Social Prescribing Link Worker

St Ives Primary Care Network

Information:

This job is now closed

Job summary

St Ives Primary Care Network is a forward thinking PCN formed by 4 GP practices in St Ives Cambridgeshire and the surrounding villages which collectively provide healthcare for approximately 47,000 patients.

We are seeking to expand our established Social Care and Health and Wellbeing team by recruiting two highly motivated and enthusiastic Social Prescribing Link Workers (full time or part time) to work across our practices in patient facing roles.

Your remit will be to build trusting relationships with patients, creating personalised care and support plans and, where appropriate, connecting the patient or their carers with local voluntary and community groups and services. You will also work with a range of partners to draw on and increase the strengths and capacities of these groups and organisations.

This is an innovative role, designed to deliver outcomes which improve peoples quality of life and their health and well-being. You will be supporting patients and their carers to achieve their personal aspirations, to participate in their local and wider communities, to enhance effective personal support networks, to embrace and maintain healthy lifestyles; and to lead independent and fulfilled lives.

Main duties of the job

Working under direct supervision of a GP Lead provide social prescribing that empowers people to take control of their health and wellbeing and ensure the focus is on to what matters to them.

Taking an holistic approach to an individuals health and wellbeing, connecting people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support. You will also support existing groups to be accessible and sustainable and work collaboratively with all local partners.

You will work as a key part of the Primary Care Network (PCN) multi-disciplinary team, helping our PCN to strengthen community and personal resilience and reducing health and wellbeing inequalities. You will do this by addressing the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor housing and physical inactivity and by increasing peoples active involvement with their local communities.

About us

St Ives PCN brings together Grove Medical Practice, St. Ives, Moat House Surgery, Warboys, Riverport Medical Practice, St.Ives, Fenstanton and Somersham, and Spinney Surgery St. Ives. Each practice has their own identity and ethos - but together the practice have a shared aim for the PCN.

Our aim as defined in our Mission statement is that..

Working together innovatively with other local health and social care providers, we will develop the local health and social care system our shared patient population needs to ensure positive health and wellbeing outcomes.

Date posted

24 September 2023

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£30,000 a year Eligible for NHS Pension Scheme

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

A5464-23-0004

Job locations

Cromwell Place Surgery

Cromwell Place

St. Ives

Cambridgeshire

PE27 5JD


Orchard Surgery

Constable Road

St. Ives

Cambridgeshire

PE27 3ER


Job description

Job responsibilities

The job description for this role is provided as an attachment for your information - some key elements are provided here to give you a taste of the role.

As a key member of the PCN multi-disciplinary team, you will provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take control of their health and wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes. You will 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 simple personalised care and support plan to improve health and wellbeing, introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services.

Meet people on a one-to-one basis, making home visits where appropriate within organisations policies and procedures.

Managing and prioritising your own caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required by individuals. 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 persons needs are beyond the scope of the link worker role e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.

Working closely with the voluntary and community sector you will draw on and help to increase the strengths and capacities of local communities, enabling local VCSE organisations and community groups to receive social prescribing referrals.

Alongside other members of the PCN multi-disciplinary team, work towards supporting the local VCSE organisations and community groups to become sustainable.

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

Job description

Job responsibilities

The job description for this role is provided as an attachment for your information - some key elements are provided here to give you a taste of the role.

As a key member of the PCN multi-disciplinary team, you will provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take control of their health and wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes. You will 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 simple personalised care and support plan to improve health and wellbeing, introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services.

Meet people on a one-to-one basis, making home visits where appropriate within organisations policies and procedures.

Managing and prioritising your own caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required by individuals. 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 persons needs are beyond the scope of the link worker role e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.

Working closely with the voluntary and community sector you will draw on and help to increase the strengths and capacities of local communities, enabling local VCSE organisations and community groups to receive social prescribing referrals.

Alongside other members of the PCN multi-disciplinary team, work towards supporting the local VCSE organisations and community groups to become sustainable.

