Social Prescribing Link Worker

Job Summary To work in collaboration with and support the Midwifery team centred around Vulnerable pregnant women in an aim to reduce Health Inequalities. Provide personalised support to individuals and their families enabling them to take control of their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes. Develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on what matters to me. Take a holistic approach, based on the persons priorities and the wider determinants of health Co-produce a personalised support plan to improve health and wellbeing, introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services Work in collaboration with the Senior Clinical Matron, Vulnerability Lead Midwives, Team Lead Midwives and Midwives, to report and provide constructive feedback on a regular basis, whilst identifying and disseminating learning from audits, outcomes, practice and teaching sessions Take referrals from maternity services, working with multi-disciplinary teams, including fire service, police, job centres, social care services, housing associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations (list not exhaustive).
The role will require managing and prioritising your own caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required by the individual It is therefore vital that you 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 individuals needs is beyond the scope of your role. Draw on and increase the strengths and capacities of local communities, enabling local organisations and community groups to receive social prescribing referrals. Ensure they are supported, have basic safeguarding processes for vulnerable individuals and can provide opportunities for the person to develop friendships, a sense of belonging, and build knowledge, skills and confidence It is vital that you 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 e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.
Promoting social prescribing, its role in self-management, and the wider determinants of health. Be proactive in developing strong links with all local maternity services to encourage referrals, recognising what they need to be confident in the service to make appropriate referrals. Provide maternity services with regular updates about social prescribing, including training for 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.
Meet 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. Build trust with the person, providing non-judgemental support, respecting diversity and lifestyle choices. Work from a strength-based approach focusing on a persons assets.
Be a friendly source of information about wellbeing and prevention approaches. Help people identify the wider issues that impact on their health and wellbeing, such as debt, poor housing, being unemployed, loneliness and caring responsibilities. 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 and received good support. Where needed support people to gain skills for meaningful employment or access to education. Work with commissioners and local partners to identify unmet needs within the community and gaps in community provision.
Support local partners and commissioners to develop new groups and services where needed. 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. Data capture Work sensitively with people, their families and carers to capture key information, enabling tracking of the impact of social prescribing on their health and wellbeing.
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