Alecia Ivers

Alecia Ivers, Assistant Service Manager for the Community Adult Health Services Social Care Team at Wandsworth Council

“I currently manage a social care team working within a complex care community health team. The complex care multidisciplinary team core staff members are a GP, matrons, nurses and social care staff. The wider multidisciplinary team has input from therapy staff, specialist nurses and community mental health teams. The social care staff complete joint assessments with health staff of patients with complex health and social care needs. The allows us to assess patients holistically, and be more informed of illness and diagnosis and how it impacts health and social care outcomes – which enables us to assess, plan and refer appropriately.

“We have also recently started working with Wandsworth CCG on completing decision support tool assessments in the community instead of in hospital, using a new assessment pathway to allow patients and families to make decisions away from busy hospitals.

“I enjoy working in health and social care teams as I believe we get better outcomes for patients when we are working together. Although health and social care are different institutions, for a patient, their health and social care needs are together. When we assess these needs together we can understand and get better outcomes for patients and can truly empower patients to reach their potential.

“I recently supported one of my social workers with addressing the needs of an older woman in the community. For months we worked with the community health team, mental health and advocacy services to introduce care and stabilise her health. In this time we had many setbacks but we continued to meet as a multidisciplinary team to address each issue. The patient is now settled at home where she wanted to be, and her health and care is stable. This outcome was only possible by the joint approach in working between health and social care.”