JOB DESCRIPTION

Job Title: Palliative Care Social Worker– Gateway Team

Hours: 37.5 - flexibility may be required to meet service needs

Reporting to: Senior Social Worker

Accountable to: Head of Family Support Service

Job Summary

The role is located within the newly established Gateway team – managing patient and carer / family access to all St Richard’s Hospice Palliative and End of Life care services, and Bereavement Support South Worcestershire. The post holder will be part of a multi-disciplinary team (including clinical nurse specialists, staff nurses and health care assistants) contributing to the process and procedure of assessing and managing all external referrals to the hospice, and to the specialist bereavement support service.

Overall Aims

To provide emotional, social and practical support for the patients of St Richard’s Hospice and Bereavement Support South Worcestershire, and those important to them, and to contribute to the multi-disciplinary teams understanding of such issues. The post holder will have particular responsibility to provide psychosocial and emotional support to the patient and families of patients assessed as requiring support.

Main Responsibilities

  • To be a part of the multi-disciplinary team taking all the external referrals to St Richard’s Hospice and Bereavement Support South Worcestershire. Within this process to be providing support and advice by telephone, assessing patients, carers and families (including children) to establish the most appropriate support and care needs, and referring on to access this support from the most relevant services (internal or external).
  • To provide a crisis intervention response if required for patients and their carers / families, accessing external services to support with these as required.
  • To work with distressed patients, carers, family members and bereaved relatives on the telephone or face to face to provide immediate support and assess on-going support needs.
  • To advise and participate in multi-disciplinary assessment and care planning and liaise with statutory social work agencies or local health agencies, including working within the Care Act 2014 guidelines and within the Continuing Health Care framework.
  • To have a working knowledge of relevant legislation and provide guidance and advice, within St Richard’s Hospice policies and procedures, on issues relating to Adult and Child Safeguarding matters, and to ensure that, where appropriate, external agencies are notified.
  • To have a working knowledge of relevant legislation and provide guidance, advice and assessment, following St Richard’s policies and procedures, for patient’s mental capacity and best interests decision making processes, including deprivation of liberty safeguards.
  • To hold a small temporary caseload of palliative care patients, children and families with complex needs, providing effective psychosocial support, prior to their allocation within the Family Support or Bereavement Support South Worcestershire teams.
  • To provide effective social work services for carers, including referral to in-house support services and an understanding of the local authority requirements of duty to assess carer’s needs.
  • To provide advocacy support for patients, and those important to them, and where applicable refer to external advocacy services.
  • To attend daily meetings as required in relation to the Gateway service and regular (weekly) multi-disciplinary team meetings as identified by the Senior Social Worker or Head of Family Support Service.
  • To be aware of current research and legislation changes that impact on the specialist palliative care social work services being received through the hospice.
  • To attend regular supervision sessions (individual and group).
  • To report regularly to the Senior Social Workeron progress/shortfall in service, and identifying problem areas.
  • To maintain accurate and comprehensive computerised records which reflect the assessment and intervention process whilst also upholding patient confidentiality in line with policies set out by St Richard’s Hospice. In addition to be able to access local authority computer based information as required.
  • To develop professional links with social work teams in hospitals and community teams to keep updated with best practice and to ensure the hospice can access statutory resources.
  • To be involved, where appropriate, in the development, implementation and evaluation of Palliative Care Social Work throughout St Richard’s Hospice.
  • To attend and contribute at regular internal and external meetings to represent issues relating to Palliative Care Social Work.
  • To provide supportive and educative services to other members of the Family Support Team, other allied health professionals and others involved in the care of those requiring palliative care services.

Personal

  • Observe all health and Safety regulations in accordance with St Richard’s Hospice Policies and Procedure
  • Practice equal opportunities in line with St Richard’s Hospice Policy and promoting appropriate services for diverse communities.
  • Attend annual IPR with Line Manager and fulfil agreed personal development programme.
  • Maintain strict confidentiality in line with the Data Information Protection Law and St Richard’s Hospice confidentiality policy.
  • Consistently demonstrate a high level of commitment to professional development.
  • Maintain HCPC registration and fulfil continued professional development requirements.

This job description is not exhaustive and is subject to review.

Signed...... Date......