Pembrokeshire County Council’s adult services First Contact team came out on tops in the recent British Association of Social Workers Cymru awards in Cardiff.

The nine-strong team, made up of five social workers, three social care assistants and one support worker won the award at their first attempt, beating off 12 other teams to the title.

It comes after a significant shakeup of their working practices saw an improvement in the service they provide.

“Being recognised by the social work professional body is a huge boost to our team and shows we are on the right track with regards to providing the right service for those that need us,” said the authority’s director of social services Jonathan Griffiths.

“I’m very proud of the team and they should be too. We’ve overcome some significant challenges over the past 12 months and the changes we have made have been positive for everyone concerned.”

In August 2016, the adult services First Contact team, which deals with older people and people aged over 18 with disabilities, were faced with a backlog of service user requests.

At one stage, there were over 200 people on the waiting list, it could have taken up to a year to respond to requests and team morale was at an all time low.

The system had to change.

A review of the service saw immediate results. Waiting times reduced ten-fold, the team now aims to respond within 48 hours (it usually does so the same day), customer satisfaction increased and so has team morale.

One service user said in a testimonial to the team: “D, daughter of a customer stated she was very impressed with the workers’ amazing skills in getting her father to agree to support, which the family never thought that he would do. The family are full of praise for social services.”

Another read: “I would like to thank you (and all the other members of your department) for all your help in organising care for my dad, and, just as important the confidence you gave me in thinking I could do it. You listened very carefully and kept coming back when things seemed to be going awry. Thank you for your perseverance.”

The authority came close to picking up a second award on the night after family intervention assistant team manager Kelly Hughes was nominated for the Spirit of Social Work award.

Kelly received a commendation certificate in her category for going ‘above and beyond supervision in her support and development of staff’ and ‘an approach that aims to promote, empower and strengthen families’ wellbeing in moving forward with their children in the true spirit of partnership embedded within the Social Services and Well-being Act.

“This is a remarkable achievement for the social services team as a whole,” said Pembrokeshire County Council cabinet member for social service, Clr. Tessa Hodgson.

“To win a national award and to have the diligence and dedication of a member of staff highly commended against such stiff opposition is a tribute to the work that goes on behind the scenes within the authority.”