Forensic Social Work

All patients admitted to the CMH will have access to a named social worker. The social work team consists of five social workers and a community support worker. There is one social worker within each Multidisciplinary and the Community Support Worker works with patients who are preparing for discharge have been discharged.

The primary functions of the Social Work team are:

Provide individual social work assessment, ensuring that patient’s strengths are identified as part of the overall treatment and care planning process
To ensure that the personal, family, social, cultural and environmental issues that may have a bearing on the patient’s illness and recovery are assessed at the outset and their importance recognised
To ensure these issues, where appropriate, are addressed while the patient remains in the hospital as part of the overall treatment and care plan
Together with other members of the Multidisciplinary team to plan the patient’s discharge and after-care in co-operation with relevant agencies, so that the patient will have access to the range of services and support that will assist him/her to return successfully into the community while at the same time ensuring public protection
To ensure that throughout the whole of this process, the needs of other groups, especially children and victims, as well as those who are part of the patient’s social network in the community, are addressed and given the appropriate degree of priority
To encourage user involvement in their treatment, care and recovery through the care planning process
To ensure that patients views are heard and that advocacy services are available to all patients
To contribute to developing groups and activities that aid recovery and reintegration
To provide support and information to carers and relatives.