Social Work
As members of the multi-professional healthcare team, the Social Work department provides:
- Support by providing counselling and advocacy for those patients and families with personal and family relationship problems, family conflicts and domestic violence.
- Complex care management for families identified with high risk social complexities with child protection involvement.
- Assessment, referral to treatment and early interventions options to minimise the impact of drug and alcohol use.
- Support, information and referral to enable adjustment to grief and loss experience.
- Assistance to cope with stress and anxiety associated with illness, disability and pregnancy related complications, mental health problems and other trauma.
- Counselling to clarify options and strengthen decision making, such as for an unplanned pregnancy.
- The services of a Senior Welfare Assistant to provide emergency relief and practical aid for problems affecting attendance at the Hospital, such as transport, accommodation and childcare.
- The services of an Aboriginal Liaison Officer to support Aboriginal patients.
- Assistance with problems associated with financial difficulties, poverty and disadvantage
- Information, liaison and referral to services about parenting and other resources in the community.
Referrals
Referrals are accepted about public or private patients from any hospital staff, patient, family, carer or community colleague. Referrals MUST be made by completing the specific Social Work Referral Form, unless a patient or family self-refers to the Social Work department.
In high risk areas the Social Work department receives automatic referrals for psychosocial assessment and services e.g. deaths, diagnosis of life threatening or chronic illness, pregnancy of an adolescent or women attending the Women and Newborn Drug and Alcohol Service, families or infants in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit, domestic violence and unplanned pregnancy.
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