Social Prescribing Link Worker

Job description

Job responsibilities

KEY DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES

1. Receive referrals from the GP practices within the PCN and from a range of agencies, assessing the health and wellbeing needs of patients with in-practice consultations, telephone consultations, and community-based support e.g. home visits and community service events

2. Effectively manage and prioritise a patient caseload, communicating with patients, carers, advocates, healthcare professionals, and other agencies involved in the wellbeing of patients

3. Provide care within own competence, ensuring awareness of when it is necessary to seek advice or refer patients back to colleagues or other healthcare professionals

4. Work with patients to co-produce a personalised care and support plan, taking a holistic approach to address individual needs based on the patients priorities, interests, values, and motivations

5. Provide appropriate support and information to patients to empower them to take control of their wellbeing, live independently, and improve their health outcomes. This includes building trust with patients to help identify wider issues that may be impacting their health e.g. housing problems, debt, unemployment, loneliness, and caring responsibilities

6. Communicate effectively with patients to ensure they are aware of what to expect from onward referrals and participation with different services, groups or activities. Demonstrate sensitive communication styles and work non-judgementally with patients, their families, and carers, to capture important information

7. Physically introduce people to appropriate community groups and activities, peer support groups, or statutory services, ensuring they are comfortable, feel valued and respected

8. Promote social prescribing as an approach across the PCN and in the wider community, supporting community groups to be accessible and sustainable

9. Develop a strong knowledge of local services to enable patients to access a range of services to meet their needs. Support patients to meaningfully engage and connect with their local community and other organisations

10. Work closely with the PCN Occupational Therapist and collaborate well with the wider PCN and practice teams. Attend relevant meetings and provide updates and feedback on social prescribing to staff

11. Proactively build links with a range of local voluntary and community organisations and other healthcare professionals within the wider neighbourhood team

12. Encourage patients, their families and carers to provide feedback e.g. through patient satisfaction surveys, and to share their stories about the impact of social prescribing on their lives

13. Ensure that social prescribing referral SNOMED codes are coded appropriately into clinical systems (as outlined in the Network Contract DES)

14. Adhere to PCN policies around data protection legislation and data sharing agreements, ensuring patients give appropriate consent

GENERAL TASKS

Work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development.

Undertake relevant training as required and complete appropriate mandatory training. Continually update own knowledge and skills within the job role.

Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety.

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.

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 within primary, community, social care, or voluntary sector
• Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations
• Experience of using IT systems, including comprehensive knowledge of Microsoft packages

Desirable

• Experience of working within General Practice
• Experience of working in a multi-disciplinary team
• Experience using SystmOne or other case management systems
• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work)
• Experience of supporting people with their mental health (either in a paid, unpaid, or informal capacity)
• Experience of working with the VCSE sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups
• Experience of data collection and using tools to measure the impact of services

Other

Essential

• Meets DBS reference standards and criminal record checks
• Access to transport and ability to travel across the local area on a regular basis, including to visit people in their own homes and support people to attend activities as appropriate
• Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety

Qualifications

Essential

• A Level, NVQ Level 3, or equivalent qualifications or working towards
• Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development

Desirable

• Knowledge of how the NHS works, including primary care and MDT working
• Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience
• Knowledge of the personalised care approach
• Local knowledge of VCSE and community services
• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic, and environmental factors and their impact on communities, individuals, their families and carers
• Familiar with Safeguarding

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Ability to actively listen, empathise with people and provide person centred support in a non-judgemental way
• Commitment to reducing health inequalities and proactively working to reach people in all communities
• Able to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence, motivating others to reach their potential
• Able to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues
• Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative
• Ability to organise, plan, and prioritise on own initiative
• Can demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience, and ability to work well under pressure

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Employer details

Employer name

Tramways & Middlewood Medical Centres

Address

621 Middlewood Road

Sheffield

S6 1TT

Employer's website

https://www.hillsborough-middlewood-doctors-gp.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)