When the green paper Every Child Matters first crossed Lesley Nicol's desk at Sheffield Children's Hospital, there were no real surprises. Nicol has been a member of a social-work team based in the hospital since 1986 - long before civil servants came up with phrases such as "multi-disciplinary" or "co-located services". Now she manages a three-strong team of social workers based in the oncology department.
"Nothing in that green paper was very new to us, especially when it talked about crossing boundaries and improving communication," she says. "Social workers have a huge amount of good points that have been lost, and we all deserve the respect that comes from being listened to as professionals."
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