Medical Social Work

Provides comprehensive psychosocial support to patients and their families to promote holistic healthcare, improve treatment outcomes, and enhance patients’ well-being throughout the continuum of care.

🤝 Medical Social Work

About This Department

The Medical Social Work Department at Jaramogi Oginga Odinga Teaching and Referral Hospital (JOOTRH) plays a crucial role in ensuring holistic patient well-being. Under the Directorate of Finance and Administration and led by a dedicated senior officer and health professionals, our department is committed to achieving the following objectives:

Enabling Access to Healthcare: We empower socially challenged patients to access essential health services by providing appropriate recommendations and support.
Promoting Equity: We strive to offer equal opportunities to all patients, regardless of their socio-economic status.
In line with the Government of Kenya’s commitment to Universal Health Coverage (UHC) and affordable healthcare, the Medical Social Work Department at JOOTRH addresses the diverse social challenges patients face.

We focus on issues related to social situations and the development of social skills, ensuring patients can effectively utilize health services. We are dedicated to fostering a sense of belonging and acceptance by offering unwavering support and understanding to every individual.

Beyond socio-economic concerns, our department also coordinates with the Children Department to provide care and protection for abandoned children with special needs. This includes facilitating their placement in children’s homes and tracing their relatives.

The JOOTRH Medical Social Work Department handles over 9,000 cases annually. Notably, 75% of these cases involve outpatients, and a significant 65-75% of those are related to abandoned individuals. Our utility extends beyond just socio-economic support; we are strong advocates for the psychological and emotional welfare of our patients. Recognizing that family dynamics and other factors profoundly impact a patient’s health and recovery, we conduct essential fieldwork and follow-ups to continuously improve our services.

Duties and responsibilities of the department
Our team undertakes a variety of critical responsibilities to support patients throughout their healthcare journey:

Initial Assessments: Reviewing new admissions to identify any special needs or issues requiring immediate attention.
Discharge Planning: Assisting patients with seamless transitions from the hospital, clinic, or nursing home back to their homes.
Care Coordination: Managing the complex needs of patients who require multiple services over an extended period.
Crisis Intervention: Providing counseling and therapy to address unexpected crises.
Resource Navigation: Helping patients understand and access available financial and emotional resources, such as registering for the Social Health Authority (SHA).
JOOTRH is dedicated to its vision of being a center for quality healthcare. The Medical Social Work Department is integral to this vision, ensuring that our psycho-social treatments are recognized as vital in supplementing the physiological management of health and illness.

Services Offered

Psychosocial assessment and counselling for patients and their families. Support to patients experiencing emotional, social, financial, and family-related challenges arising from illness. Assistance with accessing available health and social protection services and resources. Patient and family education, advocacy, and empowerment. Discharge planning, patient placement, repatriation, and reintegration services. Tracing and reunification of patients with families and other support systems. Referral and linkage to relevant healthcare, social, community, and specialized support services. Support for patients with chronic and life-limiting conditions, including cancer, HIV/AIDS, mental health conditions, and other complex illnesses. Assistance to vulnerable patients, including children, older persons, persons with disabilities, survivors of abuse, and patients without adequate social support. Collaboration with multidisciplinary healthcare teams in addressing patients’ psychosocial and social needs. Community outreach, health promotion, and strengthening of community-based support systems. Bereavement support and counselling for patients’ families and caregivers. Advocacy for patients’ rights, dignity, safety, and access to appropriate healthcare and social services.

Equipment & Facilities

Desktop and laptops Printers and scanners Photocopier Telephone/mobile communication devices Internet connectivity and networking equipment Filing cabinets and secure records storage Office desks, chairs, and workstations Counselling room furniture Waiting-area chairs and benches Lockable cabinets for confidential patient records Projector and screen for health education and staff/community sensitization Public address system for outreach and health promotion activities Tablets for patient assessments, data collection, and field visits Transport or access to an official vehicle for tracing, home visits, community outreach, and patient placement Stationery, registers, assessment forms, referral forms, and counselling materials Emergency communication and identification materials for field activities

Need care from Medical Social Work?

Book an appointment or reach the department directly.

Book Appointment 0733 888 579