Medical Social Services Department is one of the vital Departments in OAUTHC, Ile-Ife. It is a welfare department that handles the social problems that are associated with patient’s illness and/or disability.

The department was established by the Board of management of the institution on 1st August, 1991. It has is head office in Ife Hospital Unit, Ile-Ife while its branch office in Wesley Guild Hospital, Ilesa.

Presently, there are five (5) Professional Medical Social Workers, a secretary and a health attendant.

The vision of the department is to prevent, control and contribute to the solution of social problems associated with patient`s illness or disability.

The mission is to institute case work service and provide immediate assistance to patients for effective treatment and rehabilitation.

The department deals with physical, medical, psychological, psychiatric and other related problems Including financial problem of the sick people.

The department attends to both in-patients and out-patients with their relatives from the time of admission to Discharge time. It receives referral of patients from wards and departments of the hospital. Many times, sick people are reffered to the department by enlightened members of the public.

1. Facilitating admission into the wards of economically disadvantaged patients by involving family and relatives.
2. Instituting social intervention in patients brought to hospital and making arrangements to inform the patient’s relatives.
3. Conducting social investigation into psychosocial and cultural factors surrounding patient`s illness or disability
4. Counselling of patients on their various diseases and disabilities, financial support for patient`s to procure treatments.
5. Sourcing financial support for patients to procure treatments
6. Conducting Means Test to determine patient`s ability to fund treatment or settle hospital bills
7. Liaison Service to Social Agencies
8. Rehabilitation Services
9. Repatriation service for abandoned patients
10. Advocacy/influencing social policy by serving on committees and being involved in other institution`s activities
11. Contact tracing of patients involved in Road Traffic accident
12. Follow up care services
13. Attending clinics and reviewing patients with other health team members e.g Mental Health, HIV/AIDS, ENT, Neurology, Oncology Clinics, Open Heart Surgery and Rapid Result Initiative Programme.
14. Care of abandoned patients including abandoned motherless babies
15. Health Education
16. Discharge planning
17. Lecturing of students on clinical posting on social aspect of Medicine/Diseases
18. Research work
19. Referral Service to other specialized institutions
20. Conducting family and marriage counselling
21. Placement of abandoned and motherless babies
22. Facilitating adoption of abandoned babies
23. Assisting patient to minimize period of hospitalization
24. Preventive counselling and education
25. Adherence counselling
26. School Health Programmes
27. Community Liaison Services
28. Contact tracing of absconded patients
29. Family Therapy
30. Placement of motherless baby to foster parent