MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

Falkland Islands celebrates the 25th anniversary of the Social Services Department

Social Services has a 10 staff team, supporting, Children and Adult Services, Early Help, Income Support, Probation Service (distinct but co-located service) and Jersey House (with a further 9 staff)

Tuesday 19 March is World Social Work Day, and 2024 marks the 25th anniversary of Social Services in the Falkland Islands. To mark this milestone the Social Services Department wanted to celebrate the successes that have been made since 1999.

 Prior to the formal development of Social Services, the forerunners of social workers were nurses, such as Alice Etheridge at the KEMH who offered support to children and their families when required.

As life moved on in the late 1990s, at the time the Health Visitor, Miranda McKee alongside her colleagues worked with the Director of Health, Derek Muhl to recruit the first qualified social worker to the Islands based at the KEMH. Alison McPerson joined the newly formed Social Services Department in 1999, where she worked alongside Sharon Middleton (Social Work Assistant). They were joined in January 2000 by Nikki Murphy (now Head of Social Services). In June 2000, the team moved out of the hospital to a property on Shackleton Drive that had been dedicated as a Family Centre and Social Work base. The team moved to their current site at Scoresby Close in 2009.

The Social Services team is now much larger with 10 staff based at Scoresby Close, working together to not only provide support to children and families but to also support:

• Children and Adult Services
• Early Help
• Income Support
• Probation Service (distinct but co-located service)
• Jersey House (a further 9 staff)

Director of Health and Social Services, John Woollacott said: “I am very proud that the Social Services Department are able to celebrate their 25th Anniversary. The department has come a long way in providing vital support to the community. The work of the staff past and present should be commended, but I would also like to thank all of the foster careers and Residential Support Workers who give such vital support to the delivery of this service. We will continue to work across the government departments and external agencies to ensure that the support and safeguarding services we provide are forward thinking and work for the Falkland Islands community.”
Miranda McKee added: “Hopefully time has proven the benefits to the community of the service, and its unthinkable where we might have been without it, both in respect of safeguarding, and people in need.”

Portfolio Holder for Health and Social Services, MLA John Birmingham added: “Social Work by its very nature is publicly low key, but it is an essential part of a well-run and integrated Health and Social Services Directorate within the Falkland Islands Government.”

If you require any of our services, or are interested in pursuing a career in social care, please contact Social Services on: Tel 27296; Email: admin.social@kemh.gov.fk and the website: https://www.falklands.gov.fk/socialservices/