NMH

NMH | 2024 184 Health and Social Care Professionals T he Medical Social Work (MSW) Department began 2024 with 352 active social work cases and received a further 940 new referrals throughout the year. Medical Social Workers had 4,398 direct patient contacts throughout 2024. The 'Breakdown of Referrals for Specialist Areas' is detailed in the table below. Outside of the main specialist areas of casework, the Department receives referrals for a variety of areas including crisis pregnancy, relationship difficulties, poor attendance for antenatal care, limited supports, mental health, bereavement and information and tracing in relation to historic adoptions. The largest volume of referrals to MSW during 2024 was for patients attending the Inclusion Health service which comprises homeless families and families from the Roma and Traveller communities, Ukrainian families and other families seeking international protection. Almost one third of all direct patient contacts provided during 2024 related to supporting parents of babies who are inpatients in the Neonatal Unit. The Medical Social Worker completes a psychosocial assessment and offers intensive emotional support to these families. Greater Accessibility MSW offers a very accessible service for patients and their families, opening twelve hours a day, six days a week. We are available to support hospital staff in dealing with high risk situations that can arise outside of normal working hours. Support to Maternity Units of the Ireland East Hospital Group (IEHG) / Dublin South East Hospital Group (DSE) A MSW service was offered to 84 families who attended from maternity units within our Ireland East/Dublin South East Hospital Group: Wexford (38), Mullingar (25), Kilkenny (15) and Waterford (6). In 2024, MSW offered formal support and supervision to the new MSW maternity service in Wexford and Kilkenny. This Medical Social Work service enables continuity of care for families whose care is transferred to the NMH. The referrals are mainly for parents whose babies are admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit or to families who receive an antenatal diagnosis of a fetal anomaly. They often require not only intensive emotional support, but also significant practical support when travelling from a long distance for hospital care. High Risk Caseloads MSW offers a specialist service to women experiencing domestic violence in pregnancy. In 2024, 108 women and their children were supported by this service. The Department made 48 new referrals to Tusla due to child protection concerns. Of the 106 families: 7 were already known to Tusla due to the level of risk to their children, 18 experienced homelessness as a direct result of their experience of domestic violence and Gardaí were actively involved in supporting 48 of these families in relation to their experiences of violence. MSW supported 15 families in accessing refuge accommodation. MSW continued to work closely with the Women's Aid Maternity Project and referred 42 women directly to their Outreach Support Service. MSW offers a specialist service for women with substance use issues and in 2024, 114 women were supported by this service. Due to the level of risk, 31 of these families were referred to Tusla. Children from 9 families were listed on the Child Protection Notification System. Women received intensive support and as a result most babies were discharged home with their parents with a robust safety plan in place however 4 babies were placed in alternative care. Overall in 2024, eight babies were discharged to alternative care. Six babies were placed in alternative care due to child protection concerns and two of these were discharged to pre-adoptive foster care. Inclusion Health In 2024, MSW offered a specialist service to 231 women who met the criteria for support in relation to 'Inclusion Health', an initiative that commenced in the three Dublin Maternity Hospitals in 2021 which to recognise the impact of homelessness and inadequate housing on children's health. The aim is to deliver an integrated health care approach to homeless pregnant women. Of the 231 women, 59 were homeless, 32 were at risk of homelessness, 30 were Ukrainian families and 71 were seeking International Protection from other countries. The Inclusion Health service provided a series of Traveller Maternal Health Sessions. Laura Harrington, Head Medical Social Worker. Breakdown of Workload 2024 Neonatal Unit Admission 198 Fetal Anomaly Diagnosis 102 Domestic Violence 106 Substance Use 114 Inclusion Health 231 Gynaecology 48 Teen Pregnancy 49

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