Community Support Worker

Job description

Job responsibilities

We value you and we are interested in what you want from your career, to grow and develop for your continuing professional development and we will work closely with you to focus on and to tailor your individual needs. We want to explore options for your personal development and to expand your therapeutic skill set. This will include the option to rotate within the service to widen your breadth of experience, skills and knowledge.

They will be expected to work under minimal supervision, with adherence to Trust procedures andpolicies, and to employ value based and socially inclusive practice. Although the Community SupportWorker will not lead on safeguarding investigations they will be responsible for detecting, alerting andresponding to concerns either through the course of their duties or as directed by a registeredpractitioner, including contributing to effective protection planning.

To support service users to direct their own Recovery process through encouraging them to work collaboratively with the team to identify their own goals and needs and to co-produce care plans to support these.

To assist service users to identify their strengths, personal interests and goals and support them to access and participate in activities which meet these whilst demonstrating acceptance of and respect towards service users' personal beliefs, uniqueness and identity.

To promote and support service users to maintain and/or develop positive relationships with those within their community and learn how to improve or eliminate unhealthy relationships.

To work under the direction of the individuals Care Coordinator to be responsible for specific goals within the individuals Care Plan, working for up to 12 weeks with individuals with a clear remit and outcome.

To asses and manage risk effectively whilst ensuring risk does not prevent an individual's Recovery, in line with risk policies and procedures. To ensure any concerns regarding an individual's wellbeing, including issues of safeguarding, are raised with the responsible care co-orinator and/or team lead.

To demonstrate an evidenced based knowledge in the main physical health problems that adult clients may present with i.e. High blood pressure, sexual health, Diabetes, Obesity, Epilepsy, respiratory issues, constipation, lack of personal hygiene, including foot care.

To demonstrate an ability to undertake baseline physical observations and record results correctly. In addition, be able to identify anomalies that should be referred to the physical health lead nurse/ medical staff.

Baseline observations include:

Blood Pressure

Pulse

Respirations

Weight

Height

Elimination Pattern

Eating Pattern

Sleep Pattern

Alcohol and drug eeducation

Physical activity

Smoking cessation following appropriate training

Glucose Monitoring

ECGs following appropriate training if not currently trained

Phlebotomy following appropriate training if not currently trained

To promote health and healthy living through the recovery college and specific health promotion weeks

To offer support to student nurses who require an introduction to health promotion and prevention, physical health monitoring and skills of observation.

To attend multi disciplinary team meetings and meetings in relation to service user care and recovery as required.

To assist individuals in managing their mental health on a day to day basis as agreed in their long term recovery care including providing goal based interventions, support, direction to enable service users to identify, access and engage with local support networks.

To assist service users to identify their strengths, personal interests and goals and support them to access and participate in community activities whilst demonstrating acceptance of and respect towards service users' personal beliefs, uniqueness and identity. Tasha Newman 15.5.20

To promote and support service users to maintain and/or develop positive relationships with those within their community and learn how to improve or eliminate unhealthy relationships.

To work under the direction of the individuals Care Coordinator to be responsible for specific goals within the individuals Care Plan, working for up to 12 weeks with individuals with a clear remit and outcome.

To keep the responsible Care Coordinator informed of the progress, concerns or difficulties with the plan of work including engagement with individuals.

To asses and manage risk effectively whilst ensuring risk does not prevent an individual's Recovery, in line with risk policies and procedures. To ensure any concerns regarding an individual's wellbeing, including issues of safeguarding, are raised with the responsible Care Coordinator and/or team lead.

To act as an Ambassador for carers with the Team, attending Carers forums, developing and facilitating groups. Working closely with community support networks for carers and keeping a directory of local support networks for carers.

To offer and complete carers assessments for carers of all service users accessing the service, undertaking annual reviews, offering advice & guidance, signposting to local support networks.

Complete funding applications as appropriate for direct payments for carers, under the supervision and guidance of the Team Social Workers.

To attend weekly MDT team meetings as appropriate and Team/ Service Business Meetings & away days.

To work with individuals on an individual or group basis and to co-facilitate group intervention.

A percentage of work may involve providing support to care coordinators visiting complex clients presenting with risk that requires visits by two staff members.

To work flexible manner including planned out of hours in line with the service needs

Person Specification

Education Training and Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ level 3 or equivalent mental health experience

Desirable

• Foundation Degree in Mental Health or social care.

Previous Experience

Essential

• Relevant experience working with adults with acute and chronic mental health problems
• Working within a multidisciplinary team environment
• Working with service users and carers within their own homes.

Desirable

• Experience of working with children or within the Safeguarding Children framework
• Experience of working within women's services

Skills and Abilities

Essential

• Ability to work with patients on an individual or group basis, focusing on their recovery pathway
• Ability to enable and empower patients in a way that increases their self esteem, raises their confidence and help them to identify positive qualities in self.
• Excellent verbal and written communication skills relevant to the legal requirements of client care and related issues and the documentation of that care.
• Ability to support the multidisciplinary team in the assessment, planning, implementation and evaluation of mental and physical care appropriate to the needs of the client group and clinical speciality and the ability to use evidenced based approaches in the delivery of care.
• Ability to recognise stress in oneself and others and manage appropriately accessing additional support where necessary.
• Ability to work autonomously and to work as part of a team
• Demonstrate an awareness how your own approach and communication style may impact on service users, their carers and members of your own team.
• Be prepared to use reflection in action and on action to gain a deeper understanding and insight from situations and experiences occurring inside and outside the work environment and how these can impact on each other.
• Be able to respond with compassion towards clients when they present in a way that is considered aggressive, maladaptive or socially immature or unacceptable

Desirable

• Experience of devising groups and activities.

Knowledge

Essential

• Mental Health issues relevant to adults with acute and chronic mental health issues and or forensic histories
• The impact mental health difficulties have on other areas of a service user's life. E.G. Lack of social inclusion, inability to reach life goals, inability to reach others expectations, inability to maintain relationships. Poverty financial and social.
• An understanding of the Care Programme Approach and Mental Health Act and how this impacts on the service user group.
• A knowledge and understanding of the Care Act and the rights of individuals
• An ability to monitor physical observations and identify when results are outside considered normal parameters.
• To have an awareness of the side effects of medication.

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.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).

Employer details

Employer name

East London NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Grove View Integrated Health Hub

Court Drive

Dunstable , Bedfordshire

LU7 1HJ

Employer's website

https://www.elft.nhs.uk/ (Opens in a new tab)