About our social work services
Social workers are an important part of health teams and work with patients, families, carers, and other health professionals to deliver complete care, especially for vulnerable (unsafe) populations.
They can give you information and connect you with services to help you while you're in hospital and after you go home.
Our social work services are free and confidential and available to inpatients and outpatients in our hospitals.
Services
Our services include:
- Help with speaking about your concerns
- Specialist social work support services for women
- Support for diverse and multicultural populations
- Help with preparing a safe plan for you to go home
- Psychosocial assessments and specialist mental health social services
- Support for domestic violence, homelessness, and financial hardship
- Counselling, education, information, and advice for you, your family and carers
- Advocacy and referrals to community services (we can talk to your health team or other community services on your behalf, if you ask us to).
About our social workers
Our social workers:
- Are university-trained and experienced working in hospitals
- Work to give you choices and have a say in your health care
- Are part of a multidisciplinary team of allied health, medical and nursing staff
- Provide counselling to women and their families with complex medical and social needs
- Always considers your social, cultural and emotional issues, and physical wellbeing for your care plans.
Referrals
We organise automatic referrals for:
- Domestic violence
- Elder abuse
- Child at risk
- Need for assessment for entry into residential aged care
- Sudden unexpected death
- Poor prognosis/end of life discussions/withdrawal of treatment
- Maternal loss
Western Sydney also provide Aboriginal Liaison Officer (ALO) and Multicultural Maternity Liaison Officers who can help connect you to the services and supports you need.
If you would like to talk with a social worker, speak to your doctor (GP or specialist), midwife or nurse. You can also use the referral services contact list.
Referral services contact information
| Service | Contact |
|---|---|
Central Referral Service Single point of entry for integrated and community health services (counselling, supportive care, allied health services) Referrals can be made by GPs (doctors), hospitals, aged-care facilities, families, patients (self-referral) | Phone: 1800 600 681 Fax: (02) 9881 7799 Email: WSLHD-CommunityHealth-ReferralService@health.nsw.gov.au |
Patients aged 65 years and over (Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people aged 50 and over) must make a referral through My Aged Care. | Phone: 1800 200 422 Phone: 1800 836 799 |
24-hour line connects callers to local mental health teams and staffed by mental health professionals. | Phone: 1800 011 511 |
For non-urgent referrals, service enquiries, or coordination with inpatient or outpatient teams. | Phone: (02) 9840 3000 |
Mental health and social work
Mental Health Social workers help people recover and improve their wellbeing—personally, within families, and in communities. They support people to have more power and control over their own lives and work to promote fairness and social justice.
As mental health social workers, we follow the AASW Practice Standards for Mental Health Social Workers, 2014. Based on three key principles:
- Respect for all people
- Commitment to fairness and social justice
- Acting with honesty and professional integrity
Our mental health practice is guided by principles that include:
- Seeing each person as a whole human being, with needs that go beyond just treatment
- Valuing the real-life experiences of consumers, their families, and carers
- Working together as partners, making sure consumers and carers have a say and real choices in decisions, assessments, and plans
- Supporting fairness, equal access, inclusion, and respect for everyone’s civil and human rights
- Showing empathy, compassion, and offering hope in all interactions
Every patient is given a social worker when they are admitted to the hospital. The social worker’s job is to understand what the patient's needs are, and to help where possible.
Social work support is provided to reduce patient’s experience of distress, with the additional aim of ensuring each patient can leave the hospital safely and smoothly. The process includes checking what supports the patient has and what they will need in order to go home safely.
Social workers help by:
- Completing psychosocial assessments
- Providing counselling and crisis support
- Helping plan a safe discharge from hospital
- Supporting patients to reconnect with their community
- Advocating for patients’ rights and access to services
- Working with families and carers
In rehabilitation units, social workers can help by:
- Coordinating a patient’s care
- Working with key services and agencies
- Advocating for the patient’s needs
- Completing psychosocial reviews
- Creating plans and providing appropriate interventions
- Organising and leading family meetings
- Referring patients to other helpful services
Cumberland Hospital's mental health services are included under social work services in Western Sydney Local Health District. It provides:
- Inpatient and outpatient psychiatric care
- Community mental health services
- Rehabilitation and recovery programs.
These services rely heavily on social work to make sure patients receive complete care outside of clinical treatment.
For more information, call Cumberland Hospital's mental health services at (02) 9840 3000 or email WSLHD-MentalHealth@health.nsw.gov.au.
Future service integration with Westmead Hospital
Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) is building a new Integrated Mental Health Complex at Westmead. When complete, the complex will absorb these services from Cumberland Hospital.
The integration is part of WSLHD's commitment to embed mental health within broader healthcare, including social work support.
Learn more about the Integrated Mental Health Complex Westmead on the Health Infrastructure website.
In addition to hospital-based social work services, Western Sydney Local Health District (WSLHD) has community mental health teams in:
- Auburn
- Blacktown
- Granville
- Hills
- Merrylands
- Parramatta
These teams include social workers who provide outreach, early intervention, and ongoing support for people living with mental illness.
Referral pathways
You can refer someone to community mental health teams in WSLHD in many ways depending on the urgency and type of support needed.
Referral documents and requirements
For most referrals, you will need:
- A completed referral form
- Consent from the patient
- Relevant clinical documentation (e.g. mental health care plan, K10/K5 forms).
Patients aged 65 years and over (or 50 and over for Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander people) must make a referral through My Aged Care.
Referral services contact information:
| Service | Contact |
|---|---|
Central Referral Service Single point of entry for integrated and community health services (counselling, supportive care, allied health services). Referrals can be made by GPs (doctors), hospitals, aged-care facilities, families, patients (self-referral). | Phone: 1800 600 681 Fax: (02) 9881 7799 Email: WSLHD-CommunityHealth-ReferralService@health.nsw.gov.au |
24-hour line connects callers to local mental health teams and staffed by mental health professionals. | Phone: 1800 011 511 |
For non-urgent referrals, service enquiries, or coordination with inpatient or outpatient teams. | Phone: (02) 9840 3000 |
Find a social work service
Use our Service Directory to find a health service near you.
Contact us
Social work services in Western Sydney LHD
Auburn Hospital
Phone: (02) 9563 9500
Social work service hours: 8am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays)
Note: Auburn Hospital does not have an after-hours social work service.
Blacktown Hospital
Phone: (02) 9881 7075
Mount Druitt Hospital
Phone: (02) 9881 1555
Westmead Hospital
Phone: (02) 8890 5555
Social work service hours: 8am to 4.30pm, Monday to Friday (excluding public holidays and for non-urgent matters)
After-hours crisis service phone: (02) 8890 6699
Westmead Hospital's social work service has an after-hours crisis service, which runs 7 days a week to support women and families who are experiencing a distressing event. Messages can be left outside of regular hours.
If we are unavailable to speak with you, we will get back to you as soon as possible.