Job description

Job responsibilities

Up to Band 5

Key responsibilities

• Take referrals from a wide range of agencies, working with GP practices within primary care networks, 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).
• Provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers 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 person’s 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. The role will require managing and prioritising your own caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required by individuals
• on the caseload. 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.
• Draw on and increase the strengths and capacities of local communities, enabling 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.

Key Tasks Referrals

• Promoting social prescribing, its role in self-management, and the wider determinants of health.
• Build relationships with key staff in GP practices within the local Primary Care Network (PCN), attending relevant meetings, becoming part of the wider network team, giving information and feedback on social prescribing.
• Be proactive in developing strong links with all local agencies to encourage referrals, recognising what they need to be confident in the service to make appropriate referrals.
• 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 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.
• Seek regular feedback about the quality of service and impact of social prescribing on referral agencies.
• Be proactive in encouraging self-referrals and connecting with all local communities, particularly those communities that statutory agencies may find hard to reach.

Provide personalised support

• 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 person’s 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.
• Work with the person, their families and carers and consider how they can all be supported through social prescribing.
• 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 person’s 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, 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.

Support community groups and VCSE organisations to receive referrals

• Forge strong links with local VCSE organisations, community and neighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks and building on what’s already available to create a map or menu of community groups and assets. Use these opportunities to promote micro-commissioning or small grants if available.
• Develop supportive relationships with local VCSE organisations, community groups and statutory services, to make timely, appropriate and supported referrals for the person being introduced.
• Ensure that local community groups and VCSE organisations being referred to have basic procedures in place for ensuring that vulnerable individuals are safe and, where there are safeguarding concerns, work with all partners to deal appropriately with issues. Where such policies and procedures are not in place, support groups to work towards this standard before referrals are made to them.
• Check that community groups and VCSE organisations meet in insured premises and that health and safety requirements are in place. Where such policies and procedures are not in place, support groups to work towards this standard before referrals are made to them.
• Support local groups to act in accordance with information governance policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with the Data Protection Act.

Work collectively with all local partners to ensure community groups are strong and sustainable

• 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, through small grants for community groups, micro-commissioning and development support.
• 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.
• Encourage people, their families and carers to provide peer support and to do things together, such as setting up new community groups or volunteering.
• 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.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

• Ability to listen, empathise with people and provide person- centered support in a non-judgmental way.
• Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity.
• Commitment to reducing health inequalities and proactively working to reach people from all communities.
• Able to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence, motivating others to reach their potential.
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders.
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals.
• 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.
• Able to work from an asset based approach, building on existing community and personal assets.
• Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks.
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues.
• Commitment to collaborative working with all local agencies (including VCSE organisations and community groups). Able to work with others to reduce hierarchies and find creative solutions to community issues.
• Demonstrates personal accountability, emotional resilience and works well under pressure.
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines.
• High level of written and oral communication skills.
• Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative.
• Understanding of the needs of small volunteer-led community groups and ability to support their development.
• Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety.

Desirable

• Experience of supporting people with their mental health, either in a paid, unpaid or informal capacity.
• Experience of data collection and providing monitoring information to assess the impact of services.
• Knowledge of the personalised care approach.
• Knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ Level 3 in adult care - advanced level
• or equivalent qualifications or working
• towards
• Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal
• development

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

Star Lane Medical Centre

Address

121 Star Lane

Canning Town

Newham

E16 4QH