Senior Social Prescribing Link Worker

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key responsibilities

Receiving and actioning referrals from a wide range of agencies, working with GP practices within Primary Care Networks (PCNs), pharmacies, multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams, allied health professionals, fire service, police, job centres, social care services, housing associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations. (List not exhaustive).

Providing personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to enable them to take control of their wellbeing to live independently and improve their health outcomes. Develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on what matters to them. Taking a holistic approach, based on the persons priorities and the wider determinants of health. To co-produce a personalised support plan to improve health and wellbeing, to introduce or reconnect people to community groups and statutory services. It is vital that the Social Prescribing has a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals or agencies.

To increase the strengths and capacities of local communities, and enable local VCSE organisations and community groups to receive social prescribing referrals. Ensure they are supported, have basic safeguarding processes for vulnerable individuals and can provide opportunities for the person to develop friendships, a sense of belonging, and build knowledge, skills and confidence.

Work together with all local partners to collectively ensure that local VCSE organisations and community groups are sustainable and that community assets are nurtured, by making them aware of small grants or micro-commissioning if available, including providing support to set up new community groups and services, where gaps are identified in local provision.

Service delivery

Build a robust knowledge of health, social and third sector provision available within West Leicestershire and surrounding areas.

Building and maintaining a close working relationship with other GP Federations in the West of Leicestershire and Public Health

Promote social prescribing, its role in self-management, and the wider determinants of health.

Act as an advocate for patients and service users of the health and social care system.

Build relationships with key staff in GP practices within the local Primary Care Network (PCN). Attend relevant meetings and integrate as part of the wider network team, providing information and feedback on social prescribing matters.

Work proactively to develop strong links with all local agencies to encourage referrals, to recognise their requirements and enable confident approach to making referrals.

Work in partnership with all local agencies to raise awareness of social prescribing and demonstrate how partnership working can reduce pressure on statutory services, improve health outcomes and enable a holistic approach to care.

Provide referral agencies with regular updates relating to social prescribing, and include training for their staff to promote effective access to information and encourage appropriate referrals.

Work proactively in encouraging self-referrals and connecting with all local communities, particularly those communities that statutory agencies may find hard to reach.

To support patients on discharge from hospital admission.

Staff Management

Create a positive working environment in which equality and diversity are well managed, dignity at work is upheld and staff can do their best;

Participate in the recruitment and selection activities as delegated;

Ensure the effective performance management and development of the PCN SPLW Team through regular supervision sessions, the appraisal process, learning and development and team meetings.

Standing in for the joint Senior SPLW, should they be absent, to support and develop the PCN SPLWs.

Manage the practicalities of the social prescribing service and ensure adequate staffing and resources in conjunction with the Federation.

Supervise the work of designated staff providing them with an appropriate level of support and supervision depending on their level of competence, conduct annual appraisals of SPLW team, and undertake own appraisal with Federation leads.

Ensure there are processes and systems in place to monitor the case records / telephone calls / emails of designated staff to meet quality standards and service level agreements.

Encourage good teamwork and encourage Practices and wider services to liaise with the PCN SPLW Team for queries on services.

Personalised care and support

Build relationships with patients, their families and carers and carry out regular telephone consultations and reviews within the GP practice or community setting.

Meet people on a one-to-one basis, undertaking home visits where appropriate within organisations policies and procedures. Give people time to tell their stories and focus on what matters to me.

Build trust with the person, providing non-judgmental support, respecting diversity and lifestyle choices. Work from a strength-based approach focusing on a persons assets.

Anticipate barriers to communication.

Be a friendly source of information about wellbeing and prevention approaches.

Help people identify the wider issues that impact on their health and wellbeing, such as debt, poor housing, being unemployed, loneliness and caring.

Communicate effectively with patients, families and carers recognising the need for alternative communication methods of communication to overcome different levels of understanding, cultural background and preferred ways of communicating.

Help people maintain or regain independence through living skills, adaptations, enablement approaches and simple safeguards.

