Social Prescriber - Adults Team

WACA Ltd

The closing date is 06 December 2021

Job summary

Delivery of the Social Prescribing Service in two GP practices within the WACA Primary Care Network.

Social prescribers have one foot in primary care, the other in the voluntary & community sector. They support and empower patients with the knowledge and skills to help manage their own health & wellbeing, to the best of their ability. They help identify strengths, prioritise their needs and help make plans for sustainable change.

Main duties of the job

Role includes supporting Patients over the telephone or face to face in GP Surgeries:

•Listening ear

•Advice and information

•Signposting 

•Promoting Community Partnerships

•Health Promotion & Self Care 

•Mental health

•Welfare and Benefits

About us

WACA Ltd (Wharfedale, Airedale, and Craven Alliance) is a GP owned provider federation established in 2018. WACA represent 8 practices, and provide additional services across all 8 practices,including social prescribing, physiotherapy, pharmacy and extended access service. The group shares the same ethos and values which are focused around “patient first.

Job description

Job responsibilities

 Conduct holistic assessments with patients to ascertain their social prescribing needs.

· Signpost patients to local services/organisations depending on the individual’s goals and preferences.

· Supporting patients to identify set and meet achievable goals to improve their physical and emotional wellbeing.

· Work with partner organisations to support the delivery of an integrated care plan whereby patients’ needs are met in a holistic way.

· Follow up with patients and provide support on an ongoing basis.

· Update patient care plans and clinical records.

· Develop relationships with local health and wellbeing service providers

· Build a network and knowledge of referral routes to and from service providers.

· Ensure information about providers and voluntary groups is shared between the wider clinical team.

· Attend and contribute to weekly multi-disciplinary team meetings.

· Support patients to recognise and change their current lifestyle and to identify how their way of life might affect their health and well-being.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Educated to GCSE level or equivalent
• Health & Well-being qualification
• NVQ Level 2 in Health and Social Care or other relevant professional academic qualification

Skills

Essential

• Excellent communication skills (written and oral)
• Strong IT skills
• Clear, polite telephone manner
• Competent in the use of Office and Outlook
• Effective time management (planning and organising) and able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks, meeting deadlines set
• Ability to work as a team member and autonomously
• Excellent interpersonal skills
• Problem-solving & analytical skills
• Ability to follow policy and procedure
• Commitment to reducing health equalities and proactively working to reach people from all communities
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage rick when working with individuals
• Have 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 scope of the social prescriber, when there is a mental health need required a qualified practitioner
• Commitment to collaborative working with all local agencies (able to work with others to reduce hierarchies and find creative solutions to community issues

Knowledge

Essential

• General understanding of the wider determinants of health including social, economic and environmental factors and the impact on the communities
• Knowledge of community developments approaches
• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports
• Good understanding of social prescribing
• Knowledge of motivational , coaching and interview skills

Other Requirements

Essential

• Flexibility to work outside core office hours
• Disclosure Barring Service (DBS) check
• Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis, including visiting people in their own home.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of delivering lifestyle changes interventions
• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers either in a paid, unpaid or volunteer sector

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Polite and confident
• Flexible and cooperative
• Motivated
• Forward thinker
• High levels of integrity and loyalty
• Sensitive and empathetic in distressing situations, demonstrate emotional resilience
• Ability to work under pressure
• Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and communities
• Ability to communicate effectively , both verbally and in writing with people, their families , carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders

Employer details

Employer name

WACA Ltd

Address

Millennium Business Park

Station Road

Keighley

West Yorkshire

BD20 6RB

Employer's website

http://wacalliance.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)