Link Worker - Social Prescriber x 2

Job description

Job responsibilities

Social prescribing empowers people to take control of their health & wellbeing through referral to non-medical Link Workers, whose aim is to reduce health inequalities by addressing wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor housing and physical inactivity, by increasing peoples active involvement with their local communities.

Link Workers will work to build trusting relationships with the GP surgeries within their Primary Care Network (PCN), and create a shared personalised care and support plan for patients who have been referred. Link Workers will support existing groups to be accessible and sustainable and support local groups to establish new community groups, working collaboratively with all local partners.

Main Duties and Responsibilities:

- Receive referrals from a wide range of agencies including GP practices within PCNs and multi-disciplinary teams.

- Receive referrals from hospital discharge teams, allied health professionals, social care services, voluntary, community and social organisations.

- Discuss the persons needs with them, based on guidance from the referrer, and identify a range of options that could assist the person to improve their independence and health and wellbeing.

- Strengthen community and personal resilience, focusing on what matters to me and taking a holistic approach with each individual case.

- Co-produce a simple personalised care and support plan to improve health & wellbeing, introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services.

- Manage and prioritise own caseload, in accordance with the needs.

- Have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals / agencies, when 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.

- Identify new, and work in partnership with voluntary and statutory organisations.

- Understand the barriers and opportunities for people to self-manage their conditions in the community.

- Have a role in educating clinical and non-clinical staff within their PCN multi-disciplinary teams on what other services are available within the community and how and when people can access them.

Key Tasks:

- Promote social prescribing, its role in self-management and the wider determinants of health.

- As part of the PCN multi-disciplinary team, attend relevant Multidisciplinary Team and Network meetings, providing information and feedback on social prescribing on request.

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

- Be a friendly source of information about wellbeing and prevention approaches. Help people identify the wider issues that impact on their health and wellbeing, such as debt, poor housing, being unemployed, loneliness and caring responsibilities.

- Work with the person, their families and carers and consider how they can all be supported through social prescribing.

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

- Seek advice and support from relevant GPs to discuss people-related concerns (e.g. abuse, domestic violence and support with mental health), referring the person back to the GP or other suitable health professional if required.

- Work with the PCNs Clinical Directors, commissioners and local partners to identify unmet needs within the community and gaps in community provision.

- Where possible, encourage people, their families and carers to provide peer support and to do things together, such as setting up new community groups or volunteering.

- The Link Worker will be expected to keep accurate and up- to- date records on relevant health and social care systems.

- The Link Worker will gather record and collate data, including case studies, in a prescribed format in order to demonstrate the impact of the service.

- 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.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development

Desirable

• Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience

Experience

Essential

• Experience of building relationships and enhancing business development
• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work).

Desirable

• 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 working with the VCSE sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups
• Experience of supporting people with their mental health either in paid, unpaid or informal capacity

Personal qualities & attributes

Essential

• Ability to actively listen and provide person-centred support
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, and stakeholders
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals
• 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 organisations 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 & safety
• Ability to work alongside key stakeholders including Clinical Directors, GP Partners, commissioners and Directors of the GP Federation

Skills & 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
• Local knowledge of voluntary, 3rd party and community services
• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans and reports

Desirable

• Knowledge of how the NHS works, including Primary Care

Other

Essential

• Ability to travel across the PCN geographical area on a regular basis including visiting various GP practices and possibly people in their own homes

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

Hammersmith & Fulham GP Federation

Address

Dawes Road Hub

20 Dawes Road

London

SW6 7EN

Employer's website

https://www.hfgpfed.co.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)