Doha, 21 March 2023: Hamad Medical Corporation’s (HMC) Social Service Department has recently celebrated the World Social Work Day, falling this year on Tuesday, 21 March, under the theme: ‘Respecting Diversity Through Joint Social Action’. The celebration of the World Social Work Day was held to honor HMC’s social service leaders and clinical social workers in recognition of their continued efforts to serve patients, visitors, and their families and offer high-quality social services across all HMC facilities.
Ms. Bashayr Al-Rashid, Acting Executive Director of Corporate Social Service at HMC, stressed on the importance of clinical social workers’ role in healthcare, which is to provide psychosocial support to patients to ensure they are able to make the most of the benefits the healthcare services provide to them at HMC hospitals. The role of social workers is mainly focused on helping improve the quality of life for patients and enabling them to access and benefit from the services that best meet their needs.
“Clinical social workers play a vital and essential role in providing a link between the patient and their family on the one hand, and the multidisciplinary care team on the other, to ensure the comprehensive treatment plan for the patient is progressing well. Clinical social workers also coordinate the meetings that multidisciplinary care teams hold with patients’ families to clarify the treatment plan and its stages. They also provide social support and assist in solving problems that some patients may face, including social, legal, or family issues,” said Ms. Al-Rashid.
The World Social Work Day aims at recognizing the efforts of individuals who have chosen to pursue a career in social work and highlighting their achievements at both local and international levels. World Social Work Day also offers an opportunity for social workers to celebrate their work and achievements and raise awareness of the important role they play in empowering societies. This occasion also helps draw more attention to the need for further development, planning, and support for social work, as well as the need for a comprehensive review of relevant policies to achieve social justice.
Ms. Bashayr Al-Rashid explained that the Corporate Social Service Department at HMC supervises social service sections across the Corporation’s network of hospitals and assumes responsibility for organizing tasks, monitoring performance, and evaluating the quality of services delivered by these sections. The Corporate Social Service Department also reviews policies and procedures that regulate the delivery of social services at HMC.
“Outstanding social work can make a difference in a patient's life. Clinical social workers at HMC strive to make a real difference in the lives of patients and their families and empower them by providing psychosocial support, developing strategies for social intervention using professional methods, and collaborating with multidisciplinary care teams to ensure the continuity of patient care,” added Ms. Al-Rashid.
The importance of the role of clinical social workers in hospitals has continued to increase due to the development of healthcare services in Qatar, the expansion in the establishment of health facilities in the country, and the increase in the number of patients driven by the growing population. Clinical social workers contribute to alleviating the burdens on hospitals by facilitating the discharge of patients to safe environments in collaboration with the concerned authorities. They also contribute to the development of social policies in the medical field to improve the quality of services provided to patients.
The Corporate Social Service Department at HMC has actively participated in planning committees that were tasked to prepare for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 and has also helped in providing care services during the tournament. With HMC hospitals receiving patients and visitors from different countries and cultures around the world, clinical social workers played an important role in providing psychosocial support services to these patients. This participation has helped enrich the professional experience of HMC’s clinical social workers through effective communication with patients from diverse cultures.
