Heart services has a dedicated social worker.
They assess the impact of your child's illness on him/her and your family and provides emotional and psychological support and discharge plans.
Their aim is to make things less stressful for your child and the whole family. They will:
- talk to you and your child if you are worried and answer questions about their illness
- provide support, advice and guidance to help you cope with day to day things, such as getting your other children to school
- speak to hospital staff on your behalf
- talk with you about any help you need, such as finances and reimbursements for travel
- arrange help at home for when your child leaves hospital
- support your other children if they are worried about their brother or sister who is ill
- identify children at risk of harm and work to protect them.
If you do not live in the London Borough of Lambeth, our social worker will need to pass your case onto the local authority that you live in. They are responsible for providing you with social services support when your child is discharged from hospital.
Local authorities have different criteria to assess whether you qualify for support, so they may wish to do a needs assessment when your child leaves hospital.