Physical Activity Specialist

Full or Part Time Role. Competitive Salary

Exciting opportunities are available for experienced, enthusiastic, dynamic, and motivated Physical Activity Specialists with a passion and specialist interest in working with adults with Serious Mental Illness supporting their weight management. These roles will contribute to the development, provision, and coordination of a SMI Lifestyle Service for adults aged 18 and over, delivered across the county of Staffordshire.

This service offers a personalised care package with a focus on those with Serious mental illness who have low levels of activity levels and or are overweight. The service is provided through nutritional support, physical activity, and advice on maintaining a balanced and healthy diet.

You will be responsible for providing high quality, physical activity advice and support, including individualised exercise guidance, working within a multi-disciplinary community team. Providing expert physical activity advice, underpinned by a sound knowledge of the principles of behaviour change, you will support adults, across Staffordshire, to make and maintain health related behaviour changes to improve health and wellbeing.

We would like to hear from you if you are:

• Passionate about providing high quality, evidence-based services.
• Experienced in delivering high quality physical activity to adults over 18 with mental illness
• Experienced and confident in delivering one to one and group interventions, for adults with potential co-morbidities / complex needs.
• Passionate and experienced in empowering individuals and groups, to make and sustain behavioural changes.
• Must be CIMSPA registered.

Is this role for you?

For more information and to download the job description please visit our website and email your CV and supporting statement to

Closing date: 28th May 2024 Interviews: TBC Please note: Interviews will be held virtually via Teams.

We do reserve the right to close this advertisement early if we receive a high volume of suitable applications

JOB DESCRIPTION

MENTAL HEALTH Physical Activity Specialist

(Weight Management, physical activity)

MAIN PURPOSE

Our Physical Activity Specialists support our service users to improve their health and wellbeing through safely increasing their levels of activity through a thorough process of individualised and tailored care, from assessment and planning to implementing and evaluating progress.

This post holder will:

• In line with NICE guidance, be responsible and accountable for the delivery of a high quality, evidence-based Physical Activity, and prescribed exercise service for adults aged 18 and over with Serious Mental Illness to achieve the patient's goals for weight loss and healthy lifestyle improvement.
• Working as part of a multi-disciplinary team (MDT), provide specialist prescribed exercise and support and group) regarding the benefits of, and opportunities to reduce sedentary behaviour and increase habitual levels of physical activity, to ensure excellent patient healthcare and contractual outcomes.
• Support and contribute to the development of all community physical activity programmes from the least intensive and tailored (such as community walks) to the most intensive and tailored

