Social Worker in Adult Cystic Fibrosis

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

You will be able to find a full Job description and Person Specification attached within the supporting documents or please click “Apply now” to view in Trac 

To assess, plan and provide support to assist patients within the service to live as well as possible for as long as possible, promoting independence at all times.

To be part of a large integrated and supportive multidisciplinary team, planning, monitoring and evaluating work within the multidisciplinary team.

Be accountable on a day to day basis managerially to the Service Manager and Lead Clinical Psychologist for the service for joined up cohesive working.

Promote people’s equality, diversity and rights and work within HCPC Standards of Registration, Professional Values and Code of Conduct to provide social work input and support to patients and their carers helping to promote self-determination, choice and autonomy.

Liaise and provide education on the social needs of CF patients to both statutory and non-statutory agencies both within hospital and community settings.

Identifies social needs of patients within the service and carry out needs led assessments where required.

 To provide expert input within the MDT in relation to safeguarding of vulnerable adults.

 Undertake clinical risk assessments based on latest empirical evidence and compliant with local policies and procedures.

 Champion patient rights, including dignity, equality, diversity, choice and respect.

 Provide evidence based clinical interventions, making autonomous clinical decisions about own professional practice.

 Enable patients and carers to manage disability, loss and change.

 Provide assessment, planning and implementation of care and treatment interventions for individual patients.

 To provide professional supervision and support for both clinically qualified staff, students and support staff, ensuring clinical best practice at all times.

Provide social work support to individual adults and their carer’s/family and involve them in all planning actions taken, helping to signpost/refer on where appropriate and/or develop social resilience.

Make recommendations to patients about care services and with their agreement refers on to appropriate agencies to meet their individual needs.

Demonstrates a knowledge of, and understanding of, the voluntary sector services across the regions, to enable referrals as appropriate and with patient consent to do so.

Ensures that patients and their carers are aware of their statutory rights and acts as an advocate.

Acts in accordance with Statutory Legislation and Local Health Board Policies and Procedures e.g Social Services and Wellbeing Act, Carers and Equal Opportunities Act, the Human Rights Act, when planning support for patients within the service.

Involved in multidisciplinary team planning of care for patients and also when planning for end of life care.

Represent the needs of patients with other agencies where applicable including employers, further education establishments, housing departments and Benefits agencies.

Acts as an advisor to agencies in regard to the specific ongoing needs of patients within the service, being understood and they have access to the appropriate services such as Occupational Health and Welfare Rights.

To be able to demonstrate and explain clinical reasoning in relation to professional input to a service users’ care plan when required to members of the team.

 To be responsible for complex social care assessments; making complicated decisions, which may be disputed, assessing and managing risk.

 Assessing and managing risk on a continual basis in line with Board Policy.

 Deal with situations of a complex nature, applying a range of therapeutic modalities, using evidence, based interventions in accordance with care pathways. Analysing complex facts or situations requiring analysis, interpretation and comparisons of a range of available options.

Uses a range of verbal and non-verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients, carers and their families, colleagues and medical/non-medical staff.

Jointly with and as part of the Adult CF Psycho-Social team, provide support to patients coming to terms with advancing disease severity, by offering support and advice where appropriate, encouraging adaptation to changes brought about by their condition.

Together with the Clinical Nurse Specialist team and Psychology team, be actively involved in offering bereavement support for patients and their families.

Is able to communicate with and show empathy towards people from diverse backgrounds.

Regularly audits workload including referral statistics, showing quantities, referral source and outcomes on the service provided; having documentation readily accessible to service manager for annual reporting.

Makes formal presentations at CF service educational meetings or at other National meetings if invited to do so.

Maintain excellent working relationships and connections to third sector partner agencies, with an excellent knowledge of resources available to be able to advise on best resources available to meet individual patient needs.

Working relationships to be maintained with paediatric services providing CF care in Wales.

Make timely appropriate responses to all work/referrals allocated.

The post-holder will complement the work of the service with multidisciplinary team working, which may involve attending clinical meetings.

Work autonomously to access financial aid where applicable form outside organisations and charities to help patients with financial hardship.

To comply with the Data Protection Act 2018 and General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR) National Data Security Standards and any professional code of practice on Confidentiality and Data Protection as accepted by the Health Board. Departmental codes of practice and procedures for confidentiality are available from Service Management.

To comply fully with the duties and responsibilities outlined in the Health Boards Information Governance Policy.

To ensure all data collected, stored and used is done so in compliance with the above Act and any other Health Board Policies. To also preserve the confidentiality of any information regarding patients and the Health Board Business.

Provides updates and education to the CF multidisciplinary team on social work issues, changes within the sector and own role within the service to new staff within the team.

Provides spontaneous advice to patients and members of the multidisciplinary team within context of role.

Is responsible for keeping up to date with new developments in social work practice, legislation and research findings.

Participate in all departmental meetings where applicable and attend regular Q&S departmental meetings.

Support the continued development of the service and changes implemented to further develop patient focused care.

Contributes to the learning and development culture within the Adult CF Service.

Promotes equality, diversity and rights. Interprets the rights and responsibilities of people in away that is consistent with Health Board Policies and the Professional Code of Conduct.

Acts in a way that acknowledges people’s rights to make their own decisions and recognises their responsibilities.

Undertake any other duties required by Management which are commensurate with the grading of the post.