JAMAICA’S medical social workers have been bridging the gap between core medical needs and social demands, without much recognition, rewards or standardised remuneration.

This recently led to a number of these workers, referred to locally as healthcare social workers, forming an association, the Healthcare Social Workers Association of Jamaica (HSWAJ), which has been organising them into a professional body capable of representing their rights and interests.

According to Paul Smith, president of the HSWAJ, the association will be seeking to represent all social workers employed by the Government in the country’s public health care facilities, including hospitals and health centres.

Medical social work is a sub-discipline of social work, and is also known as hospital social work. Medical social workers typically work in a hospital, out-patient clinic, community health agency, skilled nursing facility, long-term care facility, or hospice. But, despite their presence, the vast majority of Jamaicans are ignorant of the role they play or even their existence, and they are neither recognised nor consider themselves properly rewarded for their contribution to public health programmes.

These medical, psychiatric and HIV social workers work with patients and their families in need of psychosocial assistance. Medical social workers assess the psychosocial functioning of patients and families and intervene, as necessary.

Interventions may include connecting patients and families to necessary resources and support systems within the community; providing psychotherapy, supportive counselling, as well as grief counselling; or helping a patient to expand and strengthen their network of social supports.

The social workers also seek to “restore balance in an individual’s personal, family and social life, in order to help that person maintain or recover his/her health and strengthen his/her ability to adapt and reintegrate into society”.

Professionals in this field typically work with colleagues in other disciplines, such as medicine, nursing, physical, occupational, speech, and recreational therapy.

“We investigate and report cases of child abuse, rehabilitate the mentally challenged, tend to the needs of the HIV and AIDS patients, work with families and communities, place abandoned patients back with their families, or find suitable alternate accommodation for them to stay upon discharge from medical care,” Smith explained.

Smith also pointed out that one of their major challenges, currently, is dealing with the vast number of patients at major hospitals, where patients are abandoned by relatives and friends who refuse to re-engage with them after they are treated and are deemed ready to return to normal life.

“We are not given the recognition we deserve, and when we tell people about our work they are usually surprised to know that we even exist as a professional group,” he told the Jamaica Observer.

He said that they are employed to the regional health authorities, which fall under the Ministry of Health, but are not recognised as a professional group in the government service.

“So, as a group we sought affiliation with a union that could effectively make representation on our behalf, on matters such as our compensation and other entitlements. We have sought to become affiliated to a trade union, with the Bustamante Industrial Trade Union (BITU) being our preferred choice,” Smith told the Observer.

“With our growing membership standing at about 45, currently, we believe this route will provide the support needed. And we are seeking to recruit all of the close to 100 health-care social workers employed by the Government…” he noted.

“It is our view that this coming together of health-care workers will stimulate an interest on the part of the Government, that will initiate a ministerial response with the intention of creating a formal hierarchical structure,” he added.

He noted that the structure would allow for improved service delivery to patients, and remove ambiguities about the roles and functions of the health-care social workers.

Smith also pointed out that the HSWAJ continues to work closely with the BITU towards achieving the goals of the association.

The Healthcare Social Workers Association of Jamaica is led by a seven-member executive team. It was formed at the end of 2016 and continues to grow in numbers.

— Balford Henry