Specialist Palliative Care Social Worker
The post holder will be a full and active member of the Hospices Psychological Support Services and will be expected to establish effective working relationships with the Psychological Support Services (PSS) Team, the wider multidisciplinary team and external partner agencies. The post holder will be registered and practice within regulatory requirements for social work.
Main duties of the job
The principal responsibility of the post holder is to provide social, psychological and practical advice to patients and those important to them, including children, both at the Hospice and in the patients own home if required. A minimum of 50% of the role will be dedicated to delivering services directly with the client group.
About us
St Raphaels Hospice is a charity-run hospice providing specialist palliative and end-of-life care for people in the Merton and Sutton areas. We offer inpatient and home-based care, as well as wellbeing support and bereavement services for families. Our mission is to deliver compassionate, high-quality care to individuals facing life-limiting illnesses, ensuring dignity and comfort.
Job responsibilities
Duties & Responsibilities:
- To undertake comprehensive assessments and provide palliative social work interventions to patients and those important to them, including children, and to be alert to those especially vulnerable because of their dependency, learning difficulties or social situation and with them formulate a plan for care/support.
- To hold and manage a caseload of patients and those important to the patient adhering to the clinical contracts and time frames set out by the organisation.
- Work within statutory duties and promote best practice of relevant legislation including The Mental Capacity Act 2005, The Care Act 2014, The Children’s Act and Adult Safeguarding.
- To attend regular 1:1 meetings with the Clinical Director to ensure clear oversight of the Social Work service as part of the PSS Team.
- To take the lead in working directly with children and adolescents of patients with a life limiting diagnosis.
- The post holder will also take a lead role regarding all Adult and Child Safeguarding – reporting to the Clinical Director/Hospice Executive Team – ensuring the organisation is up to date with legislation, that in-house policies are robust and compliant and deliver training inter-departmentally where necessary.
- To liaise with external agencies both statutory and voluntary on behalf of patients and those important to them, and children where there are issues of concern regarding their care and welfare.
- To work be part of the multidisciplinary team and attend daily MDT, Inpatient Unit and community review meetings as required.
- To provide effective liaison where appropriate between the Hospice and outside agencies, both statutory and voluntary, for the benefit of patients with a life limiting diagnosis and their immediate family members or those closest to the patient.
- To contribute to the Hospice teaching programmes as appropriate regarding training and experiential learning.
- To keep accurate and contemporaneous records which facilitate communication within the Hospice and with other professionals and agencies involved. To work in conjunction with the Head of Quality and Governance and provide data related to social work and psychosocial interventions.
- To keep up to date with developments in relevant legislation.
- To work within the policies and procedures of St Raphaels Hospice and to comply with professional standards set out by Social Work England.
- To work in conjunction with the Lead Counsellor and undertake duties which may be reasonably requested by the Clinical Director.
Qualifications
- Recognised Social Worker qualifications e.g. Degree in Social work and registered with Social Work England. Current relevant professional registration and compliance with Social Work England Code of Practice for Social Care Workers.
- Postgraduate qualification. Qualification in care of Children and Families.
Experience
- Significant post-qualification experience including experience in multidisciplinary team working or the ability to adapt to multidisciplinary team working. Experience of working with people with a life limiting diagnosis and an understanding of loss and grief and its impact on patients and those most important to them. Working knowledge of relevant statutory and voluntary agencies and relevant legislation and guidance. Wide experience of working with adults and families, including in a healthcare setting. Excellent communication skills including the ability to receive and analyse complex information. Experience with children and adolescents facing loss. Excellent inter-personal skills. Ability to organise and prioritise their workload and time effectively and work flexibly to meet the needs of the service.
- Teaching experience. Experience in Audit/Research.
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
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