Social workers

Social work support to children with chronic kidney disease and their families is provided by two experienced social workers.

Chronic kidney disease is a life-long condition which has complex psychosocial implications for the child and other family members, which requires long term support.

Nottingham Children's Renal Unit has two social workers: Suzanne Batte and Naseema Hakim.

Suzanne Batte

Suzanne Batte joined the children's renal team in 1998 and has over two decades' experience in supporting families of children with kidney disorders.

Naseema Hakim

Naseema Hakim joined the team in 2020 after qualifiying as a social worker in 2006.

What is the role of social workers?

The social workers are responsible for a caseload of complex cases and take the lead on providing comprehensive psychosocial assessments regarding the needs of children and their families. A key role for the renal social workers is to help children with chronic kidney disease and their families adapt to managing the illness within the context of the demands of their daily lives.

Home visits can be undertaken to look at the likely impact of starting dialysis, and to consider if peritoneal dialysis can be managed at home or alternatively if a family can cope with travelling to the renal unit for haemodialysis several times a week.

How do home visits work?

Home visits are also undertaken early on to provide support regarding what lies ahead medically. It can be a very difficult time coming to terms with the diagnosis of chronic kidney disease, and the social workers can offer support either over the phone or they can arrange to meet you in the clinics in Nottingham or consider if a home visit is required.

The social workers work closely with specialist renal nuirses. They will sometimes visit families together to focus on key stages of the treatment process such as going on the transplant list and considering live donation as well as looking at dialysis options. However, the key role for the social workers is the overall impact on the child and their family and they recognise that families need time to look at how they manage the emotional wellbeing of all family members and balance this with the demands of work and managing financially and practically.

Can social workers help me apply for benefits?

The social workers can give advice about applying for Disability Living Allowance and Carer's Allowance. Children who require a lot of care at home such as dialysis, feeding via a nasogastric or gastrostomy tube or catheterisation will often meet the criteria for Disability Living Allowance. The social workers can advise families about how to complete the forms.

They can also provide information about agencies in the families' local areas that help with completing the forms such as the Citizens' Advice Bureau.

The social workers are not trained benefit advisors but they can advise families about where to obtain help with other benefit applications. Some parents will not be able to continue to work due to the demands of caring for their child with chronic kidney disease. The Citizens' Advice Bureau is often a good starting point for finding out if parents are entitled to apply for benefits such as Income Support, Job Seeker's Allowance or Employment Support Allowance if they have health conditions themselves.

My child has been admitted with acute kidney injury - do I need to see a social worker?

Psychosocial support can also be provided to children admitted to the renal ward with acute kidney injury. Sometimes children and their parents require support associated with the shock and trauma of a very sudden illness. for families on a very low income a hospital admission can cause financial strain and the social workers can assess if they are eligible for assistance from a renal charity.

Will the renal social worker liaise with my child's local social worker?

The social work role requires a broad range of skills. The safety and wellbeing of children and young people is a priority and this requires the social workers to have a sound knowledge of safeguarding issues.

They are required to be skilled at assessing the needs of children from a wide range of backgrounds as well as considering the impact on children who have parents with learning difficulties and mental health problems. Regular liaison with other agencies involved with families such as health visitors, schools, local social workers and housing departments ensures that the impact of chronic kidney disease is emphasised and informs ongoing assessment of need.

Meet the Nottingham team