Social Prescriber

Job description

Job responsibilities

Referrals

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

As part of the PCN multi-disciplinary team, build relationships with staff in GP practices within the local PCN, attending relevant MDT meetings, 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 access and 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 equality and inclusion, through self-referrals and connecting with all diverse 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. Build trust and respect with the person, providing non-judgemental and non-discriminatory support, respecting diversity, and lifestyle choices. Work from a strength-based approach focusing on a persons assets.

Be a friendly and engaging source of information about health, 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.

Work with individuals to co-produce a simple personalised support plan to address the persons health and wellbeing needs based on the persons priorities, interests, values, cultural and religious/faith needs 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 culturally appropriate community groups, activities, and statutory services, ensuring they are comfortable, feel valued and respected. Follow up to ensure they are happy, able to engage, included and receiving good support.

Where people may be eligible for a personal health budget, help them to explore this option as a way of providing funded, personalised support to be independent, including helping people to gain skills for meaningful employment, where appropriate.

Seek advice and support from supervisor and /or identified individual(s) to discuss patient-related concerns (e.g., abuse, domestic violence, and support with mental health), referring the patient back to the GP or other suitable health professional if required. Support community groups and VCSE organisations to receive referrals

Forge strong links with a wide range of local VCSE organisations, community, and neighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks and building on whats already available to create a menu of diverse community groups and assets, who promote diversity and inclusion.

Develop supportive relationships with local diverse VCSE organisations, culturally appropriate 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 commissioners and local partners to identify unmet diverse needs within the community and gaps in community provision.

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

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

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. Provide appropriate feedback to referral agencies about the people they referred.

Work closely within the MDT and with GP practices within the PCN to ensure that the social prescribing referral codes are inputted into clinical systems (as outlined in the Network Contract DES), adhering to data protection legislation and data sharing agreements.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

• NVQ Level 3, Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards

Desirable

• Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience

Experience

Essential

• Knowledge of the personalised care approach
• 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 community development approaches
• Local knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality
• Knowledge of how the NHS works, including primary care

Desirable

• Understanding of the needs of small volunteer-led community groups and ability to support their development

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

Chippenham, Corsham & Box Primary Care Network

Address

Springfield Community Campus

Beechfield Road

Corsham

Wiltshire

SN139DN

Employer's website

https://www.hathawaysurgery.co.uk/chippenham-corsham-box-primary-care-network/ (Opens in a new tab)