Social work — South Canterbury

To contact the social work office at Timaru Hospital:

• phone: 03 687 2233
• email: social@scdhb.health.nz

The social work office is at:

Gardens Block
Timaru Hospital Campus
Queen Street
Timaru

Social workers are trained to respond to people's emotional, psychosocial and practical needs. We advocate on your behalf to ensure your rights, responsibilities and entitlements are respected.

We provide services across a wide range of areas, including:

• support during ill health or disability
• whānau (family) support while you are in hospital
• pregnancy counselling, information and support
• miscarriage support
• Medlab tissue collection
• information on health and disability resources
• counselling and emotional support, including for grief and loss
• family and relationship support, and for carer stress
• crisis and trauma support
• support for financial concerns and legal matters, for example Enduring Power of Attorney
• aged care information and support, to help you navigate the system
• cancer support
• family violence and child protection issues 
• overseas patients
• accessing National Travel Assistance
• housing requirements and home insulation
• information on other hospital services, for example palliative care
• referral to community support services or resources.

You can access our service by contacting the social work office at Timaru Hospital.

You can also ask to be referred by your healthcare provider, your hospital specialist or nurse. We also accept referrals from other hospitals, other health professionals and government and community agencies.