Community Health

**Community Health and Wellbeing Worker Job Description**

**Job Summary**

As a community health and wellbeing worker (CHWW) you will understand, and be working in, your local community. The outreach work of a CHWW is essential in helping to address the rising inequities in health and social care and in identifying unmet need in your community.

The role will require the building of long-term trusted relationships with a range of householders (pre-identified), regardless of their age. The role will develop consistent relationships with these households with the aim of improving the health and wellbeing of communities they serve in.

The CHWW will provide a bridging role between community and health and care whilst also facilitating improving access to services that meet the needs of the local community.

This is an exciting opportunity to shape a new job role new to Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly.

**Main Duties and Responsibilities**

Monthly household visits (or more frequent if the household need requires it) within a defined geographical area (defined as a micro area). The visit entails building relationships and providing relevant knowledge to individual householders as identified. This is a proactive and integrated approach.

**Relationships**
- Develop meaningful relationships within the local community and wider statutory support services
- Regular contact with the local GP practices including the social prescribing team
- Build close relationships with the CHWWs from the other sites across the integrated care area via monthly training sessions

**Support**
- Offer informal counselling and empathetic listening to each householder
- Adopt low level health coaching and motivational interviewing approaches including goal setting as necessary

**Navigational**
- Support households to navigate the community and statutory services appropriate to their needs
- Signpost and refer into to existing services as necessary

**Educational**
- Provide lifestyle advice such as smoking cessation, alcohol consumption, healthy diet, and physical exercise as necessary
- Provide basic health education around e.g. immunisation and screening

**Clinical awareness**
- Being able to identify early signs and symptoms of chronic disease and any immediate health needs, liaising with the local GP (General Practice) practice as necessary
- As directed by the local GP practice, prompt householders with regards immunisation, health screening appointments
- Play an active role in being able to identify the reasons for ill health and health seeking behaviour within a household and sharing this information with your local multi-disciplinary team (with householder consent)

**Research**
- Complete notes on each household visit on a template
- Record activity into the relevant computer database
- Contribute your work and findings to the local multidisciplinary team

**Community engagement**
- Identify and advocate for the needs of individuals and the community by sharing this information with your multi-disciplinary team
- Identify local community assets and promote a community-based prevention working closely with the local social prescribing team

**Additional requirements in keeping with provided mandatory training**

**Professionalism**: The post holder must provide high quality interactions irrespective of race, gender, and ethnicity of the community member, whilst honouring the values of choice, inclusion, advocacy, and ethical practice.

**Confidentiality**: The post holder must maintain confidentiality, security, and integrity of information relating to people during the course of the duty.

**Data protection**: The post holder must be aware of their obligations in respect of the Data Protection Act 2018:
**Safety**: The post holder must be aware of their role in safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and adults. They must also be aware of their responsibility in respect of lone working policies.

**Personal specification**

**Qualifications**

The knowledge and skills listed below may be acquired through various types of education, training, or experience.

**Minimum requirements**:
Basic computer skills

**Desirable additional requirements**
- Community based experience providing advocacy and support which has included public contact
- Completion of a higher education certificate or diploma which has included public contact through internship, volunteer experience, or other experience

**Knowledge, skills and qualities**
- Positivity and enthusiasm for improving the local community (essential)
- Relationship building (essential)
- Knowledge of local community agencies, services, and resources (essential)
- Knowledge of local community demographics and culture (essential)
- Strong interpersonal and communication skills (essential)
- Social perceptiveness and observational skills (essential)
- Good creative thinking (essential)
- The ability to work effectively with a wide range of teams in a diverse community (e