Somerset Council
Social Worker - Health Interface Service (Musgrove Park Hospital) (Adults)
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Closing date: 1st October 2026 Social Worker – Hospital Interface Service (Adults)
Location: Taunton (Musgrove Park Hospital)
Starting salary: £37,280 rising annually up to £41,777 (Pending 26/27 pay award)
Hours: Full time, 37 hours per week
Rotational Saturday working: Included
Annual leave: 30 days
Role Purpose
Hospital social work is fast-paced, visible, and professionally demanding. You will often be working with people and families at pivotal moments in their lives, balancing risk, rights, independence, and the need for safe, timely decision-making. The role requires resilience, professional curiosity, and the ability to respond positively when circumstances change.
As a Social Worker within the Hospital Interface Service (HIS), you will undertake assessments of risk and care needs for adults and carers, ensuring appropriate action is taken, monitored, and reviewed in line with relevant legislation. You will support people throughout their hospital journey, helping them make informed choices, maintain independence, and achieve the best possible outcomes.
Working alongside health colleagues as part of a multidisciplinary team, you will play a vital role in admission avoidance, hospital stays, and safe discharge planning, particularly where social circumstances are complex.
At the heart of our approach is hopeful social work. We challenge pessimism, focus on strengths and possibilities, and continually ask:
"Why not home?"
You will be joining us at an important point in our development. We are strengthening the service, listening to colleagues, and working collectively to create greater clarity, consistency, and connection. This is an opportunity not only to join the team, but to contribute your experience and ideas as we continue to improve.
Key Responsibilities
- Undertake ongoing assessments of allocated cases, including assessment of risk, independence, and need, ensuring service users are protected from significant harm.
- Manage a caseload of varying complexity, receiving and responding to referrals from various sources.
- Work within relevant legislation, policy, and procedures, including statutory reviews and risk assessments.
- Assess client needs in consultation with them and other professionals, agreeing appropriate levels of support.
- Engage sensitively with people who may be refusing a service where there may be risk to themselves or others.
- Manage people presenting in crisis, using relevant legislation and resources to support timely and appropriate responses.
- Undertake carers assessments and support planning, recognising the needs and role of carers.
- Prepare and present reports, assessments, and statements to support decision-making.
- Maintain accurate and timely records in line with policy, legislation, and practice requirements.
- Develop and maintain effective working relationships with health colleagues, housing, police, voluntary organisations, and other partner agencies.
- Contribute to multi-agency working and participate in team meetings.
- Support safe and timely discharge planning, admission avoidance, and effective joint working across health and social care.
- Participate in post-qualifying training and ongoing professional development.
What We’re Looking For – Essential Skills/Experience
We're looking for Social Workers who are committed to strengths-based, person-centred practice and who can thrive within a collaborative hospital environment. In addition to the essential criteria outlined within the person specification, we're particularly interested in hearing from practitioners who:
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- Hold a recognised Social Work qualification and current registration with Social Work England.
- Have knowledge and understanding of Social Care practice, relevant legislation, and issues affecting adults and carers.
- Have access to/use of a vehicle, as this is an essential requirement of the role.
- Enjoy working in a fast-paced, multidisciplinary environment.
- Can confidently balance competing priorities and make defensible professional decisions.
- Are passionate about helping people maintain independence and achieve positive outcomes.
- Value partnership working and building effective relationships across health and social care.
- Are resilient, adaptable, and able to respond positively to change.
- Have a passion to contribute to service improvement and help shape the future of hospital social work within Somerset.
About the Team/Service
The Hospital Interface Service (HIS) is a vital part of Somerset's integrated health and social care system, supporting people throughout their hospital journey, from admission avoidance and assessment through to discharge planning and recovery. Hospital-based social workers play a key role within multidisciplinary teams, ensuring a strengths-based and person-centred approach is adopted before admission, during hospital stays, and when planning safe discharge.
