Social Prescribing Link Worker

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a self-motivatedindividual to join our Social Prescribing Team. This role will be primarily basedat our Buttershaw surgery but will require travel to our other sites.

We are a caring and committed team whose aim is to improvethe health of our community by delivering high quality patient care, whilstmaintaining a fulfilling working environments for all and are dedicated tomaintaining our investors in people accreditation.

At the Ridge, we have a well ingrained way of working andstrong culture of teamwork to make sure that we deliver the very best care forour patients at all times. This is evident in the way in which everyone worksand acts daily and the way we run the practice and make decisions about theservices we offer and run now and into the future.

The practice is committed to sustainable working and placeshigh regard to our local and wider environment. We are participating in theGreen Impact Scheme and are actively looking at ways to reduce our carbonfootprint.

As a disability confident employer, we have a commitment to

Ensure our recruitment process is inclusive/accessible

Communicating/promoting vacancies

Offering an interview to disabled people

Anticipating and providing reasonable adjustments asrequired

Supporting existing employees who acquires a disability orlong-term health condition, enabling them to stay in work

Main duties of the job

1. Take referrals from a wide range of care and communityservices and managing caseload

2. Undertake holistic assessments and develop tailoredPersonal Action Plans with individuals as appropriate, to identifying supportneeds to ensure maximum engagement in improving their confidence, self-esteem,health and well-being in their environments whilst recognising the boundariesof the link worker role

3. Commitment to reducing health inequalities andproactively working to reach people from all communities

4. Develop and encourage relationships within the localcommunities and community service providers to ensure a great services toforward referrals from the social prescribing team

5. Work together with all local partners to collectivelyensure that local VCSE organisations and community groups are sustainable andthat community assets are nurtured

6. Advocate for the Social Prescribing project across arange of stakeholders including medical and community groups

7. Be flexible, person-centred and embrace changingapproaches to delivery at all times, in order to ensure that the Project is fullyresponsive to and accommodating of the needs, wishes and aspirations of thepeople who use it

8. Undertake additional duties as requested by the SeniorSocial Prescriber and or Community Engagement Social Prescribing Link Worker.The above list of main tasks in this job description should, therefore, not beregarded as exclusive or exhaustive.

About us

Whats in it for you?

Excellent annual leave entitlement which grows with service(NHS continuous service is recognised).

Opportunity to join the NHS pension scheme.

Access to employee assistance programme 24/7 365 days ayear.

NHS staff discounts

Cycle to work scheme

Access to an onsite mental health first aider

Onsite gym equipment available for staff use

Onsite parking

Job description

Job responsibilities

Social prescribing empowers people to take control of theirhealth and wellbeing through referral to non-medical link & well beingworkers who give time, focus on what matters to me and take a holisticapproach, connecting people to community groups and statutory services forpractical and emotional support. Link & Well Being Worker will supportexisting groups to be accessible and sustainable and help people to start newcommunity groups, working collaboratively with all local partners.

Social prescribing can help to strengthen communityresilience and personal resilience and reduces health inequalities byaddressing the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor housing andphysical inactivity, by increasing peoples active involvement with their localcommunities. It particularly works for people with long-term conditions(including support for mental health), for people who are lonely or isolated,or have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.

The Social Prescribing Team work across a diverse range ofcommunity groups including Elderly, Youth and those with a Learning Disability.

Salary: Dependent on Skills and Experience

Reporting line: The role reports to the Senior SocialPrescriber

Key Responsibilities

1. Take referrals from a wide range of care and communityservices and managing caseload

2. Undertake holistic assessments and develop tailoredPersonal Action Plans with individuals as appropriate, to identifying supportneeds to ensure maximum engagement in improving their confidence, self-esteem,health and well-being in their environments whilst recognising the boundariesof the link worker role

3. Commitment to reducing health inequalities andproactively working to reach people from all communities

4. Develop and encourage relationships within the localcommunities and community service providers to ensure a great services toforward referrals from the social prescribing team

5. Work together with all local partners to collectivelyensure that local VCSE organisations and community groups are sustainable andthat community assets are nurtured

6. Advocate for the Social Prescribing project across arange of stakeholders including medical and community groups

7. Be flexible, person-centred and embrace changingapproaches to delivery at all times, in order to ensure that the Project is fullyresponsive to and accommodating of the needs, wishes and aspirations of thepeople who use it

8. Undertake additional duties as requested by the SeniorSocial Prescriber Community Engagement Social Prescribing Link Worker.The above list of main tasks in this job description should, therefore, not beregarded as exclusive or exhaustive

Key Behaviours

Empathy

Ability to listen, empathise with people and provide person-centred support in a non-judgemental way

Accuracy & Efficiency

Must be able to work efficiently with an evolving workloadwhilst maintaining accuracy or administrative records

Inter-Personal Skills

Must possess excellent inter-personal skills and be able towork with a number of stakeholders at all levels

Able to get along with people from all backgrounds andcommunities, respecting lifestyles and diversity

Ability to maintain effective working relationships and topromote collaborative practice with all colleagues

Commitment to collaborative working with all local agencies(including VCSE organisations and community groups). Able to work with othersto reduce hierarchies and find creative solutions to community issues

Adaptable & Resilient

Demonstrates personal accountability, emotional resilienceand works well under pressure

Organisation & Time Keeping

Must be able to manage own time against workload and combineregular routine activity with varying ad hoc requests

Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative,including when under pressure and meeting deadlines

Analytical & Problem Solving

Must be able to analyse, interpret and challenge data andreports and provide suitable alternative positions that support the overallfinancial and commercial objectives of the organisation

Creative & Motivational

Able to support people in a way that inspires trust andconfidence, motivating others to reach their potential

Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and inwriting, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partneragencies and stakeholders

Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks

Decision Making & Tact

Must be comfortable making decision at management levelcombined with the tact and initiative required at that level and balance withability to communicate with all community groups and referrals within their ownenvironments.

Risk Management

Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when workingwith individuals

Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when workingHave a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate ornecessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies, whenwhat the person needs is beyond the scope of the link worker role whenthere is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

NVQ Level 3, advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards. Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development.

Desirable

Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience.

Experience

Essential

Understanding of the needs of small, volunteer led community groups and ability to support their development. Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety. 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 working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health / health improvement (including unpaid work) Experience of working in 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 Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities 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

Desirable

Knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality Knowledge of the personalised care approach Experience of data collection and providing monitoring information to access the impact of services Experience of supporting people with their mental health, either in a paid, unpaid or informal capacity

Other

Essential

Meet DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent convictions Willingness to work flexible hours when required to meet work demands Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including to visit people in their own homes

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