Job summary
The
NHS Long Term Plan describes the prominent role Primary Care Networks (PCNs)
will play in delivering proactive, personalised and integrated health and
social care for their local populations. Social prescribing forms part of this
drive towards collaborative and holistic support. It empowers people to take
control of their health and wellbeing through referral to link workers who
give time, focusing on what matters to them. This might include connecting
people to organisations, community groups and statutory services for practical
and emotional support.
Social
prescribing can help PCNs strengthen community and personal resilience and
reduce health and wellbeing inequalities. It addresses the wider determinants
of health such as debt, poor housing and physical inactivity, increasing
peoples active involvement with their local communities. It particularly works
for people with long-term conditions, mental health, for people who are lonely
or isolated, or have complex social needs that affect their wellbeing.
Our
North Southwark PCN in 2025 is made up of all GP Practices in Bermondsey,
Rotherhithe, Borough and Walworth, approximately 200,000 patients, supported by
their GP Federation, Quay Health Solutions. We are seeking a Social Prescribing
Link Worker to work across our network providing dedicated support to general
practice and our local population.
Should Quay Health Solutions receive a large capacity of applications, we may close this advert early.
Main duties of the job
1. Deliver
personalised 1:1 support
- Provide personalised
support to patients with complex needs: this may include frailty, carers, long-term conditions, mental health & social
issues
- Take a holistic
approach, based on the clients priorities & the wider determinants of health
to make a personalised support plan together
- Introduce or reconnect
people to community groups & statutory services, for longer-term provision of
support, as required
2. Build
relationships with Voluntary Community Sector (VCS) organisations & community
groups supporting our local model of social prescribing
- Draw on the strengths & capacities of our local communities, enabling local VCS organisations & community groups to receive social prescribing referrals
- Work with the VCS to
ensure the basic safeguarding processes for vulnerable individuals are in place & can provide opportunities for the client to develop friendships, a sense of
belonging & to build knowledge, skills & confidence
3. Set up,
establish role, embed within & receive referrals from the
Network/Neighbourhood- Establish connections & relationships with local health & care provider organisations to
understand landscape, ethos, ways of working & how you will work with a
multidisciplinary team
- Build an understanding
of local processes, referral pathways & reporting mechanisms to understand
how your role can support communication of patient progress & outcomes across
systems/providers
Please see the attached job description for the full list of duties
About us
Fourteen
practices in North Southwark have come together as Quay Health Solutions (QHS)
Community Interest Company to jointly deliver services that improve outcomes
for our 205k registered patients. As a GP Federation, QHS provides the building
blocks for at scale service delivery and wider system integration through
neighbourhoods that are the delivery units of North Southwark Primary Care
Network (NSPCN) and our integrated Borough based system. These bring together local health and care
organisations (including social care, the voluntary sector and patient groups)
to work collaboratively to deliver more joined up, patient-centred services.
QHS is also
working with NHS Southwark ICS on a programme of development to support
transformation of local health services.
We are working collaboratively with providers and patients to co-produce
solutions to the challenges we face and maximise the impact of our services on
quality and outcomes of patient care.
This role
provides an exciting opportunity to make a meaningful impact on health equity
in Southwark, working across primary care, Integrated Care Board (ICB) and
Southwark Council public health.
Quay Health Solutions does not hold a VISA Sponsorship Licence.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached job description for the full duties of the Social Prescribing Link Worker role.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Please see the attached job description for the full duties of the Social Prescribing Link Worker role.
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- -At least 2 years experience of providing one to one support to vulnerable people, including those with physical and mental health issues (including unpaid work).
- -Experience of working closely with a wide range of stakeholders across organisations and sectors, especially with NHS/healthcare professionals.
- -Experience working in an open, community setting/environment including outreach venues, in a highly flexible manner (including unpaid roles).
- -Knowledge and/or experience of working with a variety of social issues, e.g., housing, benefits, carers etc.
- -Experience of signposting to other organisations sensibly and practically, to ensure that patients are navigated through the system.
Desirable
- -Experience of delivering lifestyle changes interventions
- -Experience of leading and developing service improvements with complex scope and tight timescales with minimal guidance.
- -Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations.
- -Experience of data collection and providing monitoring information to assess the impact of services and assist staff development.
Skills, abilities and knowledge
Essential
- -Self-starter comfortable working autonomously in the community and feeding back to the necessary organisations as appropriate.
- -Ability to problem-solve when researching the best potential options for support/services.
- -Ability to work well in a team working with a variety of different service providers across the neighbourhood to contribute to social prescribing goals support and coaching other volunteers/navigators.
- -Able to establish positive boundaries with patients.
- -Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities.
- -Knowledge of community development approaches.
- -Knowledge of IT systems including ability to use word processing tools, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports.
- -Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
- -Willingness to work flexible hours when required, to meet work demands.
- -Ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including visiting people in their own homes.
Desirable
- -Knowledge of the personalised care approaches.
- -Knowledge of VCS and community services in the locality.
Qualifications
Essential
- -Educated to minimum of NVQ Level 3, advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards
- -Demonstrate commitment to professional and personal development of themselves and colleagues
Desirable
- -Training in motivational coaching and interviewing, or equivalent experience
Person Specification
Experience
Essential
- -At least 2 years experience of providing one to one support to vulnerable people, including those with physical and mental health issues (including unpaid work).
- -Experience of working closely with a wide range of stakeholders across organisations and sectors, especially with NHS/healthcare professionals.
- -Experience working in an open, community setting/environment including outreach venues, in a highly flexible manner (including unpaid roles).
- -Knowledge and/or experience of working with a variety of social issues, e.g., housing, benefits, carers etc.
- -Experience of signposting to other organisations sensibly and practically, to ensure that patients are navigated through the system.
Desirable
- -Experience of delivering lifestyle changes interventions
- -Experience of leading and developing service improvements with complex scope and tight timescales with minimal guidance.
- -Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations.
- -Experience of data collection and providing monitoring information to assess the impact of services and assist staff development.
Skills, abilities and knowledge
Essential
- -Self-starter comfortable working autonomously in the community and feeding back to the necessary organisations as appropriate.
- -Ability to problem-solve when researching the best potential options for support/services.
- -Ability to work well in a team working with a variety of different service providers across the neighbourhood to contribute to social prescribing goals support and coaching other volunteers/navigators.
- -Able to establish positive boundaries with patients.
- -Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities.
- -Knowledge of community development approaches.
- -Knowledge of IT systems including ability to use word processing tools, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports.
- -Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing.
- -Willingness to work flexible hours when required, to meet work demands.
- -Ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including visiting people in their own homes.
Desirable
- -Knowledge of the personalised care approaches.
- -Knowledge of VCS and community services in the locality.
Qualifications
Essential
- -Educated to minimum of NVQ Level 3, advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards
- -Demonstrate commitment to professional and personal development of themselves and colleagues
Desirable
- -Training in motivational coaching and interviewing, or equivalent experience
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
