Senior Social Worker for Cancer and Palliative Care

NHS; Kingston upon Thames; On-site; GBP 51,000 - 59,000; Full time

Job description

Senior Social Worker for Cancer and Palliative Care

Kingston and Richmond NHS Foundation Trust

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a highly experienced and motivated Social Worker to join the cancer and palliative care teams at Kingston & Richmond NHS Foundation Trust.

The post holder will provide excellent psychosocial support to inpatients and their families known to the hospital cancer and palliative care teams. The post holder will support developments around bereavement support and work closely with clinicians and managers in ensuring relevant national guidelines are followed and implemented to support the delivery of high-quality care.

The successful applicant will have the right qualification and experience, including working with patients with life-limiting conditions and their families, using a broad range of social work skills. You will be an effective communicator with good interpersonal skills and have experience of teaching. In return, we offer you the opportunity to work within supportive teams that promote and support ongoing development.

Main Duties of the Job

The post holder will be an integral member of the hospital palliative care and cancer services teams. The post holder will provide expert social work and psychosocial support within the acute hospital setting for any adult patient and their carers under the care of the Hospital Palliative Care and Cancer Services teams. The role involves providing specialist advice, education, and support to all those involved in the care and management of such patients, both inpatients and outpatients. The post holder will work in partnership with community colleagues from wider health and social services to facilitate seamless support delivery for patients and their families.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Recognised qualification in Social Work, ie BA, BSc in social work
• Current registration with Social Work England
• MA in relevant discipline
• Certificate/diploma in counselling
• Teaching qualification

Experience

• Several years relevant post-qualifying experience
• Experience of working with cancer and palliative care patients and their carers including those with complex needs
• Experience of working with the bereaved/those facing bereavement
• Experience of working in multi-disciplinary teams and collaborating with other agencies within the health and social care settings.
• Knowledge and experience of handling highly complex relationships and interpersonal dynamics
• Teaching experience
• Experience of working within a health care setting
• Experience of facilitation reflective practice
• Experience of working with volunteers
• Familiarity with NHS Continuing health care funding
• Experience of service evaluation
• Undertaken Audit, Research, Report Writing (lead or contributor, national or local basis)

Skills

• Ability to work with adults and children
• Ability to deal with highly complex interpersonal and communications skills and deal with contentious and challenging behaviour
• Excellent communication and interpersonal skills and ability to record clearly and effectively.
• Diplomacy, organisational and motivational skills
• Ability to manage and prioritise own caseload
• Analytical skills, interpreting national and network guidelines and applying them to practice, both within and outside the Trust
• Attended Advance communication skills course
• Counselling skills
• Experience in report writing

Knowledge

• An understanding of the principles of palliative care
• Awareness of current and relevant research
• Awareness of the wider NHS/Voluntary sector perspectives relating to cancer and palliative care
• Working knowledge of relevant psychological theories and models of grief work
• Previous work experience with a specialist palliative care team

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.

Salary: £51,883 to £58,544 a year inclusive of (HCAS Outer)