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

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • NVQ Level 3, Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or experience
  • Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal
  • Development
  • Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent

Desirable

  • Training in Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

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).
  • Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building
  • relationships across a variety of organisations.
  • Experience of working with or in general practice
  • Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work)
  • Proven ability to listen, empathise with people and provide person- centred support in a non-judgemental way.
  • Experience of getting along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity

Desirable

  • 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

Personal Attributes

Essential

  • 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 communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders.
  • Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals.
  • 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 social prescribing link worker role e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.
  • Able to work from an asset based approach, building on existing personal assets.
  • Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks in a timely manner.
  • Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues in PGPA, PCN and wider system.
  • Commitment to collaborative working with all local statutory and third sector statutory and third sector organisations organisation Avoiding duplication but adding value, within the criteria as set out in your job description. Able to work with others to reduce hierarchies and find creative solutions.
  • Demonstrates personal accountability, emotional resilience and works 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.
  • Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative, whilst understanding when its important to refer back to line manager.

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of the personalised care approach
  • Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on
  • communities
  • Knowledge of community development approaches.
  • Advanced experience of using Ms Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
  • Advanced experience of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports.
  • Creative problem solver and willing to search for hard-to-find information.
  • Ability to read large amounts of information and extract the salient points, to analyse data and report on findings.

Other

Essential

  • Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent convictions.
  • Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis.
  • Continued commitment to improve skills and ability in new areas of work.
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • NVQ Level 3, Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or experience
  • Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal
  • Development
  • Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent

Desirable

  • Training in Cognitive behavioural therapy (CBT)

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).
  • Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building
  • relationships across a variety of organisations.
  • Experience of working with or in general practice
  • Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work)
  • Proven ability to listen, empathise with people and provide person- centred support in a non-judgemental way.
  • Experience of getting along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity

Desirable

  • 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

Personal Attributes

Essential

  • 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 communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders.
  • Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals.
  • 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 social prescribing link worker role e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.
  • Able to work from an asset based approach, building on existing personal assets.
  • Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks in a timely manner.
  • Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues in PGPA, PCN and wider system.
  • Commitment to collaborative working with all local statutory and third sector statutory and third sector organisations organisation Avoiding duplication but adding value, within the criteria as set out in your job description. Able to work with others to reduce hierarchies and find creative solutions.
  • Demonstrates personal accountability, emotional resilience and works 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.
  • Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative, whilst understanding when its important to refer back to line manager.

Skills & Knowledge

Essential

  • Knowledge of the personalised care approach
  • Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on
  • communities
  • Knowledge of community development approaches.
  • Advanced experience of using Ms Word, Excel and PowerPoint.
  • Advanced experience of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports.
  • Creative problem solver and willing to search for hard-to-find information.
  • Ability to read large amounts of information and extract the salient points, to analyse data and report on findings.

Other

Essential

  • Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent convictions.
  • Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis.
  • Continued commitment to improve skills and ability in new areas of work.

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

St Ives Primary Care Network

Address

Cromwell Place Surgery

Cromwell Place

St. Ives

Cambridgeshire

PE27 5JD


Employer's website

https://www.grovemedicalpractice-stives.nhs.uk/patient-info/cookies-privacy-policy/ (Opens in a new tab)

Employer details

Employer name

St Ives Primary Care Network

Address

Cromwell Place Surgery

Cromwell Place

St. Ives

Cambridgeshire

PE27 5JD


Employer's website

https://www.grovemedicalpractice-stives.nhs.uk/patient-info/cookies-privacy-policy/ (Opens in a new tab)

For questions about the job, contact:

St Ives PCN Manager

Marilyn Long

marilyn.long@nhs.net

Date posted

24 September 2023

Pay scheme

Other

Salary

£30,000 a year Eligible for NHS Pension Scheme

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

A5464-23-0004

Job locations

Cromwell Place Surgery

Cromwell Place

St. Ives

Cambridgeshire

PE27 5JD


Orchard Surgery

Constable Road

St. Ives

Cambridgeshire

PE27 3ER


Supporting documents

Privacy notice

St Ives Primary Care Network's privacy notice (opens in a new tab)