Social work in acute hospital settings in Northern Ireland: The views of service users, carers and multi-disciplinary professionals

Little is known about social work in acute hospital settings in Northern Ireland and the impact of the community care reforms on the hospital discharge process. This article presents findings of a small-scale exploratory study of the hospital social work service in two acute hospitals in Northern Ireland. The views of service users, carers, health and social care professionals and hospital and community based social workers were sought on the value, strengths and limitations of the service in one of the local board areas using focus groups, questionnaires and semi-structured interviews. Findings The results indicate that hospital social workers are highly valued by service users for their responsiveness, emotional support and practical help during the process of hospitalisation. While empowering practice was reported by some carers, discharge pressures had the potential to undermine person-centred practice in the care management process. Healthcare professionals valued hospital social workers for their assessment skills and commitment to patient care while community based colleagues perceived them as being particularly skilled in inter-disciplinary and inter-agency collaboration. Hospital social workers reported that their role had become increasingly proceduralised within a target culture, leaving less time to address the emotional needs of users and carers. Applications Policy, practice and research implications of the study are discussed. It is argued that hospital social workers locally and nationally could benefit from forming strategic alliances, in partnership with service users and carers, to explore ways to collectively resist neoliberal policy developments at the health and social care interface.