Musings of an Old PO
Ground Control to Major Tom < target operating model > "you're off course, directions wrong, can't you hear me Major Tom, can't you hear me.........planet earth is blue & there's nothing I can do."
Well if nothing else, CV19 has taught us that any sense that probation officers had of any "professional discretion or independence" in their role is dead. It's been eroded for 25 years from being a proper respected career to being a mere pawn on a chess board. It sucks putting professional decision on Ndelius when it's clearly not mine.
Ok I'm no fan of OASYS but sections 1-12 are a good way of gathering background & the RMP in parts has value, but really it needs a total overhaul as it's merely an over populated & time consuming imposition. Busy case managers rarely go to OASYS if you have to see people on the hoof. Most look on Ndelius to see what order/licence they are on, check a couple of risk boxes & the last few entries & off we go.
Occasionally after completing an OASYS you might revisit it. More & more unnecessary words are required on every section to ensure it is up to quality. Does a good OASYS equal good engagement & supervision of a case? No. Do case managers regularly go back & refer to OASYS? I certainly don't until the next time I'm forced to cut & paste for an AP referral - don't get me started on that process.
What happened 4 weeks ago? Anybody know? Clue needed? Yes lockdown. Anyone in probation not know about it? No. So why, oh why, do we need to put two different imputs on Ndelius about it & then open OASYS & cut & paste a load of words on the top of the RMP, in contingency & then, most bonkers of all, add a sentence plan objective related to CV19?
I don't know if the six figure salaried tin command crazies have been sat on their penthouse roofs drinking too many ciders, but do they have any understanding at all of how ridiculous this is when we are facing a major "human" crisis? Of course the human bit of the job does not really matter any more. If it's not on Ndelius or OASYS it's not real. Like teachers our job is in a straight jacket where innovation & creativity is lost. Often I feel like I'm treated like a pupil, a mere square root of my age.
Finally the "new" home visits! I want/need to drive to my cases homes, knock the door, distance or meet them in a space nearby & talk to them face to face. What is the point of sitting outside & talking on the phone to cases? They don't know and why two people and two cars except in exceptional circumstances against the guidelines of "is your journey necessary/essential."
CV19 has created hero's & many tragedies but it has brought to the fore that we must force a change in the direction of organisation. If not, Probation as a profession is dead. Long live the tom.
Recent Tweets from Nick Hardwick:-
ReplyDeleteHad a few senior HMPPS people contact me following my earlier tweets. Extremely concerned that next week prisoners will start to be moved from local prisons (where most infection) to training prisons (with least infection but most vulnerable population). Two big concerns:
First, pressure created by unnecessary recalls by probation. Second, to transfer prisoners safely needs to be done in batches and ‘reverse cohorts’ - that is the batch held on an isolation unit for 14 days and only moved into main pop when danger of infection passed.
Reverse cohorts require space but concern that current release plans much too complex and slow. So some transfers will take place without them being in place. Much despair that this will create a surge in deaths and fury that governors who made errors with may be disciplined.
Releases could be achieved much more quickly with existing HDC rules and using available resources to source post-release accommodation. Am told by many that senior officials urging this with increasing desperation but blocked by SoS.
A real current threat that transfers planned for next week will spread infection and cause unnecessary deaths because population too big to allow space to be created to do it safely.
There is no evidence that people who have recovered from coronavirus have immunity to the disease, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has said.
DeleteThe UK government has bought 3.5 million serology tests - which measure levels of antibodies in blood plasma.
But senior WHO epidemiologists have warned that there is no proof that such antibody tests can show if someone who has been infected with COVID-19 cannot be infected again.
Emerging evidence that patients who have 'recovered' from COVID19 might still be carrying the virus intact in their kidneys or heart tissues. The virus is being detected in patients' urine & arterial blood samples. This might explain the reported 're-infections'.
DeleteMaking it even more likely than Nick Hardwick suggests that the movement/transfer of prisoners will spread the virus throughout the prison populations - staff & prisoners alike.
“using available resources to source post-release accommodation“
DeleteWhat would that be then?
“only moved into main pop when danger of infection passed.“
Nick obviously doesn’t read the news. Reinfection, second waves, etc.
“transfers planned for next week will spread infection and cause unnecessary deaths”
Not a care for the probation officers expected to receive them or the families they’ll rerun to.
New European reports on the macho, "we-know-best & do-as-I-say" nature of Tory government:
ReplyDelete"Dominic Cummings is back in Downing Street and ignoring social distancing rules - Downing Street officials were questioned by journalists wondering why Cummings appeared to be back and ignoring the government’s own advice over COVID-19. It follows a photographer capturing Cummings not maintaining a two-metre distance from fellow aide Cleo Watson.
