Social Prescribing Link Worker

Job summary Social prescribing empowers people to take control of their health and wellbeing through referral to non-medical 'link workers' who give time, focus on 'what matters to me'.
They take a holistic approach, connecting people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support.
Link workers support existing groups to be accessible and sustainable and work collaboratively with all local partners.Social prescribing can help to strengthen community resilience and personal resilience, and reduces health inequalities.
These roles help address the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor housing and physical inactivity.
Increasing peoples active involvement, supporting people with long-term conditions (including support for mental health), and those who are lonely or isolated can have a positive effect on wellbeing.
Main duties of the job This role is on hold for now pending a meeting with Mark and Mike about the posting of this job role About us PML is a successful not-for-profit, GP-led organisation providing various NHS community and primary care clinical services to patients across Oxfordshire and Northamptonshire.
We have evolved as a NHS healthcare provider since 2004 and in the last few years have grown significantly, now employing around 300 staff with a turnover of circa £16m.
PML holds GMS contracts, as well as being a GP Federation representing circa 50 GP practices covering approximately 650,000 patients.We welcome applicants from a diverse range of backgrounds and circumstances and people with protected characteristics under the Equality Act 2010 Job description Job responsibilities ReferralsBe 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 supportMeet 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.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 supportedthrough 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 persons 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 optionas a way of providing funded, personalised support to be independent, including helpingpeople to gain skills for meaningful employment, where appropriate.Support community groups and VCSE organisations to receive referralsForge strong links with local VCSE organisations, community and neighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks and building on whats already available to create a map or menu of community groups and assets.
Use these opportunities to promote micro-commissioning orsmall 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 vulnerableindividuals are safe and, where there are safeguardingconcerns, 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 GDPR.Work collectively with all local partners to ensure community groups are strong and sustainableWork with GPs, PCNs and wider Multi-Disciplinary teams as required.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, 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.Data CaptureWork sensitively with people, their families and carers to capture key information, enabling tracking of the impact of social prescribing on their health and wellbeing.Encourage people, their families and carers to provide feedback and to share their stories about the impact of social prescribing on their lives.Support referral agencies to provide appropriate information about the person they are referring.
use the case management system to track the persons progress.
Provide appropriate feedback to referral agencies about the people they referred.Work closely with GP practices within the PCN to ensure that social prescribing referral codes are inputted to EMIS/System One and that the persons use of the NHS can be tracked, adhering to data protection legislation and data sharing agreements with the clinical commissioning group (CCG).
Person Specification Personal Qualities Essential Ability to listen, empathise with people and provide person-centred support in a non-judgemental 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 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 Experience Essential Experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health/health improvement (including unpaid work) Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work) Experience of working with the VCSE sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations Knowledge of the personalised care approach Knowledge of community development approaches Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports Knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality 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 Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities Qualifications Essential NVQ level 3, Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards Demonstratable commitment to professional and personal development Desirable Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience