Clinics and wards used for Social Work services

The Social work service is available in many different clinical areas, helping children and young people with medical conditions and their families cope with the daily challenges and problems they face.Examples of the help the team can offer include:

• Assessing the impact of illness on a child and family, and providing ongoing emotional and psychological support.
  
• Carrying out counselling with children and their families.
  
• Working with medical teams and other local authorities in the identification and response to child protection concerns.  
  
• Organising complex discharge plans where psychosocial needs are included.
  
• Offering consultation and support to colleagues within our multidisciplinary team.
  
• Offering advice and liaison with community based professionals and specialised resources.
  
• Providing formal and informal teaching.
  
• Carrying out audit and research projects. 

Most inpatient wards have a social worker working as part of the multi-disciplinary team. Children and families can be visited by the social worker on the ward.

In addition, the Social work service runs a duty service on Level 1, Frontage Building .

A Duty Social Worker and Family Support Worker are available between 9am to 5pm, Monday to Friday, and offer a service to:

• Parents and children who are patients at GOSH.
• Members of multidisciplinary or community teams requiring consultation regarding assessment of need or child protection concerns.

Outside these hours, the Clinical Site Practitioners should be contacted on 020 7405 9200 (bleep 0313).