The Social Work Team from Worcestershire’s St Richard’s Hospice has been named as a finalist for a prestigious award.
They have been shortlisted for the Team of the Year, Adult Services Award in the Social Worker of the Year Awards.
The finalists were chosen by panels of independent judges including previous award winners, social workers, industry leaders and people with lived experience of social work.
All those who have been shortlisted are being recognised for their extraordinary practice and will find out if they have won the Award in their category at a special event this November in London.
Peter Hay CBE, Chair of the Social Work Awards, said: “This year we received hundreds of entries which goes to show how passionate organisations and individuals are to shine a light on the inspirational achievements of an often-overlooked profession.
“To our finalists, we’d like to say congratulations! Being nominated for a national award, whilst supporting others during very challenging times in a year of big changes, is a remarkable achievement of which you should be very proud.”
St Richard’s Care Director, Debbie Westwood said: “Our specialist palliative care social workers are an amazing team of dedicated individuals who work as an integral part of our hospice multi-disciplinary team.
“They are constantly innovating to meet changing family and patient needs in different ways. “
Debbie added: “Always accessible, adaptive and flexible in their approach – patient and family feedback from the support received is exemplary. I am proud and privileged to count them as part of our team and applaud the impact they have way beyond the hospice walls.”
Examples of the team’s innovative work include developing safeguarding; delivering teaching sessions to schools, other hospices, and health care providers on subjects related to bereavement and providing bespoke sessions for those living with Autism and Learning Disability in the community.
St Richard’s Hospice is an independent charity offering free, expert care for adults with an illness that cannot be cured, and support for their loved ones and carers.
Each year the hospice team supports more than 3,100 patients, family members and bereaved people in Worcestershire.
It will cost in the region of £12m to run the hospice this year, which includes patient care and all the necessary support services.
St Richard’s relies on voluntary support, including from donations, gifts in Wills, retail and events for the majority of its income with the remainder funded by the NHS.