Homeless Health Team Housing Worker

The KHP Homeless Health team works across the Kings Health Partner inpatient and Accident Emergency Services to provide advocacy, support and quality discharge interventions for patients experiencing homelessness who are attending or admitted to any of the Kings Health Partner hospitals. The team currently operates within the St. Thomas’, Guys, Kings, Maudsley and Lambeth hospitals. Guys and St. Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust is the host Trust for the team.

The KHP Homeless Health team works to ensure that patients experiencing homelessness have discharges from hospital that are as safe as possible and effective in a way that prevents re-admissions and improves long term health outcomes. The team connects patients with primary care services, mental health services and addictions support, medication concordance support, screening and vaccination services.

We are looking for a highly motivated individual with strong commitment to supporting homeless patients in a hospital setting. The key aim will be to ensure safe, appropriate, effective and sustainable discharge that patient’s needs. The role includes rotation to work across both hospital sites.

The post holder will work in partnership with other members of their own multi-disciplinary team, as well as other hospital teams and outside agencies in order to achieve successful discharges. The post holder will work both on the wards, and in A&E, and may need to outreach into the community to support patients post discharge.

An enhanced DBS check is required for this post.

Job purpose
- Deliver individualised advice to patients, liaising with the necessary support agencies/authorities to achieve the best possible outcome on discharge
- Act in an advocacy role both within the clinical setting and with external agencies using the expertise of peers in a multidisciplinary team as appropriate.
- Ensure patient case notes on enoting and Emis systems are updated in a timely manner
- Carry out detailed housing assessments to help prove a patient’s homelessness, eligibility, priority for housing and local connection

Guy’s and St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust comprises five of the UK’s best known hospitals - Guy’s, St Thomas’, Evelina London Children’s Hospital, Royal Brompton and Harefield - as well as community services in Lambeth and Southwark, all with a long history of high quality care, clinical excellence, research and innovation.

We are among the UK’s busiest, most successful foundation trusts. We
provide specialist care for patients including heart and lung, cancer and renal services as well as a full range of local hospital and community services for people in Lambeth and Southwark.

We have a long tradition of clinical and scientific achievement and - as part of King’s Health Partners - we are one of England’s eight academic health sciences centres, bringing together world-class clinical services, teaching and research. We have one of the National Institute for Health Research’s biomedical research centres, established with King’s College London in 2007, as well as dedicated clinical research facilities.

We have around 22,700 staff, making us one of the largest NHS Trusts in the country and one of the biggest employers locally. We aim to reflect the diversity of the communities we serve and continue to develop new and existing partnerships with local people, patients, neighbouring NHS
organisations, local authorities and charitable bodies and GPs.

The post holder will ensure safe, appropriate, effective and sustainable discharges that meet the needs of homeless patients. The post holder will work in partnership with members of their own multi-disciplinary as well as other hospital teams and outside agencies in order to achieve successful discharges. The post holder will work both on various wards, in Accident and Emergency (A&E) and may need to outreach into the community to support patients post discharge for follow ups.

The post holder will be expected to work Monday to Friday 09.00-17.00, with one weekend per month.

The post holder will work as part of a multidisciplinary team with other housing workers, an occupational therapist, nurse and social worker. The post holder will provide expert housing advice to other members of the team and wider hospital. The post holder will also be expected to contribute to teaching/awareness sessions delivered to a variety of staff throughout the hospitals.

The post holder will undertake detailed housing assessments that will help prove a patient’s homelessness, eligibility, priority for housing and established local connection. The post holder will escort patients to Housing Options departments to provide advocacy as necessary. The post holder will build relationships and liaise with Local Authorities Housing departments to achieve the best results for the patients.
The post holder will be engaged in significant partnership working aimed at improving hospital discharge for individu