Youth Worker

Fixed-Term Contract - 12 Months

We would like to recruit a dynamic youth worker to our Paediatric Psychological Medicine team team as part of an exciting pilot project to support young people with Diabetes and Respiratory disorders.

The job involves working with children, adolescents and young adults with complex medical and surgical needs, in hospital based settings, at Addenbrooke’s Hospital. The successful applicant will assess and delivery care involving the patient, parents and family systems where there are complex social needs.

The intervention level ranges from the specialist tertiary multidisciplinary team level and associated paediatric ward nursing teams to community paediatric teams, social care, education and primary health care.

Interventions routinely cross professional and Acute Health Trust and Community Mental Health Trust boundaries and sometimes involve Child Protection work. The job involves physical effort of the nature of sitting in a constrained position, it is sometimes highly distressing, dealing with such issues as chronic illness and family breakdown, and may deal with issues such as acute physical distress or illness, serious mental illness and safeguarding.

**Physical Effort**:

- Setting out the activities for young people.
- Accompanying and supporting young people to different settings in the absence of parent.
- Providing activity and stimulation in young people friendly settings e.g. Waiting room.

**Mental Effort**:

- Planning programmes of activity designed to meet each individual’s developmental milestones.
- Liaise with various agencies to develop relationships with the different centres (e.g. schools, youth centres, community groups).
- Using risk assessments within project work appropriately.

**Emotional Effort**:

- Dealing with the angry/aggressive patients.
- Encouraging peer support.
- Discussing and assessing psychosocial wellbeing with young people at every contact.

Cambridgeshire & Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust is a health & social care organisation dedicated to providing high quality care with compassion to improve the health & wellbeing of the people we care for, as well as supporting & empowering them to lead a fulfilling life.

Our clinical teams deliver many NHS services not only via inpatient and primary care setting but also with the community. These services include Children, Adult & Older Peoples mental & physical health, Forensic & Specialist mental health, Learning Disabilities, Primary Care & Liaison psychiatry, Substance misuse, Social care, Research & Development.

**Please see Job Description for a fuller list of duties**:
1. Working alongside the young people, use informal or formal assessment to establish the needs of this patient group.
2. Using these results, work closely with the healthcare team in establishing an appropriate response to support these young people throughout the service.
3. To provide and lead recreational facilities and youth work activities for young people who are patients at Addenbrooke’s Hospital.
4. To ensure that appropriate activity and recreational equipment is safe and appropriate for the age/developmental stage of each young person.
5. Encourage and supervise the interaction of young people with activities, with particular emphasis on group work and using motivational approaches, where appropriate.
6. Work with young people to prepare them for specific activities and treatment plans.