Job summary
Social Prescribing Link Workers give patients time to focus on what matters to them. They are responsible for connecting people within their communities to groups and statutory services that provide emotional and practical support.
Social Prescribing Link Workers will support and aid patients with varying needs, such as those living with long term conditions, those who have a low mood or are isolated, and/or those with complex social needs. The role of the link worker is to provide support to these patients to navigate their needs to improve their health, wellbeing and reduce feelings of isolation with the aim to support patients to integrate in their communities.
As part of the NHS Long-Term Plan to drive Universal Personalised Care, it is aimed to benefit 2.5 millions people by March 2024. Social Prescribing is a key component to this.
Main duties of the job
As a member of the PCN Personalised Care Team, the post holder will work alongside other Social Prescribing Link Workers, Health & Wellbeing Coaches and Care Coordinators within the PCN and wider business group to provide a service that focuses on What Matters To Me for each patients who requires this level of practical or emotional support. An interest in participating in the creation of new services or implementing new ideas, that will benefit local people, is essential.
You will work with patients to provide to support and empower them to take control of their own health and wellbeing. You will work in collaboration with health care professionals, local community groups, statutory groups, and voluntary services to help patients gain access to resources that will help them with debt, poor housing, physical inactivity, and befriending services. You will be a key contact for patients and will enable them to feel the support from their wider community. The post holder will need to have full understanding that each patient that they encounter will be unique, and their needs will require a dynamic approach.
The successful candidate will be require to have an innate ability to communicate effectively to provide support and empower patients to find their voice. Working across a scope of professionals, you will need to understand the importance of relaying information whilst maintaining confidentiality.
About us
LAKESIDE HEALTHCARE is changing the face of primary care provision in England. We are bold, adventurous, and ambitious and determined to thrive in uncertain times. We are the largest true partnership in the NHS and operate from various sites across the East Midlands. We serve the healthcare needs of over 170,000 patients across Northamptonshire, Lincolnshire, Peterborough & Cambridgeshire. Joining our team presents an opportunity to be part of a large organisation that is changing the way primary care is delivered today.
About the Practice/Department/Team
PCNs were introduced in July 2020, as part of the NHS Long Term Plan, to encourage more collaborative and joint up thinking working across GP surgeries with its local communities, providing additional services and programmes to support population health. Since inception, the scope and role of a Primary Care Network is ever evolving, with new initiatives and services being introduced frequently.
For more information on Primary Care Networks, please visit this link: https://www.england.nhs.uk/primary-care/primary-care-networks/
This role will be based within the South Peterborough PCN, spanning across the geography of New Queen Street, Old Fletton, Wansford and Yaxley surgeries. The PCN is forward thinking, led by an innovative Clinical Director.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Lakeside Healthcare are looking to employ Community Link Workers (Social Prescribing) to assist in the provision of care for patients within our Primary Care Network (PCN).
The PCNs vision is to work together to deliver the best possible outcomes for our patients and staff. You will work in close partnership with our member practice teams as well as health, statutory and voluntary groups to create effective help and support for those that need it whilst being a key point of contact to enable patients to be supported within their local community.
Empowering people to take control of their health and wellbeing through GP referral to non-medical Community Link Workers (CLWs) based in GP surgeries who give time, focus on what matters to me and take a holistic approach, connecting people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support. Community Link Workers work collaboratively with all local partners.
Social prescribing can help to strengthen community and personal resilience and reduces health inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor housing, and physical inactivity, by increasing peoples active involvement with their local communities. It particularly works for people with long-term conditions (including support for mental health), for people who are lonely or isolated, or have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.
Key Responsibilities
Liaise and engage with member practices to ensure Community Link Workers (SPLWs) are valued and effective members of the PCN team.
Establish and maintain effective liaison with stakeholders including health, voluntary, social, financial and education resources
Work in partnership with local voluntary and community organisation to build a comprehensive directory of local resource to design and support social prescribing
Ensure information on local voluntary and community resource is always up to date to enable effective and accurate signposting and linking of patients with services
Train and develop wider practice teams to improve SPLW referral suitability and effectiveness
Establish and maintain comprehensive data and evaluation systems
Produce quarterly reports in relation to service delivery and progress
Partake in audit as directed by the PCN Clinical Director
Take referrals from and make referrals to a wide range of appropriate agencies
Ensure the social prescribing function within the PCN is successful and delivers the required service in line with NSHE guidelines
Co-produce personalised support plans with individuals, their families and carers that help them take control of their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes
Take a holistic approach, based on the persons priorities and the wider determinants of health
When appropriate, refer patients back to other health professionals/agencies, if their requirements exceed the scope of a SPLW
Ensure all relevant groups and organisations maintain basic procedures that include the consideration of vulnerable individuals and safeguarding concerns
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 and support development of new groups and services where needed, and thereby influence the development of services that will benefit this target population and tackle health and neighbourhood inequalities
Work sensitively with people, their families and carers to capture key information, enable tracking of the impact of social prescribing on their health and wellbeing
Provide one-to-one consultations (mindful of the organisations lone working policy), giving patients time to tell their stories and focus on what matters to me
Work with the person, their families and carers and consider how they can all be supported through social prescribing
Work with other link workers to create a wider team understanding of the service that can be offered to patients and opportunities for further improvement of the offer and patient outcomes
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- NVQ Level 3, Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards.
- Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development.
Desirable
- Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience.
Experience
Essential
- Experience of working with the general public.
- Experience of working in a healthcare setting or in the leisure industry/public/voluntary sector.
- Experience of delivering lifestyle changes interventions.
Desirable
- Experience working within a SPLW role.
- Experience of working with vulnerable people.
- Experience of working as a health advisor/trainer.
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
Lakeside Healthcare Group
Address
Lakeside Healthcare
Landsdowne Road
Yaxley
Peterborough
PE7 3JL