Family Support Worker

Family Support Workers (FSW)

Family Support Workers (FSW) are the frontline of our care. Each FSW holds a caseload of end‑of‑life and bereaved families. They get to know their families, and check‑in regularly with phone calls and home visits and can provide enhanced emotional support where required through more regular contact and interventions. Our FSWs tell families about the many services they can access at Shooting Star, assess their needs and make recommendations to our multi‑disciplinary team.

They support families of different ethnicities and families living in poverty, helping our service be as accessible as possible.

Our FSWs work closely with our Therapists, Counsellors, Social Workers, Transition Team and our Care Events Team. Weekly MDT meetings bring the team together to think of ways to help families in crisis. The work is varied and creative, taking place at the hospices, in family homes and hospitals, allowing the support to be where the families need it. Our Family Support Workers are hugely appreciated by the families we support.

• Being the on‑site duty FSW, welcoming families on site, monitoring email inboxes and answering the Family Support Line.
• Helping with support groups and family events.
• Providing on‑the‑spot emotional support, sometimes in a crisis where a calm and supportive response is required.
• Visiting newly bereaved families in their homes.
• Supporting families staying at our Christophers hospice (booked stays and end of life).
• Attending various locations over the course of a week: hospice, hospital, family homes.
• Building connections with families from different backgrounds, delivering culturally sensitive care.
• Helping safeguard families at risk of harm.
• Acting as an ambassador for Shooting Stars Specialist Bereavement Service, supporting other care team members with their learning and delivery of the bereavement pathway, and continually seeking ways to improve what we offer families.

The post holder will need to have a UK driving licence.

Shooting Star Childrens Hospices provides specialist care and support to families who have a baby, child or young person with a life‑limiting condition, or who have been bereaved. Rated Outstanding by the Care Quality Commission, we support families across Surrey, north‑west London and south‑west London from diagnosis to end of life and throughout bereavement with a range of nursing, practical, emotional and medical care.

Our specialist care and support is free of charge to families and available 24 hours a day, 365 days a year. It includes specialist nursing in the community, symptom management and pain relief, overnight respite stays, end‑of‑life care, specialist bereavement care and a comprehensive range of therapies, groups and clinics for the whole family.

At the heart of what we do are our dedicated staff; their exceptional commitment and professionalism means every family has the opportunity to make every moment count.

It costs £13 million a year to run Shooting Star Childrens Hospices. Just 30% of our funding comes from the government, so we rely on our supporters generosity to keep the service running. We employ 175 members of staff, including 98 nursing and medical staff, and support around 700 families.