The Social Workers Union (SWU) has written to health ministers for all four UK nations urging them to address the mental health crisis in the UK.
SWU’s letter to health ministers, sent during Mental Health Awareness Week 2025, highlights an urgent issue that has been brought to the union by mental health social workers across the UK.
Demand for adult mental healthcare is growing, yet the sector faces a multitude of challenges including significant unfilled vacancies, a high turnover of staff, under-resourced community care services, and a shortage of suitable hospital beds. According to the NHS Confederation, neglect of community mental health services and lack of suitable hospital beds is fuelling A&E waits of up to 80 hours for some mental health patients, leading to a growing crisis with profound effects on patients and the wider NHS.
The scapegoating and negative portrayal of the social work profession by successive governments across the UK has also contributed to serious challenges with recruitment and retention of social workers, with some social work posts going unfulfilled for more than a year. A survey of 1,375 current and former social workers by Social Work England last year found that two fifths (41%) said their morale was low, compared to a quarter (24%) of those surveyed in 2020.
Investing in community care and frontloading the adult mental healthcare workforce could save the NHS time and money and help to reduce pressure on A&E departments.
SWU’s letter to health ministers in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland, and Wales urges each government to:
- Adopt a common framework in consultation with all four nations which covers practices, pay, and conditions (including housing).
- Launch a campaign that recognises the hard work of social workers and that promotes the profession as a viable career.
SWU General Secretary John McGowan said, “We hope our approach to each government will help to highlight the challenges facing our members, and all mental health social workers in the UK.”
This member-led campaign is supported by the SWU Campaign Fund.