Over the weekend a Tory MP blamed the “macho” attitude at the heart of government for key officials becoming ill with coronavirus."
The same attitudes that fuelled TR & other catastrophes, including Brexit, mean this Tory administration is taking the UK into pole position for most COVID-19 deaths in Europe.
Those deaths include prison and probation staff, and those subject to prison sentences & supervision.
Knowing what Westminster is like, perhaps Dominic and Cleo are living in the same house. Social distancing rules would not apply !!
Deletehttps://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/top-stories/dominic-cumming-back-in-downing-street-and-ignoring-social-distancing-rules-1-6606468
And those deaths will not include probation staff, and those subject to supervision. Jo Farrar, Ian Lawrence & Co ‘forgot’ these figures when attending the recent Justice Select Committee hearing.
DeleteI’m not sure to make of today’s blog post. Is it meaningful to other than the author? Is it just a moan? I do come across many (deadwood) POs like this, a lot to say about what they cannot do but not much about what they can do. Stop making the older generation look bad, there are many others similarly experienced that take these procedures and reinterpret for all to follow. Even the @NPsBirmingham Bronze Commander recommends a bowl of fruit and a clean hankie.
ReplyDeleteDaily press releases, clapping for keyworkers, Captain Tom’s fundraising, money for domestic abuse hotlines, it’s all good. Meanwhile the government uses this as a distraction away from its incompetently slow start, the absence of consistent and evidenced strategy, it’s under reporting of deaths, the many individuals and businesses with no income, the lack of NHS beds, equipment and PPE.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52341403
New data has added to growing evidence that the number of deaths linked to coronavirus in UK care homes may be far higher than those recorded so far.
DeleteThe National Care Forum (NCF) estimates that more than 4,000 elderly and disabled people have died across all residential and nursing homes. Its report comes amid calls for accurate data on virus-linked deaths. Only 217 such care home deaths have been officially recorded in England and Wales up to 3 April.
The NCF, which represents not-for-profit care providers, said its findings highlight significant flaws in the official reporting of coronavirus-related death statistics. It collected data from care homes looking after more than 30,000 people in the UK, representing 7.4% of those people living in one of the country's thousands of care settings. It said that, across those specific homes, in the week between 7 April and 13 April, there had been 299 deaths linked to coronavirus. That was treble the figure for the previous week and double that in the whole of the preceding month. If that number was reflected across all residential and nursing homes, NCF estimated there have been 4,040 coronavirus-related deaths in care homes which are not yet included in official figures.
Meanwhile, Cabinet Office Minister Michael Gove has denied reports the government has drawn up a graduated plan to start easing the lockdown within weeks. Speaking to Sophy Ridge on Sky News, he said: "It is the case that we are looking at all of the evidence, but we have set some tests which need to be passed before we can think of easing restrictions in this lockdown."
Education Secretary Gavin Williamson said "no decision has been made" on when schools in England, which were closed on 20 March, will reopen.
Responding to a report in the Sunday Times suggesting some pupils could return in early May, he tweeted: "I can reassure schools and parents that they will only reopen when the scientific advice indicates it is the right time to do so."
But addressing claims in the same paper that ministers had failed to prepare properly for the outbreak, shadow health secretary Jonathan Ashworth said there were "serious questions about the government's immediate response to this pandemic and whether they were too slow to act".
Is it meaningful - yes it is. I liked the guest blog bc I think it says what needs to be said. If OASys reviews to include Covid has a purpose then feel free to share your rational for this, otherwise everyone on the front line knows it is a waste of time.
DeleteRecusant
It was a very different story when China was downplaying the number of deaths !!
DeleteMistakes & omissions are rife everywhere as politicians scramble to save their skins - often at the expense of the general population. Wouldn't it be luvverly if everyone worked together?
DeleteAs citizens and the electorate of the UK we have a right to call out our government for the slothful lying shameful selfish idiots they are.
However the virus arrived in humans (the truth will eventually be discovered) the Chinese rapidly cracked the genetic code of the virus & made it available to the world in early January:
"Chinese scientists submitted the gene sequencing data for posting on Virological.org, a hub for prepublication data designed to assist with public health activities and research. Earlier this week, they announced that they had isolated and fully sequenced the virus, setting off calls for full release of the details. The post was communicated by Edward Holmes, PhD, with the University of Sydney, on behalf of a Chinese group led by Yong-Zhen Zhang, PhD, with Fudan University in Shanghai."
This meant that work on devising tests for antigen & antibody presence could begin at that point. Did the UK start developing tests? No.
