PCN Social Prescriber

Job responsibilities

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

Principal Accountabilities

• To undertake holistic assessments and co-design Health and Well-being Plans with individual service users, identifying support needs to ensure maximum engagement in improving health and well-being specifically for patients with low level mental health needs.
• To provide service users with continuity and a coordinated experience of care, remaining point of contact throughout the individuals social prescription.
• To establish and maintain effective liaison with stakeholders including health, voluntary, social and education resources, attending relevant meetings as necessary.
• To work in partnership with all voluntary and community organisations to build a comprehensive database of local resources to design and support the Social Prescribing.
• To ensure information on sources of voluntary and community support is up to date at all times to enable effective and accurate signposting and linking of individuals with services.
• To train and develop GPs and primary care health teams knowledge on how to identify patients suitable for social prescribing service referral on a quarterly basis.
• Set up and maintain comprehensive data and evaluation systems.
• Provide quarterly comprehensive outcome focused reports detailing the progress of the service
• To keep records of your work and adhere to confidentiality, information sharing protocols and provide monitoring information as required.
• To ensure you have an understanding (appropriate to your role) of, and comply with procedures for promoting and safeguarding the welfare of children and vulnerable adults.
• To implement the principles of Equal Opportunities in every aspect of your work and positively promote the principles of the policy amongst colleagues, service users and other members of the community.
• To comply with the PCNs Health and Safety Policy, Data Protection Policy and to protect the health, safety and welfare of yourself and others.
• To work flexibly as required by the service and to take part in Practice , PCN and other organisations meetings and events to promote, support and celebrate the work of the service and the agencies.

IT/Record Keeping

• Keep accurate records of LTC patients and their current care needs.
• To record accurately appropriate SNOMED codes and any other codes that are used for reporting purposes.
• To provide reports as and when requested.
• To liaise with IT to develop good systems of working to improve continuity of care for example with incoming letters/tasks etc.

Communication and working relationships

• Actively works to build good relationships and create a network of contacts that can assist in the job role within the PCN and beyond.
• Works with people at all levels and disciplines effectively

• Effectively recognises and manages challenging behaviours presented by carers or relatives.

Quality

• To ensure that work is carried out within the clearly defined protocols, policies, and procedures.
• Recognises scope of job role and does not act beyond this boundary.
• Provide accurate information in a timely manner to patients and their carers/relatives.

Personal/Professional Development

The post-holder will participate in any training programme implemented by RVS Primary Care Network as part of this employment, such training to include:

• Participation in an annual individual performance review, including taking responsibility for maintaining a record of own personal and/or professional development.
• Attend any associated training courses relevant to the role.
• Undertake training for any qualifications as required by the role.
• Take responsibility for own development, learning and performance and demonstrate skills and activities to others who are undertaking similar work.
• To share best practice with colleagues across the PCN.

Equality and Diversity

The post-holder will support the equality, diversity and rights of patients, carers, and colleagues to include:

• Act in a way that recognises the importance of peoples rights, interpreting them in a way that is consistent with Practice procedures and policies, and current legislation.
• Respect the privacy, dignity, needs and beliefs of patients, carers, and colleagues.
• Behave in a manner which is welcoming to and of the individual, is non-judgmental and respects their circumstances, feelings, priorities, and rights.

Confidentiality

• While seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately
• In the performance of the duties outlined in this Job Description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, Practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the Practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential

• Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the Practice may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the Practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data

General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR)

• All members of staff are bound by the requirements of the General Data Protection Regulation 2018 and any breaches of the Act or of the confidential nature of the work of this post could lead to dismissal.

Health & Safety

The post-holder will assist in promoting and maintaining their own and others health, safety and security as defined in the PCNs Health & Safety Policy, to include:

• Using personal security systems within the workplace according to PCN guidelines.
• Identifying the risks involved in work activities and undertaking such activities in a way that manages those risks.
• Making effective use of training to update knowledge and skills.
• Using appropriate infection control procedures, maintaining work areas in a tidy and safe way and free from hazards.
• Reporting potential risks identified.

Contribution to the Implementation of Services

The post-holder will:

• Apply PCN policies, standards and guidance.
• Discuss with other members of the team how the policies, standards and guidelines will affect own work.
• Participate in audit where appropriate.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Evidence of continual learning and development

Desirable

• Understands self (strengths/weaknesses) and impact of behaviour on others
• Evidence of innovation

Experience

Essential

• - Working in a health and wellbeing or public or voluntary sector environment
• - Working in a patient-facing role
• - Delivering lifestyle change/brief interventions
• - Using motivational interviewing technique
• - Working with vulnerable people
• - An understanding of the processes and procedures for safeguarding adults and children.

Desirable

• - Experience of working in the Social Prescribing Role in Primary Care.
• - Working in a health trainer/advisor role
• - Working in partnership with community organisations
• - Promoting and/or marketing services to other organisations / the public

Qualifications

Essential

• - Educated to A level or Equivalent

Desirable

• - Health and wellbeing or motivational interviewing qualifications.
• - Mental Health training.

Key Skills

Essential

• - Excellent people skills, interacting with all types of people and able to change communication style to fit the person
• - Ability to work independently and as part of a team
• - Comfortable working with people from public, private and voluntary organisations
• - Highly organised, managing time, resources and competing priorities in a structured and efficient way
• - Highly motivated and willing to go out of your way to help patients
• - Creative problem solver and willing to search for hard-to-find information
• - Good IT and administrative skills
• - Good understanding of health issues and the wider determinants of health and wellbeing
• - Knowledge of brief interventions, behaviour change, motivational change
• - Knowledge of social prescribing
• - Understanding of health, wellbeing and community services

Desirable

• - Full driving licence and access to a car

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.

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).