Social Prescriber

**Social Prescriber Job Description**

**Contract**:This is a fixed term contract to 31/3/2024, with the opportunity to change to a permanent position on 1/4/2024

**Location**: Any of the 4 practices in Eastleigh Health PCN

**Role Summary**

Eastleigh Health Primary Care Network (PCN) comprises four GP practices and serves a patient population of around 33,000. The Social Prescriber will be part of the PCN team headed by the Clinical Director and PCN Manager, and consisting of a growing number of PCN staff including Mental Health Workers, Social Prescribers, Care Coordinators, Health and Wellbeing Coaches, Clinical Pharmacists, and First Contact MSKs.

The Social Prescriber will work with GPs and other primary care professionals within the PCN to identify and manage a caseload of patients. The Social Prescriber will provide co-produced personalised support plans to enable patient to improve their health and wellbeing, to live more independently and to ensure they are able to ¬cess resources within their local communities. The approach will be person-centred, with a focus on strengthening both community and personal resilience. The Social Prescriber will develop relationships with key statutory, voluntary and community organisations to raise awareness of social prescribing.

The role will require an ability to organise and prioritise your own workload, therefore you should be comfortable working independently and as a committed member of a multi-disciplinary team.

This role is an essential part of our developing PCN, working to provide an enhanced care experience to our patients.

**Key Responsibilities**
- To take referrals from agencies and individuals across the GP practices within the primary care network.
- To meet people on a one-to-one basis either in the practice, at a home visit, or in nursing or residential homes, to understand their priorities and how these can be helped by social prescribing.
- To work with the person to produce individual support plans to reflect their health and wellbeing needs - based on their priorities, interests, values, cultural and religious/faith needs.
- Develop trusting relationships with patients whilst focusing on ‘what matters to them’.
- To identify and signpost to groups, activities and services which could help them to improve their own health and wellbeing.
- Where appropriate, to introduce people to community groups and statutory services, ensuring they feel valued and respected. To follow up to ensure they feel they are able to engage and feel included and supported.
- To ensure the patient’s progress is regularly reviewed and to agree appropriate actions towards the achievement of goals.
- Where people may be eligible for a personal health budget, to help them explore this option as a way of providing funded, personalised support.
- To manage and prioritise the caseload in accordance with the needs, priorities, and any urgent support required by individuals.
- To seek advice and support from the GP supervisor in relation to concerns around the patient’s mental health, domestic violence or abuse.
- To forge links with a wide range of statutory, voluntary sector and neighbourhood groups to understand the existing resources and assets which are available within the local community.
- To develop supportive relationships with local statutory, voluntary sector, community and neighbourhood groups in order to make timely, appropriate and supported referrals for people.
- To work with commissioners and local partners to identify unmet needs within the community and gaps in community provision.
- To recruit and develop a team of volunteers to provide initial support for people to access new groups within community settings.
- To encourage people, their families and carers to provide peer support and to encourage the setting up of new community groups.
- To encourage people to explore volunteering opportunities within the local community.
- To work with the GP practices within the network to ensure social prescribing referral codes are inputted into the clinical system (EMIS), adhering to data protection legislation and data sharing agreements with the Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG).
- To encourage people, their families and carers to provide feedback and to share their stories about the impact of social prescribing on their lives and to develop effective ways of recording this information.
- To be responsible for the recruitment, induction and supervision of volunteers to support the social prescribing service.
- To attend supervision meetings with the GP Clinical Supervisor as appropriate and to identify personal and professional development needs.
- To work as part of the healthcare team across the Primary Care Network to seek feedback and continually improve the service.
- To contribute to the development of policies and plans relating to equality, diversity and health inequalities.
- To attend any meetings which are relevant to the development of th