Social Prescribing Link Worker

Job summary

An exiting opportunity has arisen for a Social Prescriber at Bretton Park Healthcare, located over 2 sites in Peterborough. We are recruiting a part-time/full-time Social Prescriber who will be part of our well-established and experienced practice team. A Social Prescriber is a non-clinical healthcare professional who responds to concerns raised by the wider GP practice team about any individual facing life challenges that are adversely impacting on their health & wellbeing. It is a diverse and sometimes challenging role with no two days being the same.

Experience in the role is not essential as training will be given.

The employment is for a fixed term contract of 12 months, options to extend maybe avaliable.

Main duties of the job

Social Prescribing helps to strengthen personal and community resilience and reduce health inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health such as debt, housing and physical inactivity and promotes active involvement within local communities. This can be particularly helpful for people with long-term conditions (including support for mental health), for people who are lonely or isolated, or those with complex social support needs.

Becoming a Social Prescriber is an opportunity to really help people, whether they are lonely, struggling with life or needing help with managing their health condition your starting point is to listen to them and understand what matters most then to create a plan with them for their individual needs. This post will also focus on supporting children, young people, vulnerable adults and families which will develop as you progress in within the role.

You will take a holistic approach, signposting and connecting people to community groups, services, and activities for practical and personalised support. You will be working in partnership with our wider GP Practice team to support patients in taking control of their health and linking them with appropriate support in their local community.

Experience in the role is not essential as training will be given.

About us

Bretton Park Healthcare are two practices that work together. This was a new adventure for both sites from January 2022. We are a dynamic, motivated and friendly team with a passion for education and development. We are a registered training practice and are actively involved in research. We have just under 22,000 patients over the two practice sites. We have a very experienced and highly skilled clinical team of Doctors, Nurse Practitioners, Nurses, HCAs, Pharmacists, Social Prescriber, Care Coordinators who are well supported by an excellent administration team.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Job title

Social Prescriber Link Worker

Line manager

Partners, Practice Manager

Accountable to

Hours per week

30 - hours per week

Job purpose

The post holder will be an integral part of the practice team. A referral to a non-medical link worker is designed to support patients in being able to take a holistic approach, connecting people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support.

Social prescribing can help to strengthen community resilience and personal

resilience whilst reducing health inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health such as debt, poor housing and physical inactivity by increasing peoples activeinvolvement with their local communities.

This role can be particularly beneficial to patients with long-term conditions, those with mental health issues and those who are lonely or isolated or who have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.

Prim ary key responsibilities

The following are the core responsibilities of the Social Prescriber Link Worker. There may be, on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks; this will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels.

a. Assess how far a patients health and well-being needs can be met by services and other opportunities available in the community

b. Co-produce a simple personalised care and support plan to address the patients health and well-being needs by introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services, including weight management support and signposting when appropriate and it matters to the person

c. Evaluate how far the actions in the care and support plan are meeting the patients health and wellbeing needs

d. Provide personalised support to patients, their families and carers to take control of their health and well-being, live independently, improve their health outcomes and maintain a healthy lifestyle

e. Develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on what

matters to them

f. Take a holistic approach, based on the patients priorities and the wider determinants of health, including supporting people to take up employment, training and welfare support

g. Explore and support access to a personal health budget where appropriate

h. Manage and prioritise their own caseload-, in accordance with the health and well-being needs of their population

i. When required and as appropriate, refer patients back to other health professionals within Bretton Park Healthcare

j. Work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role using expert knowledge within the SPLW areas and promote social prescribing and its role in self-management

k. Work together with all local partners to collectively ensure that local VCSE organisations and community groups are sustainable and that community assets are nurtured

l. Build relationships with key staff, attending relevant meetings, which includes the PCN -becoming part of the wider network team, giving information and feedback on social prescribing at the monthly learning event.

