Social Prescribing Link Worker

Job description

Job responsibilities

Key responsibilities

Take referrals from and make referrals to a wide range of agencies within Primary Care Networks.

Co-produce personalised support plans with individuals, their families and carers to take control of their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes.

Developing 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.

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 person needs is beyond the scope of the link worker role e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.

Key Tasks

Referrals

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.

Work with the practice and community staff, to identify and support individuals at risk of loss of independence or hospital admission as a result of inadequate social support.

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.

Provide personalised support

Meet people on a one-to-one basis, making home visits where appropriate within organisations policies and procedures. Give people time to tell their stories and focus on what matters to me.

Help people identify the wider issues that impact on their health and wellbeing, such as debt, poor housing, being unemployed, loneliness and caring responsibilities.

Develop a comprehensive knowledge of wider support services for people with non-clinical needs that impact on their wellbeing and health outcomes, such as social isolation, wellbeing, housing, unemployment, welfare benefits.

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

Work with individuals to co-produce a simple personalised support plan based on the persons priorities, interests, values and motivations including what they can expect from the groups, activities and services they are being connected to and what the person can do for themselves to improve their health and wellbeing.

Where appropriate, physically introduce people to community groups, activities and statutory services, ensuring they are comfortable. Follow up to ensure they are happy, able to engage, included and receiving good support.

The post holder will be required to have awareness and training in relation to relevant safeguarding policies and procedures and to raise any concerns regarding safeguarding on the individual to the attention of the relevant nominated lead within the team.

Support community groups and VCSE organisations to receive referrals

Forge strong links with local VCSE organisations, community and neighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks and building on whats already available to create a map or menu of community groups and assets.

Develop supportive relationships with local VCSE organisations, community groups and statutory services, to make timely, appropriate and supported referrals for the person being introduced.

Work collectively with all local partners to ensure community groups are strong and sustainable

Work with GPs, PCNs and wider Multi-Disciplinary teams as required.

Work with commissioners and local partners to identify unmet needs within the community and gaps in community provision and support development of new groups and services where needed.

Encourage people who have been connected to community support through social prescribing to volunteer and give their time freely to others, in order to build their skills and confidence, and strengthen community resilience.

General tasks

Data capture

Work sensitively with people, their families and carers to capture key information, enabling tracking of the impact of social prescribing on their health and wellbeing.

Encourage people, their families and carers to provide feedback and to share their stories about the impact of social prescribing on their lives.

Support referral agencies to provide appropriate information about the person they are referring. Use the case management system to track the persons progress.

Work closely with GP practices within the PCN to ensure that they are receiving appropriate feedback about the people they have referred.

Manage own workload through planning and organising own work schedule, obtaining and organising the necessary information and resources.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• Degree and/or equivalent experience in health care/social care or related area.
• Hold certificate for (or be willing to work towards) Levels 1 and 2 Safeguarding - Adults and Children

Desirable

• Qualification and/or experience in giving information and advice to individuals with differing needs in the community.

Experience

Essential

• Experience of working with health sector and multiple stakeholders.
• Experience and demonstrable evidence of incorporating patient/client views into the development of services e.g. co-production.
• Good understanding of service improvement, innovation, performance improvement across a range of disciplines.
• Experience of working with the statutory sector.
• Experience of holistic interviewing and assessment of individuals to produce an action plan.
• An understanding of the VCF sector.
• Ability to use a range of IT programmes

Desirable

• Understanding of the NHS and social care sector.
• Experience of working within primary care e.g. GP practices
• Experience of working with and supporting volunteers.

Skills and Knowledge

Essential

• Ability to communicate well with patients, carers, volunteers, colleagues and with professional staff in other organisations.
• Knowledge and skill in the use of recording/maintaining data for reporting.
• Ability to prioritise own workload, work unsupervised and take appropriate decisions.
• Experience in effective use of softer skills listening, lateral thinking, body language and observation.
• Excellent organisational and time management skills.
• Ability to travel around the whole of West Lancashire using appropriate transport to undertake multiple appointments/meetings (in different geographical locations) to meet defined project time slots.

Desirable

• An appreciation of services and help available for people living in West Lancashire.
• Good networking skills.
• Knowledge and understanding of health inequalities and what actions to take to narrow the gap in health inequalities.

Personal Qualities

Essential

• To respect client confidentiality at all times.
• Good verbal and written communication skills.
• Ability to work calmly whilst under pressure.
• Ability to work as part of a team as well as alone.
• Well organised and methodical.
• Able to work flexible hours to suit project needs.
• Presentable with a friendly, approachable manner.

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

Out of Hours West Lancashire CIC Ltd

Address

Matthew Ryder Clinic

20 Dingle Road

Upholland

Skelmersdale

Lancashire

WN8 0EN

Employer's website

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