Somerset Council
Social Worker - Health Interface Service (Musgrove Park Hospital) (Adults)
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Closing date: 19/08/2026
Transform lives, champion rights & support adults to achieve their full potential.
Location: Taunton, Musgrove Park Hospital
Starting salary: £37,280 rising annually up to £41,777 (Pending 26/27 pay award)
Full time, 37 hours per week
Ideal opportunity for a qualified Social Worker looking to develop their practice within a fast-paced hospital setting
30 days annual leave entitlement
This is a hospital-based role, and you will be expected to work onsite within the hospital setting. The role will also include weekend working on a rotational basis.
Role Purpose
As a Social Worker within the Health Interface Service (HIS), you will undertake assessments of risk and care needs for adults and carers, ensuring appropriate action is taken, monitored and reviewed effectively within relevant legislation.
Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team alongside health colleagues, you will support adults throughout their hospital journey, helping people make informed choices, manage risk, maintain independence and achieve the best possible outcomes. Hospital-based social workers play a vital role in admission avoidance, hospital stays and safe discharge planning, particularly where social circumstances are complex.
You will manage a caseload of varying complexity, working directly with individuals, families and carers to develop strengths-based care and support plans, safeguard adults from harm and support people to return home safely wherever possible.
This is an excellent opportunity for a Social Worker who is passionate about person-centred practice and wants to make a meaningful difference within Somerset's integrated health and social care system.
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.
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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.
You will have:
- A recognised Social Work qualification and current registration with Social Work England.
- Knowledge and understanding of Social Care practice, relevant legislation and issues affecting adults and carers.
- Experience of working within a multi-disciplinary Social Care environment.
- Evidence of partnership working with other agencies including Social Care, Health and voluntary organisations.
- The ability to assess and manage risk, make sound professional decisions and respond positively to difficult situations.
- Strong communication skills and the ability to build effective relationships with individuals, carers and professionals.
- The ability to prioritise workload and work effectively under pressure.
- A commitment to promoting equality, diversity, independence and inclusion.
- Access to/use of a vehicle, as this is an essential requirement of the role
About the Team/Service
This is a hospital-based role, and you will be expected to work onsite within the hospital setting. The role will also include weekend working on a rotational basis.
The Health Interface Service 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 multi-disciplinary 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 challenge pessimism, advocate for the people we support and ask, "Why not home?" We believe in possibility, independence and helping people achieve the best outcomes by remaining connected to their communities wherever possible.
HIS practitioners work closely with health colleagues across acute hospitals, intermediate care and community services. Whether supporting admission avoidance at the hospital front door, contributing to complex discharge planning or helping shape innovative services, our focus remains the same: delivering the right support, at the right time, in the right place.
Joining HIS means becoming part of a motivated, collaborative and values-driven team that makes a tangible difference to the lives of Somerset residents every day.
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.
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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!
(If you are an internal candidate, please apply via the internal careers site)
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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