Palliative Care Social Worker

About the Role

As a key member of our multidisciplinary team, you will deliver high-quality, person-centred social work support to patients, families, carers and communities. Youll provideskilled emotional, practical and safeguarding support, helping people navigatecomplex situations with dignity, empathy and professionalism this is inaddition to supporting hospice staff.

Key responsibilities include:

• Delivering a coordinated family support service across both hospice sites
• Working closely with the Senior Social Worker and wider MDT to ensure holistic care
• Providing expert support around emotional wellbeing, care planning and practical needs
• Championing best practice in palliative and end of life care with internal and external partners
• Applying your expertise in safeguarding, the Mental Capacity Act, DoLS and related legislation
• Completing assessments and applications for Social Care and FastTrack CHC packages to enable timely support
• Providing education around safeguarding, mental capacity and DOLS

About you:

You will be a skilled, compassionate social worker who brings professionalism, warmth and integrity toyour practice.

Be a registered Social Worker with Social Work England (registration number required on application)

Be a car owner and will hold a full, clean driving licence

Be an authentic, open communicator who works inclusively and values diversity

Have experience or a strong interest in working within palliative or end of life care settings

Why Join Us?

Bepart of a forward-thinking, values-driven charity

Enjoy a generous benefits package including enhanced annual leave

If coming from the NHS or another hospice continuous service benefits for pension and annual leave

Make a real difference in peoples lives when they need it most

Job Purpose

ThePalliative Care Social Worker is responsible for ensuring the provision of coordinated family support across both sites of Birmingham Hospice. TheHospice has an outstanding local reputation and is committed to ensuring thatour patients, families and carers continue to receive excellent levels ofcare and support whilst they are experiencing a life limiting condition. Theservice provides high standards in support, helping to influence and enhancebest practice in palliative and end-of-life care involving internal andexternal professional providers.

Main Duties and Responsibilities

Management and Leadership

Contribute to the Development of Team Learning and supportimplementation of new systems for measuring quality and Audit.

Work collaboratively, contributing to the development of otherservices provided by the Hospice.

Ensure the services provided are profound, recognising differentcultural approaches towards life, death and bereavement needs.

Participate in the Hospice appraisal system setting realisticobjectives to maintain a personal professional profile and demonstrate a highlevel of specialist practice.

Able to take responsibility and use initiative in times when theSenior Palliative Care Social Worker is not on site.

Patient and Family

Triaging and responding to appropriate incomingreferrals from the In-patient Unit, Living Well Centres, and the Hospice ClinicalNurse Specialists and other agencies.

Support patients, families, and carers to dealwith the impact of what is happening to them, loss, and bereavement and tohave a good life and a good death.

To assess and review the psychosocial, cultural,and spiritual needs of our patients, their family and carers. This willcontribute towards a holistic assessment within the multi-professional teamwith a recognition of the diversity, values and human rights that mayinfluence the decisions of people who use the service.

To work in partnership with patients, families andcarers requiring specialist palliative or end-of-life care to identify andrespond to changing psychosocial needs. To provide practical and emotionalsupport.

Working with patients and their families /carersusing one-to-one, group and family techniques and involving other members ofthe multidisciplinary team as appropriate.

Facilitate discussions that resolve chaos andconflict and negotiate solutions to disputes about how people will live.

To implement appropriate strategies to enable thepatient, family, and carers to adjust to new and changing situations.Consider and co-develop alternative ways of meeting peoples needs who choosenot to take up existing services.

To provide written assessment reports andnegotiate health and social care packages, including nursing home placements.

To assess the bereavement needs of family membersand others close to the patient.

To use effective interpersonal skills tocommunicate sensitive information where agreement and cooperation is requiredand where there may be barriers to understanding, such as vulnerable and at-riskindividuals.

To advocate for and ensure that the holisticneeds of patients, families and carers are identified and met.

To work independently in community settings, andassess, manage, and document clinical risk.

To undertake holistic assessment of patients,families and carers to ensure that needs are met and support complex discharge.

MultidisciplinaryTeam

To provide consultations to other disciplines onpsychosocial aspects of care, particularly issues related to Mental Capacityand Safeguarding.

Work closely with the multi-disciplinary team toplan patient and family care and provide psychosocial intervention.

