Services
Social Work Department
The hospice social workers are committed to providing patients and their families with the opportunity to identify and deal with all aspects relating to the social, psychological and emotional impact of terminal illness.
The service is also extended to the family during their experience of bereavement. The Social Work service of St. Francis Hospice is provided by qualified and experienced social workers who work as part of the multidisciplinary team that includes hospice doctors, nurses, chaplains and others.
What does the service offer?
Counselling
The social workers offer a one-to-one counselling service to patients and family members who request it from the early days of contact with the hospice team, during the period of terminal illness and bereavement.
The hospice social workers are committed 
to providing patients and their families with the opportunity
to identify and deal with all aspects relating to the social, psychological and emotional impact of terminal illness.
The service is also extended to the family during their experience of bereavement. The Social Work service
of St. Francis Hospice is provided by qualified and experienced social workers who work as part of the multidisciplinary team that includes hospice doctors, nurses, chaplains and others.
What does the service offer?
Counselling
The social workers offer a one-to-one counselling service to patients and family members who request it from the early days of contact with the hospice team, during the period of terminal illness and bereavement.
Family Meetings
An essential part of the social work role is to hold family meetings, where family members can meet with the hospice team involved in the patient’s care. These meetings provide an opportunity to exchange information, ask questions, identify difficulties, and ensure that good communication is maintained.
When serious illness occurs in the family,
adults naturally want to protect children from its impact.However, it is vitally important that children are involved in the family's experience and helped to express their feelings.
A child’s experience of bereavement can be very painful and isolating, and parents going through their own grief may not be emotionally available to help their child at this time. The hospice social workers are available to work with children, when requested by their parents, to help them work through their grief.
The Social Work service is available to help families cope with their bereavement through the provision of bereavement counselling. The Social Work Department also works closely with the Volunteer Bereavement Support Service, a team of trained volunteers who offer support to individuals on an ongoing basis.
