Social Prescribing Link Worker

Job description

Job responsibilities

MAIN DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

• Working under the guidance of the referring GP, take referrals from a wide range of agencies, including PCNs, GP practices and multi-disciplinary teams as well as the wider system and occasionally via self-referral.
• Provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to empower people to take control of their lives, support low level mental health and promote self-care. Encourage people to live independently and improve their health access and outcomes, as a key member of the PCN multi-disciplinary team.
• Engage and develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on what matters to me and taking a holistic approach, based on the persons priorities and the wider determinants of health.
• Co-produce a simple personalised care and support plan to improve health and wellbeing, including introducing or reconnecting people to appropriate community groups and statutory services.
• Manage and prioritise own caseload in accordance with the needs and priorities of individuals on the caseload.
• Maintain a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies.
• Work with a diverse range of people and their communities, to draw on and increase the strengths and capacity of local community groups, enabling local VCSE organisations to receive social prescribing referrals.
• Work collaboratively with all local partners to contribute towards supporting the local VCSE organisations and community groups to become sustainable.
• Ensure that community assets are nurtured, through sharing intelligence regarding any gaps or problems identified in local provision with commissioners and local authorities.
• Educate non-clinical and clinical staff within their PCN multi-disciplinary teams on what services are available within the community and how to access them.

Role Specific Key Tasks

Education

• Promote all aspects of social prescribing across the PCN, Health & Social Care professionals and the wider system, including its role in self-management, addressing health inequalities and the wider determinants of health.
• Work in partnership with all local agencies to raise awareness of social prescribing and how partnership working can reduce pressure on statutory services, improve health access and outcomes and enable a holistic approach to care.
• Provide referral agencies with regular updates about social prescribing, including training for their staff and how to access information to encourage appropriate referrals.
• Promote low level mental health guidance, signpost to self-help and the most appropriate service.

Referrals

• Receive and action referrals for social prescriptions via agreed systems.
• Manage and prioritise referrals appropriately.
• Redirect referrals, using the agreed protocols, to more appropriate Social Prescribing Link Workers or agencies.
• Be proactive in developing strong links with all local agencies to encourage referrals.
• Support referral agencies to provide appropriate information about the person they are referring.
• Provide appropriate feedback to referral agencies about the people they referred.
• Work closely within the MDT and with GP practices within the PCN to ensure that the social prescribing referral codes are inputted into clinical systems.
• Adhere to data protection legislation and data sharing agreements.

Personalised Support

• Listen to and talk with people and their families about what matters to me by giving people time to tell their stories.
• Be proactive in encouraging equality and inclusion, through connecting with diverse local communities, particularly those communities that statutory agencies may find hard to reach.
• Meet people on a one-to-one basis, making home visits where appropriate within SGPA policies and procedures.
• Build trust and respect with the person, providing non-judgemental and non-discriminatory support, respecting diversity and lifestyle choices. Work from a strength-based approach focusing on a persons assets.
• Be a friendly and engaging source of information about health, 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 to address the persons health and wellbeing needs, based on the persons priorities, interests, values, cultural and religious/faith needs and motivations.
• Identify what individuals 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 culturally appropriate community groups, activities and statutory services, ensuring they are comfortable, feel valued and respected. Follow up to ensure they are happy, able to engage, included and receiving good support.
• Where people may be eligible for a personal health budget, help 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.

Community Asset Development

• Provide a regular confidence survey to community groups receiving referrals, to ensure that they are strong, sustained and have the support they need to be part of social prescribing.
• Support community groups and VCSE organisations to receive referrals.
• Forge strong links with a wide range of local VCSE organisations, community and neighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks and building on whats already available to create a menu of diverse community groups and assets, who promote diversity and inclusion.
• Develop supportive relationships with local VCSE organisations, culturally appropriate community groups and statutory services, to make timely, appropriate and supported referrals for the person being introduced.
• Work collectively with all local partners to ensure community groups are strong and sustainable.
• Work with commissioners and local partners to identify unmet diverse needs within the community and gaps in community provision.
• Encourage people who have been connected to community support through social prescribing to volunteer and give their time freely to others, building their skills and confidence and strengthening 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.
• Encourage people, their families and carers to provide peer support and to do things together, such as setting up new community groups or volunteering.

