Job responsibilities
Job Summary
To
work in collaboration with and support the Midwifery team centred around
Vulnerable pregnant women in an aim to reduce Health Inequalities.
Provide
personalised support to individuals and their families enabling them to take
control of their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health
outcomes.
Develop
trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on what matters to me.
Take a holistic approach, based on the persons priorities and the wider
determinants of health
Co-produce
a personalised support plan to improve health and wellbeing, introducing or
reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services
Work
in collaboration with the Senior Clinical Matron, Vulnerability Lead Midwives,
Team Lead Midwives and Midwives, to report and provide constructive feedback on
a regular basis, whilst identifying and disseminating learning from audits,
outcomes, practice and teaching sessions
Take
referrals from maternity services, working with multi-disciplinary teams,
including fire service, police, job centres, social care services, housing
associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE)
organisations (list not exhaustive).
The
role will require managing and prioritising your own caseload, in accordance
with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required by the individual It
is therefore vital that you have a strong awareness and understanding of when
it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health
professionals/agencies, when what the individuals needs is beyond the scope of
your role.
Draw
on and increase the strengths and capacities of local communities, enabling
local 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
It is
vital that you have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is
appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health
professionals/agencies, when what the person needs is beyond the scope of the
link worker role e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a
qualified practitioner.
Promoting social prescribing, its role in
self-management, and the wider determinants of health.
Be proactive in developing strong links with all local
maternity services to encourage referrals, recognising what they need to be
confident in the service to make appropriate referrals.
Provide maternity services with regular updates about
social prescribing, including training for staff and how to access information
to encourage appropriate referrals.
Seek regular feedback about the quality of service and
impact of social prescribing on referral agencies.
Meet people on a one-to-one basis, making 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-judgemental support, respecting diversity and
lifestyle choices. Work from a strength-based approach focusing on a persons
assets.
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 responsibilities.
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. Follow up to ensure they are happy, able to engage and received
good support.
Where needed support people to gain skills for
meaningful employment or access to education.
Work with commissioners and local partners to identify
unmet needs within the community and gaps in community provision.
Support local partners and commissioners to develop new
groups and services where needed.
Encourage people who have been connected to community
support through social prescribing to volunteer and give their time freely to
others, in order to build their skills and confidence, and strengthen community
resilience.
Develop a team of volunteers within your service to
provide buddying support for people, starting new groups and finding creative
community solutions to local issues.
Data
capture
Work sensitively with people, their families and carers to
capture key information, enabling tracking of the impact of social prescribing
on their health and wellbeing.
Encourage people, their families and carers to provide
feedback and to share their stories about the impact of social prescribing on
their lives.
Support maternity services to provide appropriate
information about the person they are referring. Use the case management system
to track the persons progress. Provide appropriate feedback to referral
agencies about the people they referred.
Follow step-down process to
encourage independence and long term goal achievement.