Work with individuals to co-produce a simple personalised support plan; based on the persons priorities, interests, values and motivations, including what they can expect from the groups, activities and services they are being connected to and what the person can do for themselves to improve their health and wellbeing.

Where appropriate, physically introduce people to community groups, activities and statutory services, ensuring they are comfortable. Provide follow-up to ensure that they are happy, engaged, included and receiving good support.

Where people may be eligible for a personal health budget, assist them to explore this option as a way of providing funded, personalised support to be independent, including helping people to gain skills for meaningful employment, where appropriate. Support community groups and VCSE organisations to receive referrals.

Forge strong links with local VCSE organisations, community and neighbourhood to promote micro-commissioning or small grants if available.

Miscellaneous

Work as part of the team to seek feedback, continually improve the service and contribute to business planning.

Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner.

Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• GCSE or equivalent A to C in English and Maths
• Qualified to NVQ level 2 in Health and Social Care, or prior Social Prescribing Link Worker experience
• Team leadership experience

Desirable

• Qualified to NVQ Level 3
• Experienced in working in a Senior role leading teams
• Experienced in supporting patients, families and carers
• Experienced in liaising with community and voluntary service providers

Job Description and Person Specification details

Essential

• Values and Behaviours
• Demonstrable commitment to and focus on quality, promotes high standards to consistently improve patient outcomes
• Demonstrably involves patients and the public in their work
• Values diversity and difference, operates with integrity and openness
• Actively develops themselves and others
• Self-awareness in terms of emotional intelligence, biases and personal triggers with cultural sensitivity and awareness
• Evidence of continuing professional development
• A good level of knowledge and understanding of the primary care sector, the healthcare sector and social care provision
• Knowledge of the needs of vulnerable
• adults, safeguarding and the associated
• legal framework
• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities. A commitment to reducing health inequalities and proactively working to reach people from all communities.
• Evidence of having achieved personal and departmental objectives within the workplace.
• Knowledge of and ability to comply with policies and procedures including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety.
• Ability to deliver a person-centred service based on the what matters to me strengths based approach.
• The ability to build trust and rapport with people, identifying their needs and working with them to create their own personalised care and support plan.
• Ability to build a team of Link Workers across the partnership and from multiple sites. Ability to working as part of a team and helping to develop the Link Worker roles.
• Ability to give and receive feedback objectively and sensitively and a willingness to challenge constructively.
• Able to provide leadership and complete tasks in a timely manner
• Good knowledge of MS Office, including Excel & PowerPoint
• Excellent oral and written communication skills; able to engage effectively with a wide ranges of audiences
• Excellent interpersonal skills, able to build professional and personal credibility to gain the support of colleagues and external organisations.
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight and often changing deadlines
• Good use of available information sources to enable efficient and effective planning
• Ability to work under pressure and to tight and often changing deadlines
• Ability to work on own initiative and organise workload, allocating work as necessary
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of equality of opportunity and diversity taking into account and being aware of how individual actions contribute to and make a difference to the equality agenda
• Demonstrates knowledge and understanding of equality of opportunity and diversity
• An ability to maintain confidentiality and trust
• Used to working in a busy environment
• Adaptability, flexibility and ability to cope with uncertainty and change
• Commitment to continuing professional development.
• Ability to travel independently around Leicestershire and beyond
• A willingness to work from different offices / work remotely using portable IT equipment

Desirable

• Strategic thinking ability to anticipate and resolve problems before they arise
• Project Management Qualification
• Advanced ECDL/Microsoft Office Specialist (MOS) or similar
• Experience of working in General Practice
• Knowledge of public health issues
• Familiarity with information systems used in clinical practice
• Understanding of health and social care
• terminology
• Good knowledge of SystmOne and EMIS

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.

Employer details

Employer name

Charnwood GP Network

Address

The Old Infant School

Rosebery Street

Loughborough

Leicestershire

LE11 5DX

Employer's website

https://www.charnwoodgpnetwork.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)