Medical Social Services aim to provide timely psycho-social intervention and/or tangible assistance to patients and their families to help them cope with or solve problems arising from illness, trauma or disability. As a member of the clinical team, each Medical Social Worker (MSW) plays an important role in linking up the medical and social services to facilitate patients’ recovery and rehabilitation in the community.

The Medical Social Services Units (MSSUs) managed by SWD can be broadly classified into general and psychiatric settings. MSWs in the general setting are stationed at public hospitals and some specialist out-patient clinics of the Hospital Authority (HA), and at the Child Assessment Centres and Integrated Treatment Centre of the Department of Health, while those in the psychiatric setting are stationed at psychiatric hospitals and out-patient clinics of HA.

As at 31 March 2015, SWD had an establishment of 438 MSWs, with an increase of 4 MSWs in 2013-14 and 3 MSWs in 2014-15 respectively to strengthen the medical social services for patients and their families and to dovetail with the service initiatives of the HA. In general, MSWs provide counselling and/or tangible services, such as financial assistance, to needy patients and their families, and collaborate closely with medical and allied health professionals through case conferences, meetings, ward rounds and social reports, etc. in formulating and implementing treatment/discharge/rehabilitation plans for patients. In 2014-15, the MSWs served around 180 000 cases.

MSWs also work closely with medical and allied health professionals to meet the needs of the community through early identification and intervention services. They take up a key role in the following community-based services:

• Psycho-geriatric Teams
• Community Geriatric Assessment Teams
• Community Psychiatric Teams
• Early Assessment Service for Young People with Psychosis
• Elderly Suicide Prevention Programme
• Extended-care Patients Intensive Treatment, Early Diversion and Rehabilitation Stepping-stone