Challenges of the Social Workers in the Field of Discharge Planning and Promotion of Patients’ Right to Self-Determination - a Case Report

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to show the challenges of the social worker in the Clinical Hospital Centre Rijeka in the process of planned discharge and at the same time promoting the right to self-determination of an elderly patient with impaired functioning who has no close family members. The paper presents the tasks of a social worker in the pro- cess of planned discharge, which range from targeted and short analyzes of specific needs, to comprehensive psychosocial assessments and risk assessments of a whole range of social and psychological needs, strengths and stressors. The challenges that were imposed and ultimately overcome were the patient’s lack of social support, different perceptions of the problem and insufficiently transparent communication between stakeholders, the patient’s weakened social capital and physical disability. Therefore, the presentation of the case shows the importance of direct mutual communication of all the mentioned stakeholders, timely exchange and transparency of information. Although, the primary and most important thing is to respect the voice of the patient and enable him to shape the vision of his future life, in accordance with the resources available to him.