Collaborative working

• As part of the PCN multi-disciplinary team, build close working relationships with staff in GP practices within the local PCN, attending relevant MDT meetings, giving information and feedback on social prescribing.
• Seek advice and support from the GP teams and/or identified individual(s) to discuss related concerns (e.g. abuse, domestic violence and support with mental health), referring the patient back to the GP or other suitable health professional if required.
• Work with established VCSE organisations and existing Social Prescribing Link Workers to provide a robust and consistent approach to our Sunderland people.
• Explore ways of working and share good practice and learning across all social prescribing roles within the system.

Data Collection

• Encourage people, their families and carers to provide feedback and to share their stories about the impact of social prescribing on their lives.

Professional Development

• Work with the GP teams and/or line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the roles and responsibilities.
• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, equality, diversity and inclusion training and health and safety.
• Work with the GP teams to access regular clinical supervision, where appropriate, to enable you to deal effectively with the difficult issues that people present.

Service Development

• Seek regular feedback about the quality of the service and impact of social prescribing on referral agencies.
• Work as part of the healthcare team to seek feedback, continually improve the service and contribute to business planning.
• Contribute to the development of policies and plans relating to equality, diversity and health inequalities.

Leadership

• Be a system leader in the development, delivery and education of social prescribing, ensuring involvement where value can be added.
• Provide role coaching and mentoring for all staff where appropriate.

Other

• 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

Motivation and Skills

Essential

• Ability to identify risk to self and others, Identifying and reporting safeguarding incidents
• Outstanding organisational skills
• Work effectively and collaboratively as part of a team but also autonomously.
• High level and adaptable communication skills across a range of individuals of all ages, backgrounds and cultures with varying social and emotional needs
• Able to respond to challenges with resilience and manage situations calmly and professionally.
• Promote and maintain good working relationships with a variety of external partners.
• Experience of accurately collecting, recording information and data whilst maintaining confidentiality
• Work on own initiative but within constraints of the role
• Provide motivational coaching with the ability to inspire trust and confidence
• Able to work under pressure and emotionally resilient

Desirable

• Understanding the impact of economic and environmental factors on people's health and wellbeing
• Mental Health First Aid

Qualifications

Essential

• Demonstrable commitment to personal and professional development
• Proficient in the use of Microsoft Office applications.
• Qualification or training in motivational coaching, or equivalent experience

Desirable

• PCI Accredited
• qualification in Social Prescribing

Experience

Essential

• Ability to competently use technology and IT systems including word processing, email and the internet to create simple personalised plans with individuals
• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a paid or unpaid capacity
• Experience of working in a community setting
• Experience of handling confidential information.
• Experience of collecting and recording information and data
• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a paid or unpaid capacity
• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers with low level mental health issues
• Experience of working in a community setting
• Ability to identify risk to self and others, Identifying and reporting safeguarding incidents

Desirable

• Experience of working in or with voluntary organisations or groups in a paid or unpaid capacity
• Experience of working collaboratively with different organisations, building trust, confidence and partnerships
• Extensive knowledge of local services within a Sunderland locality through either living or working within one of the wider Sunderland settings.
• Experience of working with GPs and/or other Health or Social Care providers or knowledge of how systems work Experience of working collaboratively with different organisations, building trust, confidence and partnerships

Other

Essential

• Understands the principles of equality and diversity.
• A firm commitment to CPD
• Full UK driving licence with use of own car
• Ability to travel across Sunderland if required
• Meet DBS standards and Criminal Record checks

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

Sunderland GP Alliance

Address

North East BIC

Wearfield

Sunderland

Tyne and Wear

SR5 2TA

Employer's website

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