At the heart of HIS is our philosophy of hopeful social work. We believe in possibility, independence, and helping people achieve the best outcomes by remaining connected to their communities wherever possible.
Our practitioners work alongside health colleagues at the heart of decision-making, helping people regain independence and return safely to the lives that matter most to them. From admission avoidance at the hospital front door to complex discharge planning, no two days are the same.
Joining HIS means becoming part of a motivated, collaborative, and values-driven team that makes a real difference to the lives of Somerset residents every day.
The Kind of Team We're Building
At Somerset Council, our vision is to create A Fairer, Better Future for Somerset residents. Our Hospital Interface Service plays a vital role in delivering that ambition by helping people live healthy, independent lives and working alongside NHS partners to get people home safely and quickly following a hospital stay.
By joining HIS, you'll be helping to turn that vision into everyday practice, supporting people to remain connected to their homes, families, communities, and support networks.
You will also be joining us at an important point in our development. We are strengthening the service, listening to colleagues, and continuously improving how we work. This is an opportunity not only to join the team, but to help shape its future.
We're committed to creating a culture where colleagues learn together, share responsibility, recognise good work, and continually seek opportunities to improve outcomes for the people we support and the experience of our workforce.
What You Can Expect
- Meaningful, rewarding, and impactful work.
- Opportunities to develop hospital social work practice.
- Strong multidisciplinary working with health colleagues.
- A varied role where no two days are the same.
- Ongoing professional development and learning opportunities.
- The opportunity to contribute to service development and improvement.
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Additional Information
Please Note: We may consider offering Skilled Worker visa sponsorship to suitably qualified overseas social workers who are already residing in the UK. To be eligible, applicants must hold a recognised social work qualification and be registered with Social Work England. Sponsorship will be assessed as part of the recruitment process. This is only available to candidates currently living in the UK, as unfortunately we are unable to provide resettlement support.
Due to the nature of the role and the geographical area of the service across Somerset, which is a largely rural county, with limitations around public transport, the ability to be able to travel to any location is essential. Therefore, applicants must have full access to a vehicle that can be used for work purposes.
We recognise and welcome applications from disabled individuals who may require reasonable adjustments to meet this requirement, and we’re happy to discuss this from the first point of contact with the recruitment team.
For an informal chat about the role, you can contact: Helen Readdy – Recruitment & Engagement Officer, Adults – helen.readdy@somerset.gov.uk
Please note we reserve the right to close this advert early if we have received a sufficient number of applications, so don’t delay, apply today!
A full job description can be found here: Adults Social Worker - Job Description - RP258
Person Specification
| Criteria | Essential | Desirable |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge and understanding of Social Care practice as defined by Social Work England Guidelines, appropriate legislation, and issues relevant to client group. | ✓ | |
| Ability to speak fluent English as stated in Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016). | ✓ | |
| Understanding of social care resources and provision available beyond statutory agencies. | ✓ | |
| Awareness of government guidance and legislative changes across a broad range of Social Service issues. | ✓ | |
| Relevant multi-disciplinary Social Care experience within a multi-disciplinary team relevant to the needs of the post. | ✓ | |
| Evidence of partnership working with other agencies including Social Care Services, Health Services, Voluntary Agencies, and/or Education. | ✓ | |
| A variety of experiences working with relevant client groups including Learning Disabilities. | ✓ | |
| Supervisory experience. | ✓ | |
| Previous experience of working with health professionals. | ✓ | |
| Possession of recognised Social Work Qualification – Degree in Social Work (BA), a Master's degree in Social Work, or equivalent. | ✓ | |
| Registration with Social Work England. | ✓ | |
| Demonstrates empathy, sensitivity, self-awareness, and acceptance of others. | ✓ | |
| Able to prioritise workload, work with competing deadlines, and organise time effectively. | ✓ | |
| Self-reliant and resilient – able to respond positively to difficult situations. | ✓ | |
| Willingness to embrace organisational change. | ✓ | |
| Access to/use of a vehicle is an essential requirement. | ✓ |
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