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Dr Neil ThompsonMarch 9, 2017
Neil Thompson’s Lesson for Living – Be clear about what you value
People who suffer from depression often feel as though nothing matters any more. It is as if life has become so difficult or painful that they just want to be cut off from it. And yet, ironically, it is generally because something we value – something that is really important to us – has been offended, undermined or even destroyed that people become depressed. This raises important issues about what we value, about what really matters to us. Values are often seen as abstract, and therefore disconnected from real life to a certain extent. However, seeing values that way is a big mistake, a very big mistake ... Click here to read more
Dr Neil ThompsonMarch 9, 2017
Social Work in 42 Objects (and more) 
Can the story of social work be told through Objects? Might a collection of objects be more illuminating than a formal text book or a dry definition? In this engaging, photographic book, Mark Doel curates a collection of 127 objects contributed by people from around the globe to evoke a sense of social work - past, present and future. Written as a Guide to an Exhibition of Social Work, this is the ideal book to introduce social work to newcomers, and to entertain those with long experience of the profession. The objects are presented by a diverse group of people with different perspectives on social work, but with a common imagination. The objects in this book are a gift to social…
Dr Neil ThompsonMarch 9, 2017
NHS tasks are creeping into social care without funding or legal clarity
Discussions around what constitutes NHS healthcare and what constitutes social care can be traced back to the original post-war legislation that separated responsibilities for health (the NHS Act 1946) and (the National Assistance Act 1948). This statutory separation has been maintained ever since and in many ways it is artificial and not helpful to the person in need of care. Integration is regarded as the way forward. However, as we rush to align, co-locate or integrate, local authorities need to consider the issue of administration of medication by social care staff in the context of local authority-commissioned care for people in their own homes... Click here to read more
Dr Neil ThompsonMarch 9, 2017
Inequality Is Not Inevitable: Our New Guide for Activists
The Equality Trust: "We are proud to launch our new activist pack: Inequality Is Not Inevitable. This guide aims to help inequality activists target key decision-makers, and those who influence them, so that action is taken to reduce inequality. In addition to our compelling and growing evidence base in favour of more equal societies, we have always believed in the necessity of a large social movement demanding a fairer, better UK. This guide aims to help people join that movement and to then take concrete action to tackle inequality. Please do read and share the guide with all the people and organisations that you know and work with!" Click here to read more
Dr Neil ThompsonMarch 9, 2017
Care homes can be lonely and cruel places. But they can also be inspiring too
My old man said follow the van, and don’t dilly-dally on the way.” We are seated in a circle, singing. The woman next to me is lusty, her voice clear and her hands tapping out the rhythm; the man opposite in his wheelchair looks slightly dazed but he mouths the words. People who might not be able to speak can often find language when it is set to music. Memory floods back. I am at a residential care home in Carterton, near Witney, Oxfordshire, run by the charity MHA, where two-thirds of the 68 people who live here have dementia. “I dillied, I dallied, I dallied and I dillied,” we sing, smiling, nodding, all joining in except the woman in…
Dr Neil ThompsonMarch 9, 2017