Medical Social Work

Description:

Principal Duties and Responsibilities:

The person holding the office shall carry out duties under the management of the Principal Medical
Social Worker in relation to the development and provision of medical social work services.

1. Provide counselling, support and information to patients and their relatives to assist them develop strategies to cope with the psychological and emotional impact of hospitalisation and illness and death.

2. Carry out psycho-social assessment where social issues are a factor in illness management and advise the multi disciplinary teams on assessment outcomes as appropriate.

3. Formulate discharge care plans for patients from the earliest possible time following admission. The discharge planning process is conducted within the context of the multi-disciplinary team.

4. Conduct home assessments and participate in pre-discharge home visits with patients when necessary. All work outside the hospital will adhere to the current Medical Social Work practice protocols.

5. Plan after care programmes for patients and their families which may include referral to community based resource service.

6. Participate in the development of Medical Social Work in the hospital under the direction of the Principal Medical Social Worker.

7. Participate in and facilitate social work research within the department.

8. Attend and fully participate in department team meetings, service team meetings, journal clubs and continuing professional development training organised by the department.

9. Keep accurate signed records of all social work interventions in both the Medical file when appropriate and the Medical Social Work file

10. Ensure that statistical information on service provision is up to date and available on request.

11. Attend and fully participate in regular supervision (critical to best practice).

12. Participate in strategic planning in the department at least annually; ensuring that the social
work department strategy aligns with the hospital strategy.

13. Comply with hospital policies applicable to all employees.

14. Post holder may be directed to undertake other duties as required.

This job description is not restrictive and may be renewed in the light of changing needs within the service.

Qualifications:

Selection Criteria:
Selection criteria outline the qualifications, skills, knowledge and/or experience that the successful candidate would need to demonstrate for successful discharge of the responsibilities of the post.
Applications will be assessed on the basis of how well candidates satisfy these criteria.