m. Ensure that social prescribing referral codes are inputted into Systm1, and that the persons use of the NHS can be tracked, adhering to data protection legislation and data sharing agreements with the ICS/ICB

n. Work in partnership with all local agencies to raise awareness of social prescribing and how partnership working can reduce pressure on statutory services, improve health outcomes and enable a holistic approach to care

o. Be proactive in encouraging self-referrals and connecting with all local communities, particularly those communities that statutory agencies may find hard to reach

p. Meet people on a one-to-one basis, making home visits when appropriate and inline with the practice policy and procedures giving people time to tell their stories and focus on what matters to me and building trust with the person, providing non-judgemental support, respecting diversity and lifestyle choices. The role requires working from a strength-based approach focusing on a persons assets

q. Help people to identify the wider issues that impact on their health and well-being such as debt, poor housing, being unemployed, loneliness and caring responsibilities

r. Help people to maintain or regain independence through living skills, adaptations, enablement approaches and simple safeguards

s. Work with individuals to co-produce a simple personalised support plan

t. When people may be eligible for a personal health budget, help them to explore this option as a way of providing funded, personalised support to be independent, including helping people to gain skills for meaningful employment when appropriate

u. Forge strong links with local VCSE organisations, community and neighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks and building on what is already available

v. Work with commissioners and local partners to identify unmet needs within the community and gaps in community provision

w. Support local partners and commissioners to develop new groups and services where needed through small grants for community groups, micro-commissioning and development support

x. Support the delivery of enhanced services and other service requirements on behalf of the practice, including the monthly safeguarding adults submission.

y. Deliver training, mentoring and guidance to other clinicians and staff on SPLW matters

z. Produce SPLW newsletters or bulletins when required and feedback at the monthly practice meetings on current/ongoing issues.

aa. Support virtual and remote models of consultation and support including e-consultations, remote medication review and telehealth and telemedicine

bb. Participate in the management of patient complaints when requested to do so and participate in the identification of any necessary learning brought about through incidents and near-miss events

cc. Manage a caseload of potentially complex patients and provide advice for the GP management on the more complex patients

dd. Review the latest guidance ensuring the practice conforms to NICE, CQC etc.

ee. Actively signpost patients to the correct healthcare professional

ff. Provide targeted support and proactive reviews for vulnerable, complex patients and those at risk of admission and re-admission to secondary care

gg. Seek regular feedback about the quality of service and impact of social prescribing on referral agencies

hh. Work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the roles and responsibilities

ii. Work with your line manager to access regular clinical supervision, to enable you to deal effectively with the difficult issues that people present

jj. Undertake all mandatory training and induction programmes

kk. Attend a formal appraisal with their manager at least every 12 months. Once a performance/training objective has been set, progress will be reviewed on a regular basis so that new objectives can be agreed

ll. Contribute to public health campaigns (, flu clinics) through advice or direct care.

Secondary responsibilities

The SPLW may be requested to:

a. Draw on and increase the strength and capacity of local communities, enabling local VCSE organisations and community groups to receive social prescribing referrals from the SPLW

b. Work collaboratively with all local partners to contribute towards supporting the local VCSE organisations and community groups to become sustainable and ensure that community assets are nurtured through sharing intelligence regarding any gaps or problems identified in local provision with commissioners and local authorities

d. Support the delivery of QOF, incentive schemes, QIPP and other quality or cost effectiveness initiatives.

e. Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner.

f. Duties may vary from time to time without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

Person Specification

Experience

Essential

Experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health/health improvement (including unpaid work)

Desirable

Experience of working with 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 Experience of supporting people with their mental health, either in a paid, unpaid or informal capacity Experience of data collection and providing monitoring information to assess the impact of services Experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health/health improvement (including unpaid work)

skills

Essential

Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities Knowledge of community development approaches Clear, polite telephone manner Knowledge of IT systems, including the ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports Knowledge of motivational coaching and interview skills Ability to work as a team member and autonomously. Additionally, the ability to work under pressure and to meet deadlines

Desirable

Knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality Knowledge of the personalised care approach

Qualifications

Essential

Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development

Desirable

Level 3, certificate in Social Prescribing Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience

Personal qualities

Essential

Ability to listen, empathise with people and provide person centred support in a non-judgemental way Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity Commitment to reducing health inequalities and proactively working to reach people from all communities Able to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence, motivating others to reach their potential Ability to use own initiative, discretion and sensitivity Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals High levels of integrity and loyalty Polite and confident Able to work from an asset-based approach, building on existing community and personal assets Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues Commitment to collaborative working with all local agencies (including VCSE organisations and community groups). Able to work with others to reduce hierarchies and find creative solutions to community issues Demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and work well under pressure Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines High level of written and oral communication skills 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

Other Requirements

Essential

Willingness to work outside of core office hours Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check Occupational health clearance Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including to visit people in their own home

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