Duties of the Social Worker

The figure of the social worker in the field of health and brain damage is relatively new. It came about due to the latent needs of patients; not only to rehabilitate the psychological or motor aspect but also the social aspect.

The first moments of brain damage for the family are very difficult to manage, because they prioritize the state of the patient over what will happen next, the social worker dedicated to Acquired Brain Injury deals with the subacute phase in which the patient and the family are highly involved in rehabilitation. Rehabilitation of all damaged aspects in which all professionals are involved in a multidisciplinary manner in coordination to achieve substantial improvement.

The figure of the social worker focuses on:

Initial phase:

–          Reception of cases to assess the family social structure, the support that the patient receives and the financial resources available to them.

–          Advice on the resources and support that they can manage (Law on dependency, disability, work incapacity, etc.).

During treatment:

–          Link between families and medical staff and professionals from the clinic to achieve better communication and understanding between them.

–          Advice on technical aids necessary for each patient based on economic resources.

–          Find resources upon discharge and perform coordination with social services in the area, and social work of the referral hospital.

–          Attention to families, guiding and helping them to face the new social situation.

Upon hospital discharge:

–         Support for families at the return-home phase,

–          Prevent over-burdening the family, accompanying them in solving social problems generated during the recovery process.

–          Advice on normalization and rehabilitation of the daily life of the family nucleus.