Bedfordshire and Luton Social Worker Recognised in National Awards

Tim Tottman, a Lead Social Worker in the Patient Flow Team for Bedfordshire and Luton, has been recognised in the British Association of Social Worker’s (BASW) annual Amazing Social Worker campaign and prestigious awards.

The campaign runs from March into April, coinciding with World Social Work Day on Tuesday 17 March. Amazing Social Workers is a campaign championing the exceptional work happening across the UK social work profession. BASW is the UK’s largest professional body for social work.

The awards aim to highlight the achievements of individuals and teams in the profession, whilst also raising the profile and public understanding of the critical role of social work in our communities.

Over 300 individuals and teams were nominated by their colleagues this year, including frontline practitioners, students, managers, leaders, educators, and newly qualified social workers.

Tim said: “I’m very grateful to have been recognised as part of this campaign. Social workers spend most of their time advocating for others and supporting people through very difficult circumstances, so we rarely pause to reflect on the work we do.

“It’s really nice to have that moment of recognition for the profession and the impact social workers have across the health and care system.”

BASW UK Vice-Chair Lewis Roberts, said: “Across our communities, social workers go above and beyond to make a positive difference to the lives of adults, children, and families they support. Whether it’s advancing people’s rights and challenging injustices, to advocating for fairness and promoting wellbeing, the role of social work has never been more important during these challenging times.

“Congratulations to everyone who has been recognised this year and thank you for all you do everyday. We look forward to shining a spotlight on your achievements as part of our World Social Work Day celebrations.”

We spoke to Tim about his role and receiving national recognition.

I am one of the three Lead Social Workers within the ELFT Patient Flow Team for Bedfordshire and Luton, supporting system-wide patient flow across acute hospitals, community services and local authorities. My colleagues focus primarily on patient flow within our inpatient wards, while my role works more broadly across the wider system to help resolve complex cases and support safe and timely discharge planning.

I primarily support our acute hospitals (Luton and Dunstable and Bedford Hospital, and occasionally out-of-area hospitals) with patients who require mental health input. This includes supporting acute admissions, advising colleagues on complex assessments, and coordinating discharge planning and care pathways to ensure patients can move safely through the system.

I tend to become more involved in cases where the complexity is particularly high – for example where there are questions around mental capacity, legal frameworks, safeguarding or court processes. I enjoy working through these challenges and supporting teams to find practical solutions when situations feel stuck.

Our team works across three local authorities – Bedford, Luton and Central Bedfordshire – each with their own systems, processes and funding arrangements. A key part of my role is helping colleagues navigate these systems and coordinate responses across organisations.

Alongside this, I oversee and maintain our inpatient bed waiting list and support our patient flow meetings and admissions processes. I also assist the DSN service with gatekeeping referrals from out-of-area hospitals.

I am also an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP), so one day each week I undertake Mental Health Act assessments. I really value this part of the role as it ensures I maintain regular direct contact with patients. One of the things I enjoy most about AMHP work is that it’s a bit like that line from Forrest Gump – it's like a box of chocolates, you never quite know what you’re going to get. Every assessment is different and can take you somewhere unexpected.

I have been a qualified social worker for 16 years and have worked across local authority services, acute hospitals and now NHS mental health services, which has given me a broad understanding of how different parts of the system operate. I’ve also built strong working relationships across the different services and organisations, which is very helpful in my current role where much of the work involves coordinating responses across hospitals, community teams and over 3 different local authorities and the NHS itself.