Peer Support Worker

The role of Perinatal Peer Support Worker (Perinatal PSW) has been developed specifically for people who have lived experience of recovery from perinatal mental health challenges. In the context of CNWL’s Mother and Baby Unit, Coombe Wood, postholders will have experienced recovery from perinatal mental health challenges and have utilised a Mother and Baby Unit as part of their journey to recovery.
Through sharing wisdom from their own experiences, Perinatal Peer Support Workers inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible in others.
Coombe Wood is a highly regarded specialist perinatal service providing inpatient support for pregnant (from 32 weeks) & postnatal women experiencing mental health /emotional difficulties. Coombe Wood work closely and collaboratively with community specialist mental health teams, maternity, health visitors and social services
Using your own lived experience as an inpatient on a Mother and Baby Unit in their Perinatal Period, recovery principles and socially inclusive practice. The post-holder will support service users in their personal recovery journeys. This means providing peer support for mum's who experience similar mental health and social needs during the perinatal period. They will foster a relationship of mutuality and information sharing, to promote choice, self-determination, opportunities and hope.
The successful applicant may have contact with patients or service users. As an NHS Trust we strongly encourage and support vaccination as this remains the best way to protect yourself, your family, your colleagues and of course patients and service users when working on our healthcare settings.
Central and North West London NHS Trust expects all Peer Support Workers to act in a way which shows you understand our core values and are willing to put them into practice with service users, their friends, family and carers and also other staff members.
As a Peer Support Worker we expect you to show COMPASSION, contribute to a caring and kind environment and recognise that what you do and say helps can make the lives of others better
We expect you to RESPECT everyone and acknowledge and welcome people’s differences rather than ignore them or see them as problematic.
We expect you to EMPOWER others and continually try to provide information, resources and support to help others make their own decisions and meet their own needs.
We expect you to work in PARTNERSHIP and behave in a way that shows that you recognise that commissioners and users of our services are the people who generate and pay for our work.
They will raise awareness about Trust and local resources and opportunities that may assist people in maintaining their recovery. They will encourage and support service users to use resources provided whilst on the unit, as well as community and children’s resources that are available to them, and support the Mother and Baby Unit with developing links with these resources. They will act as an advocate for recovery within the team and an ambassador for recovery for the Trust and with partner agencies.
The post-holder will be required to work as part of a multidisciplinary team in inpatient settings with some shift work hours outside of 9am - 5pm, to best support mothers on the unit.
The role of Perinatal Peer Support Worker (Perinatal PSW) has been developed specifically for people who have lived experience of recovery from perinatal mental health challenges. In the context of CNWL’s Mother and Baby Unit, Coombe Wood, postholder's will have experienced recovery from perinatal mental health challenges and utilised the support of a Mother and Baby Unit in relation to this. Through sharing wisdom from their own experiences, Perinatal Peer Support Workers inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible in others.
Through sharing the wisdom of own lived experience, the Perinatal Peer Support Worker will inspire hope and belief that recovery is possible in others, taking a lead role in embedding recovery values within the service settings in which they work, alongside other Trust recovery champions