Job summary
Social prescribing empowers people to take control of their
health and wellbeing through referral to non-medical ‘link workers’ who give
time, focus on ‘what matters to me’ and take a holistic approach, connecting people
to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support.
Link workers support existing groups to be accessible and sustainable and help
people to start new community groups, working collaboratively with all local
partners.
Social prescribing can help to strengthen community
resilience and personal resilience, and reduces health inequalities by
addressing the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor housing and
physical inactivity, by increasing people’s active involvement with their local
communities. 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.
Main duties of the job
·
Promote social prescribing, its role in
self-management, and the wider determinants of health.
·
Build relationships with key staff in GP
practices within the local Primary Care Network (PCN), attending relevant
meetings, becoming part of the wider network team, giving information and
feedback on social prescribing.
·
Be proactive in developing strong links with all
local agencies to encourage referrals, recognising what they need to be
confident in the service to make appropriate referrals.
·
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.
·
Provide referral agencies with regular updates
about social prescribing, including training for their staff and how to access
information to encourage appropriate referrals.
·
Seek regular feedback about the quality of
service and impact of social prescribing on referral agencies.
·
Be proactive in encouraging self-referrals and
connecting with all local communities, particularly those communities that
statutory agencies may find hard to reach.
About us
Bolton GP Federation is Bolton's GP practices coming together to deliver primary care in a new way. Our mission is to improve health and care. We meet everyday health and care needs for people by connecting primary care systems and using creative thinking to develop, improve and support great local services. As the world of health and social care changes around us, the Federation brings GP practices together to meet these new challenges.
We offer access to the NHS Pension Scheme.
Job description
Job responsibilities
1.
Take referrals from a wide range of agencies
including the PCN, GP practice and multi-disciplinary team in 2019/20 and from
2020/21: pharmacies, wider multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams,
allied health professionals, fire service, police, job centres, social care
services, housing associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise
(VCSE) organisations (list not exhaustive).
2.
Provide personalised support to
individuals, their families and carers to take control of their health and wellbeing,
live independently improving their health access and outcomes, as a key member
of the PCN team. Develop trusting
relationships by giving people time and focus on ‘what matters to me’. Take a
holistic approach, based on the person’s 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 appropriate
community groups and statutory services. The role will require managing and
prioritising your own caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities and
any urgent support required by individuals on the caseload. It is vital that
you have a strong awareness /understanding of when it is appropriate or
necessary to refer people back to other health professionals or agencies, when
what the person’s needs are beyond the scope of the link worker role – e.g.
when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.
3.
Work with a diverse range of people and
communities, to draw on and increase the strengths and capacities of local
communities, enabling local VCSE organisations and community groups (including
faith groups) to receive social prescribing referrals.
4. Work
together with all local partners to collectively ensure that local VCSE
organisations and community groups are sustainable and that community assets
are nurtured, by making them aware of small grants or micro-commissioning if
available, including providing support to set up new community groups and
services, where gaps are identified in local provision.
Job description
Job responsibilities
1.
Take referrals from a wide range of agencies
including the PCN, GP practice and multi-disciplinary team in 2019/20 and from
2020/21: pharmacies, wider multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams,
allied health professionals, fire service, police, job centres, social care
services, housing associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise
(VCSE) organisations (list not exhaustive).
2.
Provide personalised support to
individuals, their families and carers to take control of their health and wellbeing,
live independently improving their health access and outcomes, as a key member
of the PCN team. Develop trusting
relationships by giving people time and focus on ‘what matters to me’. Take a
holistic approach, based on the person’s 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 appropriate
community groups and statutory services. The role will require managing and
prioritising your own caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities and
any urgent support required by individuals on the caseload. It is vital that
you have a strong awareness /understanding of when it is appropriate or
necessary to refer people back to other health professionals or agencies, when
what the person’s needs are beyond the scope of the link worker role – e.g.
when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.
3.
Work with a diverse range of people and
communities, to draw on and increase the strengths and capacities of local
communities, enabling local VCSE organisations and community groups (including
faith groups) to receive social prescribing referrals.
4. Work
together with all local partners to collectively ensure that local VCSE
organisations and community groups are sustainable and that community assets
are nurtured, by making them aware of small grants or micro-commissioning if
available, including providing support to set up new community groups and
services, where gaps are identified in local provision.
Person Specification
Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities, individuals, their families and carers
- Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports
- Local knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality
Desirable
- Knowledge of the personalised care approach
- Knowledge of community development approaches
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 supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work)
- 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
Desirable
- Experience of supporting people with their mental health, either in a paid, unpaid or informal capacity
- Experience of data collection and using tools to measure the impact of services
Qualifications
Essential
- Demonstrable commitment to personal development
- NVQ level 3 or working towards an equivalent qualification or demonstrable equivalent experience
Desirable
- Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience
Personal qualities and attributes
Essential
- Active listener. Empathetic and able to provide person centred support in a non-judgemental way
- Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity
- Committed to reducing health inequalities and proactively work to reach people from diverse communities
- Provide support that inspires trust and confidence, motivating others to reach their potential
- High level 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
- 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 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 community and personal assets
- 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
- Can demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and ability to work well under pressure
- Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines
- Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative
- Understanding of the needs of small volunteer-led community groups and ability to support their development
- Able to provide motivational coaching to support peoples behaviour change
- Knowledge of, and ability to work to, policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety
Person Specification
Skills and Knowledge
Essential
- Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact on communities, individuals, their families and carers
- Understanding of, and commitment to, equality, diversity and inclusion.
- Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports
- Local knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality
Desirable
- Knowledge of the personalised care approach
- Knowledge of community development approaches
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 supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work)
- 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
Desirable
- Experience of supporting people with their mental health, either in a paid, unpaid or informal capacity
- Experience of data collection and using tools to measure the impact of services
Qualifications
Essential
- Demonstrable commitment to personal development
- NVQ level 3 or working towards an equivalent qualification or demonstrable equivalent experience
Desirable
- Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience
Personal qualities and attributes
Essential
- Active listener. Empathetic and able to provide person centred support in a non-judgemental way
- Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity
- Committed to reducing health inequalities and proactively work to reach people from diverse communities
- Provide support that inspires trust and confidence, motivating others to reach their potential
- High level 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
- 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 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 community and personal assets
- 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
- Can demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and ability to work well under pressure
- Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines
- Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative
- Understanding of the needs of small volunteer-led community groups and ability to support their development
- Able to provide motivational coaching to support peoples behaviour change
- Knowledge of, and ability to work to, policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety
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.