A useful timeline (which excludes UK data seeing as we have now left the EU):
https://www.ecdc.europa.eu/en/novel-coronavirus/event-background-2019
https://www.gov.uk/government/speeches/covid-19-health-secretarys-statement-to-parliament
Delete26 Feb 2020
"So far 13 people in the UK have tested positive, of whom 8 now have been discharged from hospital.
We expect more cases here.
Mr Speaker, we have a clear, 4-part plan to respond to the outbreak of this disease:
Contain. Delay. Research and Mitigate.
We are taking all necessary measures to minimise the risk to the public.
We have put in place enhanced monitoring measures at UK airports, and health information is available at all international airports, ports and international train stations.
The NHS is testing a very large number of people who travel back from affected countries, the vast majority of whom test negative.
If anyone has been in contact with a suspected case in a childcare or an educational setting, no special measures are required while test results are awaited.
There is no need to close the school or send other students or staff home."
26 Feb 2020 - Hansard
DeleteMatt Hancock - There has been a roll-out to a wider number of laboratories, and we are working through plans for wider commercial diagnostic testing. We are working with around a dozen private companies, and using private diagnostic testing companies, not least because globally there is a search for a “by the side of the bed” testing capability. At the moment, all testing is done in labs, which means that someone has to take a swab to the lab and get the result. We want testing capabilities that involve a bit of kit by the bedside of the patient, so that tests can be run onsite. There is a global search for that capability, but it does not yet exist. We are putting funding and support into making that happen, and I hope we will soon get to that solution.
Dr Philippa Whitford (SNP)
I am concerned about not self-isolating asymptomatic people, particularly when we are aware that the case that spread the condition to others in the UK involved someone who was not significantly symptomatic... people could be spreading the condition without our knowledge.
Hancock - I am afraid I do not recognise some of her clinical observations... I am very happy to ensure that she receives a full briefing from medical experts, so that she can get the clinical points right.
"I do come across many (deadwood) POs like this, a lot to say about what they cannot do but not much about what they can do." It's been said lots of times - then write something different and submit it as a Guest Blog!
ReplyDeleteThe blog ends “we must force a change in the direction of organisation“. At no point prior to this does it make any suggestions or recommendations. Every practice is criticised and every procedure is a chore. And yes, maybe I will, because there are many other ‘older’ POs that are the complete opposite.
DeleteAnon 11:12 Excellent! There is an open offer to anyone for Guest Blog pieces on whatever you fancy. Contact details on profile page.
DeleteHow the f*** did probation ever manage without OASyS and Ndelius?
DeleteHow did the old timers ever manage without the computer telling them what to do?
They didn't even have boxes to tic.
How mads that?
Answer:
DeleteThey had admin to type up their notes.
They had jollies at Napo agms to pass the time.
They had soft sandals to let their feet air on hot days in the office.
Funny that, they think the computer is telling them what to do, while everyone else with a credible level of competency is telling the computer what to do.
* They had admin to type up their notes - admin were skilled case managers in their own right, undertaking invaluable tasks which meant POs spent most of their time in face-to-face contact with those they were supervising.
Delete* They had jollies at agm's - because napo agm's were once professional conferences for professional practitioners; there were meaningful workshops, lively & informed debates & chance for a once-a-year meeting with other professionals from afar
* Sandals were/are optional
* Computers don't tell people what to do. They are a tool. But in probation the IT has been misappropriated by control freaks to allow the target-driven chimps to monitor what people do, to harass & threaten when political directives aren't implemented to the letter, and to meet bonus targets for the organ-grinders.
* I think you are right to say there is a particular competency in being able to "tell the computer what to do" - its knowing how to manipulate the data to get the answer you want. OASys and other risk-related algorithms only give an answer based upon the data entered. Know what answer you want? Select the data to enter.
I'm not sure that counts as a 'risk assessment' though.
You would need an NVQ to be sure of that.
DeleteOne thing I've noticed about this Covid 19 malarkey....it don't half make your roots grey...
ReplyDeleteThat’s because you didn’t stockpile hair dye.
DeleteAssuming 10:39 and 11:12 are the Sam Emerson, they fall into the same trap that they accuse the author of. Lots of criticism of the article, but no analysis.
ReplyDeleteWhat about professional discretion and independence? Agree or disagree.
What about OAsys needs a total,overhaul- any comments?
Any views on’ new home visits,’?
Sadly, all is not sunshine and roses in the probation world and ‘ the moaners,’ strike a chord because there is substance to what it is they are saying.
I feel moving prisoners around the prison estate may have significant consequences whether or not it has any contributory factors to the spread of infection.