To maintain knowledge of local community servicesand to liaise with community agencies on behalf of patients and theirfamilies / carers.

To participate in multi-disciplinary teammeetings, discharge planning meetings and case review meetings.

To have open and honest conversations with thewider team as well as with patients, families and carers to ensure a person-centredapproach.

To be a resource for wider team, patients, familiesand carers regarding wider social care policy and expertise.

To implement effective communication and referralprocesses and enable effective multi-professional and multi-agency working tosupport the smooth transition of patients between services.

To attend meetings between healthcareprofessionals and patients, families and carers around planning discharge andongoing support.

To actively contribute to the Patient Servicesclinical governance framework through participation in education,development, research, and audit initiatives.

Operational

To ensure patient and service records are documentedand maintained in accordance with the Birmingham Hospice Operational andPractice Guidelines.

Develop and embed social work as an integral partof the in-patient and community teams to provide expert psychosocial supportto patients and their families/ carers referral to appropriate hospiceservices when needed.

To build relationships with wider social care, health,and voluntary organisations to ensure patients familys needs are met.

To develop and strengthen relations with LocalAuthority Teams and other organisations through attendance at meetings,training events and joint working, seeking always to promote the interestsand rights of patients, families, and carers.

Identify opportunities for teaching and trainingopportunities at Birmingham Hospice. Supporting the Senior Palliative CareSocial Worker to educate and deliver training and support to others whichwill include psychosocial aspects of care and support, Mental Capacity Act, Deprivationof Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) and Liberty Protection Safeguards (LPS),Safeguarding and Best Interest decisions.

Adhere to Birmingham Hospice policies and socialwork professional standards.

ServiceImprovement

To contribute to and participate in developmentof new initiatives in Palliative Care Social Work in line with team specificand organisational priorities.

To be willing to develop and trial new ways ofworking to ensure best outcomes for patients, families and carers. Planningand evaluation on practice.

Identify opportunities for audit and research,innovation and quality improvement and take an active role in working withothers to deliver improvement programmes and be committed to improvingservices.

Professional

To reflect on practice and performance formallyand informally with the Senior Palliative Care Social Worker.

To know own limitations and where to accesssupport and guidance.

Continue to develop the emotional intelligenceessential to undertake the role.

To be professionally and legally accountable forall aspects of own work and to engage in professional self-development.

To adhere to the Social Work England Code ofConduct and comply with local and national standards of practice.

To effectively utilise clinical supervision.

To develop personal and professional skills andknowledge relevant to palliative care social work.

To update and develop knowledge of statutory andlegislative changes which impact on the lives of patients, their carer(s) andfamily.

To always act as a role model and ambassador forBirmingham Hospice.

The job description is not exhaustive and may be amended following appropriate consultation in the light of business needs

Person Specification

Experience

• Understanding and experience of multi-disciplinary team working.
• Good understanding of the Mental Capacity Act, and other relevant legislative frameworks.
• Good understanding of Safeguarding and Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards (DoLS) .
• Experience gained in working with adults during student training.
• Experience of working with children and families during student training.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills and to be able to use these effectively in a variety of settings, with individuals and groups, children and adults.
• To be able to undertake a needs led assessment, planning and negotiating skills, to ensure high quality assessment and timely outcomes for people.
• Ability to work effectively in an emotionally stressful environment.
• Ability to be creative and supportive in the role of Palliative Care Social Worker and appropriately apply a range of social work methods and interventions.
• Able to plan and manage own workload and activities.
• Provide social work advice and support to the multi professional team.
• Able to travel between Hospice and peoples homes, in the West Midlands Area.

Personal Skills and Attributes

• Commitment to and ability to demonstrate Birmingham Hospice values and behaviours at all times
• Able to always maintain the highest professional standards, and act as a true ambassador for the Hospice.
• To be authentic, open honest and transparent
• Have a track record of working inclusively and a genuine appreciation of the value of diversity

Qualifications

• Recognised Social Work Qualification.
• Registration with Social Work England.
• Knowledge of relevant voluntary and statutory agencies and their perspectives relating to palliative care.
• Knowledge of current legislation relevant to role including MCA / DOLS/ Carers legislation, Care Act 2014, etc
• Full driving licence.

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.