Social Worker - Home First Team

Liquid Personnel is recruiting Social Worker for its client's Home First Team at Dorset.

This is an excellent opportunity for a dedicated practitioner to support adults through a Home First and Discharge to Assess model, ensuring individuals can return home from hospital safely, promptly, and with the appropriate level of support.

The successful candidate will play a key role within a multi-disciplinary partnership involving health professionals, social care, and Home, Independence and Crisis Support services. You will undertake strengths-based assessments, discharge planning, safeguarding interventions, Mental Capacity Assessments, and Court of Protection work where required, ensuring individuals achieve the best possible outcomes whilst maximising their independence within the community.

This role will involve travel to acute and community hospitals across Dorset, alongside community visits and attendance at the office to support duty functions.

What will your responsibilities be?

• Managing a caseload of adults requiring assessment, intervention, and support to facilitate safe and timely discharges from hospital.
• Adopting a Home First and Discharge to Assess approach to ensure individuals return home wherever appropriate before longer-term support needs are determined.
• Leading on social work assessments for complex hospital discharges, ensuring effective discharge planning in line with statutory responsibilities and best practice.
• Undertaking strengths-based Care Act Assessments to identify eligible needs, personal outcomes, strengths, and available community resources.
• Conducting Mental Capacity Assessments and applying the principles of the Mental Capacity Act 2005 to support informed decision-making.
• Undertaking Best Interests decision-making where individuals are assessed as lacking capacity to make specific decisions.
• Completing Court of Protection work, including the preparation of reports, assessments, and supporting documentation where required.
• Assessing and managing risk to ensure safe discharge arrangements and ongoing safety within the community.
• Developing, implementing, and reviewing person-centred care and support plans that promote independence, wellbeing, and recovery.
• Coordinating services including reablement, intermediate care, community support services, equipment, adaptations, and long-term care provision where necessary.
• Working collaboratively with ward staff, therapists, discharge coordinators, GPs, community teams, housing providers, voluntary sector organisations, carers, and families to ensure seamless transitions of care.
• Identifying and responding to safeguarding concerns in accordance with the Care Act 2014 and local safeguarding procedures.
• Participating in duty functions, responding to urgent referrals and prioritising workload effectively within a fast-paced environment.
• Attending acute and community hospitals across Dorset to facilitate assessments and discharge planning activities.
• Maintaining accurate, timely, and comprehensive case records, assessments, and reports in line with legislative and professional standards.

Qualifications & Experience:

To be successful in this role you must have, 

• Professional Qualification: MA, BA, BSc in Social Work, Diploma in Social Work, or CQSW.
• Registration: Must be registered with Social Work England.
• Experience: Significant post-qualified experience within Adult Social Care, preferably within Hospital Discharge, Community Social Work, or Integrated Health and Social Care settings.
• Hospital Discharge Experience: Experience supporting complex hospital discharges and working within Home First or Discharge to Assess models is highly desirable.
• Legislation Knowledge: Strong understanding of the Care Act 2014, Mental Capacity Act 2005, Court of Protection processes, Adult Safeguarding legislation, Human Rights Act, and associated statutory guidance.
• Assessment Skills: Proven ability to undertake Care Act Assessments, Mental Capacity Assessments, Best Interests decisions, risk assessments, and support planning.
• Court of Protection Experience: Experience preparing reports and supporting Court of Protection applications and proceedings.
• Safeguarding Experience: Experience identifying, investigating, and managing safeguarding concerns involving vulnerable adults.
• Multi-Agency Working: Ability to work effectively with NHS colleagues, community services, housing providers, voluntary sector organisations, carers, and partner agencies.
• Communication Skills: Excellent communication, report-writing, analytical, organisational, and decision-making skills.
• Time Management: Ability to prioritise competing demands and work effectively within a busy discharge environment.
• Driving Licence: Full UK driving licence and access to a vehicle are essential due to travel requirements across Dorset.

Why Liquid Personnel?

•  Free DBS and compliance service
• Twice weekly payroll and ‘Faster Pay’ service, getting you paid more quickly
• Access to exclusive roles that aren’t available from other agencies
• Free access to Liquid’s exclusive social work training and CPD portal
• Your own dedicated consultant with extensive social work knowledge
• Access to a wide selection of social work positions across the UK
• “Refer a Friend” bonus – get £500 for each social worker you refer who we successfully place*
• “Find your own job” bonus – get £250 for bringing your own position to us *

Liquid Personnel is an equal opportunities employer. Liquid Personnel Ltd is acting as an Employment Business in relation to this vacancy. * Terms and conditions apply to our bonus schemes.

Reasonable Adjustments:

If you consider yourself to have a disability or require any reasonable adjustment during the recruitment process or within the workplace, please highlight this at the earliest opportunity by contacting our team. With this information, we will provide appropriate support to you throughout the process and into your work placement.

We are unable to support or accept applications from candidates who are residents within the Red or Amber list of the Code of practice for the international recruitment of health and social care personnel in England, based on the World Health Organisation (WHO) Workforce Support and Safeguard List.

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