ReplyDeleteI think moving prisoners from establishment to establishment may elevate the sense of fear already felt by both prisoners and staff alike.
Many prison staff are already going above and beyond, doing longer hours and extra shifts as a consequence of thousands of their colleagues being off through sickness or self isolation.
They've been doing the work without sufficient PPE and at significant personal risk. Many have continued working with the belief that the Government were going to ease their burden and reduce their risk of infection by releasing thousands of prisoners, but now that decision has been suspended. I think there will be prison staff now thinking that there is no help coming from Government and therefore lead to more prison staff making the decision to go sick or self isolate leading to further reductions in an already severely depleted workforce.
At the same time prisoners are on 23 hour a day lockdown. Visits have been stopped. There's no association, gym, education or workshops. Access to exercise and phone calls are restricted, and todays Mirror suggests that there's a growing problem with providing clean clothes and showering.
In such circumstances prisons must be powder kegs ready to ignite, and not helped in anyway by the arrival of the warm weather which usually sees prisons become more volatile places anyway.
I fear that at some stage, and pretty soon, that the touch paper on that powder keg will be lit, and once one goes there will be a chain reaction that could be nationwide.
The Government obviously need to take action on preventing the spread of Covid19 in prisons, but they also need to pay acute attention to what other problems those actions may be creating.
(Just to clarify, my comment in no way is intended to be an aruement either for or against the early release of prisoners).
'Getafix
Very soon the prisons will have unrest, as will the communities outside.
DeleteI do not recall reading this before - I hope I am not duplicating.
ReplyDeleteI saw this via Facebook.
"Access to testing for those with #coronavirus symptoms will be extended in England to frontline workers (and symptomatic household members) who deliver services in and in support of:
- prisons (adult & youth)
- probation
- Approved Premises
As well as HM Courts & Tribunals Service operational staff and the judiciary.
Find more info here: https://www.gov.uk/guid…/coronavirus-covid-19-getting-tested
#COVID19"
https://www.facebook.com/ministryofjusticeuk/photos/a.411429492282114/2912883398803365/?type=3&theater
Published by the MoJ a couple of days ago Andrew.
Deletehttps://www.gov.uk/government/news/government-to-extend-testing-for-coronavirus-to-more-frontline-workers
I'm not sure if it's not a bit misleading.
It clearly states that it's being extended to incorporate frontline workers "with symptoms or self isolating".
I'm not too clear what it means for those going to work and have no symptoms?
Neither am I sure that it won't see more people self isolating in order to access testing?
As with everything else lately its all a bit confusing.
'Getafix
Thank you - they must have republished in an attempt to reach more people - I confess - I have not gone through it mindfully - I have no confidence in what they say at the best of times.
DeleteWhy would anyone without symptoms need testing? And why would people self isolate just to get access to a test? The test is only good for that split second it's taken, it's not going to tell you whether you'll catch it tomorrow.
ReplyDeleteThe purpose of the testing is that if someone has symptoms and has to self isolate, a negative test means they can return straight back to the workplace rather than having to continue to self isolate.
People have the virus without showing symptoms.
DeleteI'm sure people, particularly those working on front line services would like to know if they are carrying the virus so they can make sure they're not walking around infecting others until symptoms do show.
You may not care if you're a carrier of the virus and unknowingly infecting others, but I'm sure most people want to protect their families and others from infection.
It has nothing to do with caring or not. There are 7.4m designated key workers in the UK. How often are you proposing that they all be tested? Every day? Every hour? Even if it was possible to test every week, which clearly it isn't, somebody could test negative on a Monday morning then catch it on Monday afternoon, so it would be totally pointless.
DeleteWould be a lot less had Johnson
DeleteDone his job. They estimate his dilly dally is going to cost 60k lost lives Tory scum.
And if the Chinese government had run their Wuhan lab better than there would have been no virus in the first place. But they were too busy crushing pro-democracy protestors in Hong Kong to notice.
DeleteGot to agree with today's guest blog 100%. I made the same argument but not so well expressed several weeks ago. To reiterate a point I made rather clumsily before: If OASsys is such a useful tool why has NPS abandoned the use of the tool for expidited reports in criminal courts up and down the land? Can you imagine a mental health professional not using their fundamental assessment tool when compiling a Court report? Or a child social worker not using the standard triangle risk and assessment of needs framework for a child at risk of serious harm in a family court setting? They would be rightly ridiculed. NPS get away with it partly because of expediency but also because as a profession we have not been able to justify the time in using it for PSRs. If we cannot justify using it for our day to day PSRs to ourselves or the Courts how an earth are we supposed to take this antidiluvian assessment tool seriously? Now is the time to take advantage of the EDM and a new paradigm for TOM. Tell the powers that be, the super predictors and the civil servant policy wonks and our Napo GS and our Chiefs. Let's have an assessment tool that aids our professional judgment and not tie us in hock like handmaidens.
