]

This is already happening within the U.S. to an extent. My daughter was born with heart defects and had to have heart surgery when she was two months old. She was subsequently released from the hospital and my wife's health insurance provided for home healthcare nurses and such. However, there are social workers associated with the hospital that would repeatedly ask my wife if she's feeling depressed, suicidal, etc. They would ask her mother, when she would visit our daughter, if there were any concerns about my wife's ability to care for the child. My mother watches our daughter during the day, as my wife and I both work, so the social worker and nurses would go to her home during the day. However, the social worker made it clear that she wanted to see our home, and had finally made an appointment to do so when my wife was able to arrange a time. It's pretty damned clear what the agenda is. I find it insulting.

[amy31416]

This is already happening within the U.S. to an extent. My daughter was born with heart defects and had to have heart surgery when she was two months old. She was subsequently released from the hospital and my wife's health insurance provided for home healthcare nurses and such. However, there are social workers associated with the hospital that would repeatedly ask my wife if she's feeling depressed, suicidal, etc. They would ask her mother, when she would visit our daughter, if there were any concerns about my wife's ability to care for the child. My mother watches our daughter during the day, as my wife and I both work, so the social worker and nurses would go to her home during the day. However, the social worker made it clear that she wanted to see our home, and had finally made an appointment to do so when my wife was able to arrange a time. It's pretty damned clear what the agenda is. I find it insulting.

My daughter merely had a mild case of jaundice, and they made it quite clear as well that they were going to come to our home one way or another. Were required to watch videos on how not to shake your baby before I/we could be released from the hospital--all kinds of bizarre shit.

[amy31416]

This is already happening within the U.S. to an extent. My daughter was born with heart defects and had to have heart surgery when she was two months old. She was subsequently released from the hospital and my wife's health insurance provided for home healthcare nurses and such. However, there are social workers associated with the hospital that would repeatedly ask my wife if she's feeling depressed, suicidal, etc. They would ask her mother, when she would visit our daughter, if there were any concerns about my wife's ability to care for the child. My mother watches our daughter during the day, as my wife and I both work, so the social worker and nurses would go to her home during the day. However, the social worker made it clear that she wanted to see our home, and had finally made an appointment to do so when my wife was able to arrange a time. It's pretty damned clear what the agenda is. I find it insulting.

My daughter merely had a mild case of jaundice, and they made it quite clear as well that they were going to come to our home one way or another. Were required to watch videos on how not to shake your baby before I/we could be released from the hospital--all kinds of bizarre shit.

[Cleaner44]

I would have no problem with this if it were an available service for those parents that request it, but it should never be mandatory or required. If people want to offer home safety checks with no obligation, fine. If they want to push this on everyone, fuck off.

If the socialists want to make this mandatory then I suggest the checking start with the government workers. They should be required to submit to a complete financial examination by the state to make sure they have no debt or financial dangers. They should be required to submit to a complete health examination by the state to make sure they don't have any diseases or disorders that could endanger their comrades.

On second thought, the socialists should just fuck off.

[silverhandorder]

This is already happening within the U.S. to an extent. My daughter was born with heart defects and had to have heart surgery when she was two months old. She was subsequently released from the hospital and my wife's health insurance provided for home healthcare nurses and such. However, there are social workers associated with the hospital that would repeatedly ask my wife if she's feeling depressed, suicidal, etc. They would ask her mother, when she would visit our daughter, if there were any concerns about my wife's ability to care for the child. My mother watches our daughter during the day, as my wife and I both work, so the social worker and nurses would go to her home during the day. However, the social worker made it clear that she wanted to see our home, and had finally made an appointment to do so when my wife was able to arrange a time. It's pretty damned clear what the agenda is. I find it insulting.


My daughter merely had a mild case of jaundice, and they made it quite clear as well that they were going to come to our home one way or another. Were required to watch videos on how not to shake your baby before I/we could be released from the hospital--all kinds of bizarre shit.
To be honest if I had an insurance company I would do the same before taking you on as a client.

[green73]

To be honest if I had an insurance company I would do the same before taking you on as a client.

And you would lose business.

[silverhandorder]

And you would lose business.

With some people. But making sure parents don't kill their kids would make my prices much lower. I sure as hell will let someone look through my house if it means my kid has better chance of living and I get a 10% discount.

[DGambler]

Try adopting a child sometime and you'd be shocked.

[amy31416]

And you would lose business.

Yeah, definitely. Home inspection because you had a child? Piss off. That falls under the category of private business being as bad as gov't-operated services.

The nurse they pushed on me got kicked to the curb at the beginning of her 2nd visit, and she was pissed off--no doubt that if she'd seen anything in my home to report that she would have.

[amy31416]

Try adopting a child sometime and you'd be shocked.

Hell, just try adopting a dog.

[Henry Rogue]

When I see stories like in the original post, Orwell's 1984 comes to mind. We get closer every day. Insurance companies lawyers and government are why health care costs are so high. I believe, in a Free Market insurance companies would not be so big or intrusive. Government intervention in the economy has really F***ed up people's lives.

[ghengis86]

With some people. But making sure parents don't kill their kids would make my prices much lower. I sure as hell will let someone look through my house if it means my kid has better chance of living and I get a 10% discount.

Different strokes.

Just don't force me to do it and we'll be all good.

[Pistis]

As a UK resident & parent, I can confirm this is already happening with 'Health visitors' who have the responsibility for new birth visits and are supposed to give advice on feeding, weaning & all that baby stuff which sounds reasonable but since about 5 years ago following a baby abuse scandal, training for health visitors has included 'safeguarding' which is basically spying on parents.

They don't tell new parents about this aspect of the their job -- they come in for the visit and if you admit 'you're suffering from depression' or 'you're finding it hard to cope with the baby' or they notice 'the house isn't clean' or whatever else they've been trained to look out for, then your information is passed on to Social Services and you basically go on a watch list giving them an excuse to take whatever action they deem reasonable including taking your baby.

This latest move is simply an attempt to cut out the middle-man by moving the job from Health visitors directly to Social Services.

[silverhandorder]

Different strokes.

Just don't force me to do it and we'll be all good.
Would never think of it. Unlike today when people are forced to do what this law or that law says.