Social Work and Benefits Advice

Wirral Hospice St John’s provides social work support to those referred to inpatients and wellbeing services, as well as their family and other carers. They work closely with the palliative care social worker based in the Community Specialist Palliative Care Team.

Our professional social worker offers a compassionate service which focuses on any issues and concerns that may be worrying patients, their families or carers, and seeks to put a plan of action in place to address them which respects their individual preferences.

Issues that are often discussed with our social worker include:

• How individuals within the family are coping emotionally with their current situation.
• Financial concerns. How to manage financial concerns, payments for care or employment related issues.
• Care needs. Who will provide care for the patient, where will care be provided, how much will care cost, and who will pay for it?
• Housing issues. Related to tenancies, needing to move home, being unable to cope at home.
• Carer support. Help with the practical and emotional challenges of caring for someone living with a life-limiting illness.
• Advance Care planning. Helping patients and carers understand how they can make choices about their current and future care needs.
• Advising on measures to help protect and support patients who can’t make decisions for themselves in line with the mental capacity act provisions.

Social workers fulfil statutory duties in relation to safeguarding, to ensure vulnerable patients, carers and children are protected from abuse.

They also work closely with all members of the hospice multi-disciplinary team, including an in-house worker from Citizens Advice Wirral who offers benefits advice and other external health and social care professionals, to make sure patients, and their carers, get the best care and support available.