ReplyDeleteNapo facilitate management they have no clout.
Delete1907 you make a very good point. It’s a shame that the service Pretends to be so reliant on making OASys An integral part of offender management assessment. Personally my view is that this is a poor attempt by Chiefs to give the profession some credibility of its existence. The situation with the Covid 19 Now presents a completely different picture. I also think your comment about OASys Now not being used in court for assessment purposes is valid and shows the real weakness of this tool.
ReplyDeleteBack to work tomorrow morning. Not looking to the home visits which we have to do. No PPE. But we have the fantastic home visit policy document which we have to complete and follow the guidance which will take you good 15-30 minutes to complete. Staff are both anxious and genuinely worried about their own health.
ReplyDeleteSince 2010, members of the UK military have been entitled to a daily operational allowance of £29.02 when they are deployed on specific operations in "demanding" conflicts.
ReplyDeleteAre probation staff and deployed OMiC staff, who are all working different at the moment, entitled to £29.02 per day?
In short, no. Firstly, Probation staff aren't members of the UK military. Secondly, Probation staff aren't engaged in a conflict situation.
DeleteSo what is
DeleteGold Command
Silver comment
Bronze command
Where do u think these terms come from.
From the Metropolitan Police who devised it in 1985. Nothing to do with the military but even if it had been then so what? Are you saying that using military language suddenly means you're in the armed forces? I can wear some combat trousers to work tomorrow and tell all my colleagues I'm fighting a war against drugs, doesn't mean I'm suddenly in the military.
Delete“Front-line NHS staff should be given an extra £29-a-day reward for their service during the coronavirus pandemic, the Lib Dems have said.
DeleteHealth and care staff could receive a financial bonus like that given to military personnel on active duty, the party suggested.“
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-52342511
That is a ridiculous comparison
DeleteThe above was meant to be under21:04, sorry
DeleteIf probation senior manager can be paid a £1500 bonus every month for SFA then we are more than entitled to £29.02 !!
DeleteYou know what, I don’t want to be critical of our union BUT seriously NAPO is full of sh*t. Apart from words what real action have they achieved. They have done nothing. Apart from the odd email giving updates which is just repeated information NAPO have failed to hold the service to account.
ReplyDeleteNapo are not worth the subscription cost. There are better unions that cost less.
DeleteI think it’s only fair to say that this is something we can all agree on i.e. NAPO is shit
DeleteNapo takes from this blog in order to work out what it has to. Paying into Napo is just throwing cash at the fat controller who is conning and blaggish playing the middle off. No other unions are doing much either but they don't pretend to like Napo does.
DeleteI left Napo a long time ago. I joined another union. It provides me the same service as Napo for half the price. There’s no Probation Journal but I stop reading this bookshelf proper-upper long ago too it as it’s full of academic elitist shite from those that have mostly never stepped foot in a probation office nor knowingly met an offender except when watching TV. Many colleagues of mine have sent in work to the Probation Journal but it’s rarely accepted unless the conventional message of the academic status quo is adopted even when this is at total odds with what probation work really is. Peer Review is abused to allow a monopoly on probations evidence base, therefore keeping all those academics in cushy book deals.
DeleteAlso there is nothing in the snob journal for CRC and pso admin or nps staffing. Why pay for it and waste paper and postage.
Delete21:58 Even the police get paid more than we do. They have no difficulty in applying for overtime payments. However probation pennypinching bastards want every measure of accountability. You can’t claim overtime expenses without showing The reason why you are claiming.
ReplyDeleteIt’s not just that you have to show the reasons, it is that you have to show the reasons in minute detail, even when they know you’ve been working well over your hours on a daily basis to complete every task they’ve set you and more. Then they will scrutinise every second and make you feel somewhere between a beggar and a thief for putting in the claim in the first place, threatening you they’ll “go through your workload and analyse your timesheet”.
DeleteThe worst part of this is that many of the worst scrutinising SPOs claim overtime without issue, well the ones that cosy up to their LDU Head. Without any scrutiny upon them, LDU Heads themselves claim overtime regularly for extra hours, when they work when on leave (a planned financial strategy), and this is alongside their on-call payments and the current £1500 a month bonus. Not bad for leading from the front(room).
They are disciplined service and have structure. Our right to strike is wasted as Napo to fearful to support let alone lodge any member support action.
Delete