Re: Benefits of Association of Palliative Care Social Workers (ACPSW) Membership
Introducing the APCSW
The Association of Palliative Care Social Workers (APCSW) is the national professional organisation for social workers in palliative care across all four nations of the UK. The association is run by the membership on a voluntary basis and has the following aims.
- Support and advise all palliative care social workers, wherever they work.
- Raise the profile of palliative care social work.
- Inspire excellence by sharing best practice.
- Promote high quality research and evaluation in order to continually improve end-of-life and bereavement care.
- Advocate in the interests of patients, services users, carers and families.
Social workers are required to demonstrate compliance with standards set by the national bodies regulating the profession throughout the UK (Social Work England, Social Care Wales, Social Work Scotland and Northern Ireland Social Care Council). The APCSW offers a comprehensive range of learning and development opportunities, enabling members to fulfil the CPD requirements for annual registration.
Benefits of membership include:
- Monthly online lunchtime learning session; topics include welfare benefits, updates on relevant legislation and policy e.g. MCA and DoLS, best practice in bereavement care, supporting carers and young people, research projects and a wide range of other issues.
- Regular regional group meetings – where members can network, share best practice, utilise peer support and feedback, raise issues for discussion and more.
- Priority access to the APCSW Conferences featuring experts and researchers in the palliative care and social work fields.
- Opportunity to seek advice and information from a network of 300+ palliative care social workers across the UK.
- Access to information and guidance from the Welfare Benefits Lead at St Christopher’s Hospice in London.
- Members only resources and information on the APCSW website.
- Bursaries available to attend other relevant conferences/seminars.
The APCSW is highly valued by our members who often work alone or in very small teams. They find the peer support, CPD and sharing best practice enables them to offer gold standard care and to bring their unique expertise and perspective to the multi-disciplinary team caring for patients, services users, carers and families.
APCSW membership is excellent value-for-money, as is attendance at APCSW conferences and other events. We are a charity and every penny of membership fees is used to provide services and support to members. We believe that membership of the APCSW benefits not only members themselves, but also the organisation where that person works.
If you have any questions or would like to find out more about the APCSW please email secretary@apcsw.org.uk or visit our website.
With warm wishes
Marie Price & Glyn Berry
APCSW Co-Chairs