Absurd duplication; YourSay.

REGARDING the job losses at Birmingham City Council, some cutbacks are absolutely necessary. Too many staff doing unnecessary paper work - ie duplications. Over the past two years I have experienced inexcusable aspects of the jobs done by social services which I feel could have been done with much more efficiency with better training.

During my husband's illness we had to receive care help from social services, so my husband had to be assessed, which involved my husband answering questions while the social manager filled in a very complex form several pages long.

Over the course of my husband's illness his condition deteriorated and he had to go into hospital several times and also require stays in care homes. Each time this happened he had to be reassessed.

What a total waste of time and manpower when they already had details on file. One social manager took nearly two hours to fill in two pages of the form and my husband told him to go as he had had enough.

People should not be harassed like this when they are ill.

There are too many staff, some of whom very much lack sufficient training.

P Biddle, by email