SUMMARY OF RESPONSIBILITIES AND DUTIES

• To plan, organise, deliver, and evaluate the physical activity and prescribed exercise element of the Adult Lifestyle Service to adults over 18 years of age with mental illness.
• Provide comprehensive assessment and provision of individual physical activity advice and exercise prescription, together with on-going support to patients, in group and 1-2-1 settings implementing skills and knowledge of behaviour change theories.
• Ensure exercise prescription is continually monitored and progressed / regressed, to reflect individual needs.
• Support the physical activity development, delivery, evaluation, and quality assurance of the service and provide key physical activity expertise to the MDT and other colleagues within and across the wider Lifestyle services, ensuring excellent service delivery.
• Facilitate and empower patients to change behaviour and adopt positive lifestyle changes by providing health education and evidence-based advice regarding increasing habitual physical activity, helping patients to address barriers to change.
• To conduct on-going specialist physical activity support for those accessing the service including patient reviews and on-going case management, through 1-2-1 support where required, or support delivery of group sessions, for those who require this level of intervention.
• Accountable for ensuring programme delivery is monitored using validated tools to collect and analyse patient performance outcome measures and evaluation, to ensure that the contractual KPI's are achieved, and an excellent service is demonstrated; critical and rigorous implementation of all physical activity and functional capacity measures at key milestones across the services, ensuring excellent recording, monitoring, and reporting on patient outcomes.
• Utilising relevant systems and internal reporting procedures to ensure rigorous data collection, to evidence service efficacy through generation of outcome data, contributing to an internal qualitative and quantitative evidence base, and demonstrate best practice and value for money.
• Keep accurate records and written reports, ensuring patient personal information is recorded in accordance with Everyone Health's and Local Authority policies; Caldicott Guardian, Information Governance, GDPR, Data Protection and Data Sharing compliance.
• Work with the Service Manager, National Physical Activity Lead and Clinical Governance manager to achieve continual service improvement and client/patient-centred services in accordance with participant feedback, NICE guidance, national and local recommendations, professional competences and SLM policies and procedures, ensuring the service is delivered in line with CQC and HSCIC's regulations.
• Be compliant with all relevant policies, procedures, and guidelines; including the appropriate code(s) of conduct associated with this post; maintain awareness of safeguarding issues, report and acting on concerns in accordance with Everyone Health and Local Authority policies and procedures.
• Ensure the safety of all patients by undertaking: risk assessments, health and safety checks, equipment checks etc., as directed by the Service Manager and contract safety co-ordinator.Respond to any relevant clinical / colleague issues / incidences to manage a mitigate risk and maintain best practice.
• Work as a cohesive member of the Lifestyle services' workforce, through regular communication and liaise with community partners and referrers to ensure the successful of the service.
• To be responsible and accountable for achievement of relevant contractual targets including referrals, uptake, completion percentage targets and effective outcome measures, through delivery of high standard care.
• Respect colleague's professional roles and scope of practice, ensuring a supportive and proactive member of the multi-disciplinary team.
• Take responsibility for own CPD and participate in Everyone Health's induction, training and continual professional development as required; recognise and work within own competence and professional code of conduct as regulated by professional body.
• Evaluate patients' response to health care provision and the effectiveness of care.
• Ensure that commitment to equality and diversity is reflected at all stages of project planning, delivery, and evaluation, in line with agreed service standards.
• Support in administrative duties related to the patients where necessary, for example letters to referrers, follow up phone calls, motivational text messages as required.
• Prioritise, organise, and manage own workload in a manner that maintains and promotes high quality.
  PERSON SPECIFICATION SKILLS & ABILITIES
• Ability to direct and co-ordinate programmes of care working autonomously and collaboratively.
• Ability to produce individual and detailed exercise programmes, considering special adaptations required to accommodate an overweight, obese patient for appropriate physical activity / exercise prescription.
• Ability to translate physical activity and exercise information into a format that is appropriate and understandable for patients to support compliance with increased levels of physical activity and reduced sedentary behaviour, for habitual behaviour change.
• A commitment to continuous service improvement with expert insight into patients' needs, so that all patients receive high quality care.
• Passionate about putting patients first and delivering a high-quality service, emotionally sensitive and empathetic to members of the public who wish to improve their health.
• Proven ability to relate, motivate and confidently engage individuals in activities and discussion as part of a group and in a 1-2-1 situations.
• Ability to work independently and manage own workload; able to work effectively and supportively as an MDT member.
• Sound interpersonal skills with proven ability to work effectively with all levels of colleagues, including effective partnerships with other agencies and service providers.
• Evidence of experience in embracing and implementing change to provide high quality health outcomes.
• Good presentation of self: enthusiastic, innovative, and flexible.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills to effectively communicate with a wide range of individuals including participants, colleagues, and external partners.
• Proven planning, organisational and evaluation skills.
• Ability to organise, monitor and check work to ensure no element of a task is left unfinished.
• Ability to use generic software packages.
  KNOWLEDGE
• Sound knowledge of prescribing exercise and advising on physical activity to adults over the age of 18 years with Serious mental illness specifically those who need support with weight management.
• Sound knowledge of the complex care of the obese and morbidly obese patient.
• Knowledge of specific physical activity and exercise requirements for delivering appropriate weight management programmes for adults over 18 years of age with Serious mental illness
• Knowledge of behavioural, emotional development issues.
• Awareness of the benefits of undertaking strength and balance training to prevent falls.
• Knowledge of weight management, nutrition, and physical activity in relation to health improvement.
• Knowledge of psychological and behaviour change theoretical techniques in relation to supporting people to make positive lifestyle changes.
• Knowledge of NICE guidance relating to the treatment of obesity and relating to falls in older people.
• Knowledge and understanding of current GDPR regulations and the Patient Confidentiality and Data Protection Acts.
  EXPERIENCE
• Minimum of two years' mental health experience working in adult weight management programmes across a range of service settings, including community, primary care and in patient settings.
• Experience of working with adults over 18 years of age in a 1-2-1 and group environment, to support positive lifestyle change.
• Experience of delivering and prescribing exercise to those with co-morbidities and / or complex needs.
• Experience of taking accurate physical measures and contributing to helping individuals meet physical activity/exercise targets.
• Experience of working effectively as part of an MDT / team.
• Experience of working to time schedules.
• Evidence of experience in embracing and implementing change to provide high quality health outcomes.
• Experience of working to challenging performance targets and achieving excellent outcomes.
  QUALIFICATIONS
• Degree or Diploma in relevant subject area, or equivalent knowledge and experience gained through working in a specialised physical activity role working with adults with mental illness.
• Desirable:Chair Based Exercise qualification
• Required:must be registered with CIMSPA
  SPECIAL CONDITIONS
• Highly motivated self-starter with resilience, determination, and the ability to see jobs through to completion.
• Role incorporates evening / weekend working, with variable levels of travel across Staffordshire, working in a variety of settings including home visits, outdoor and community centres.
• Full UK licence with access to a car (with business purposed insurance) for work.
• Evidence of a personal commitment to continuing professional development and to maintaining an up-to-date professional knowledge supporting the development of business within the company.
• This post involves working with vulnerable adults and as such the post holder will be required to apply for a disclosure of criminal records at an enhanced level (DBS).