Abdul Hamid Al-Habib, director general of psychiatric health in the Ministry of Social Affairs, has emphasized the need to have more social workers in the health sector to assist patients.
Inaugurating a two-day forum on role of social workers in the health sector on Wednesday in Jeddah, Al-Habib also stressed the need to upgrade the skills of social workers in a more professional manner.
Stating that it was a challenging field, he said annual forums and workshops will help social workers in rendering better services to patients. The Ministry of Social Affairs has initiated several projects where social workers are involved in the health facilities to assist patients, which is purely humanitarian service-based. Sami Badawood, director of the Jeddah Health Department, said: "Forums and workshops can’t be confined merely to presenting papers. The approach should be more practical and adapted to the ground situation. Social workers can take stock of the actual situation of patients in the medical facility.”
He said the Ministry of Health was working with the Ministry of Social Affairs to provide service to patients through patient friends’ committees. Both ministries need to work together in the area of social service that will ultimately help patients, he said, adding that the role of social workers includes safeguarding patients rights.
Role of social workers in health care stressed
