Aot Support Worker

Essex Partnership University Nhs Foundation Trust; Colchester; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 25,000; Full time

Benefits offered by this job

27 days holiday

Excellent pension

Staff discounts

Season ticket loans

Job summary

Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is seeking a Health Care Assistant to join the Assertive Outreach Team in North East Essex. You will provide practical support and compassionate care in service users' homes and community settings, supporting recovery and social inclusion.

You will travel across the NE Essex area, work as part of a multidisciplinary team, and help with activities, benefits access, and daily living tasks while maintaining confidentiality and professional standards.

Qualifications

• Working with people with Mental Health problems.
• Desirable: previous experience in a community or inpatient mental health service.

Responsibilities

• Provide practical and regular support to service users and carers in community or in-patient settings, with a focus on social inclusive activities and recovery (e.g., escorting to appointments, assisting with benefits forms, supporting to collect medication, attending educational or recreational facilities).
• Participate in group activities within the Trust premises and community settings; record and report back on activities and alert care team to issues.
• Attend/participate in meetings/CPA reviews as required for allocated service users.
• Complete care plan documentation and provide regular written/verbal reports to care coordinators and other professionals.
• Act as an advocate within confidentiality and professionalism boundaries.
• Develop care plans/crisis/contingency plans with service users and carers as required.
• Provide information on health promotion and support service users to participate in relevant groups/activities.

Skills

Working with people with Mental Health

Job description

Job summary

Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should a sufficient number of applications be received.

ROLE SUMMARY

The Assertive Outreach Team/Pathway will deliver effective care to service-users in North East Essex who are experiencing severe and enduring mental health problems, often leading to multiple and complex needs and who may be difficult to engage. Care and support will be offered in line with the CPA approach and delivered in service user's homes or other community settings. The post-holder will support the process of undertaking co-produced, personalised care & support planning with service users where goals and interventions are based on each individual's strengths, assets and sense of what will make a more meaningful life for themselves. This may include supporting service users to be 'gainfully' engaged as per their goals e.g. education, employment, volunteering, training, recovery college activity or other meaningful occupation, and should include a collaborative and flexible approach.

Main duties of the job

The main role of the Assertive Outreach Team / Pathway:

• To develop and maintain a supportive and therapeutic relationship with the service user to provide help and care in the service users own community.
• To provide flexible support and help that is meaningful and acceptable to the service user that aims to improve their quality of life and functioning.
• To seek meaningful and acceptable methods of engaging service users.
• To maintain relationships and develop supportive social networks.
• To provide a wide range of practical support aimed at reducing isolation and promoting recovery for example, employment and leisure.
• To increase carer satisfaction, education, training, and support

You will need to have access to transport and be able to travel throughout the NE Essex area on a daily basis, and on occasions have access to transport that will enable you to travel throughout the country.

Applicants must demonstrate a flexible approach, evolving around the needs of service users, their families, and significant others. The role involves working as a team member with the responsibility of a caseload across traditional boundaries of adult services and the voluntary sector services. The service ethos is focused on recovery and promoting independence and therefore offers successful applicants an exciting and demanding opportunity to improve people's lives.

About us

Valuing you. Recognising your dedication. At EPUT, we look after you.

• Receive supervision and support to help you fulfil your potential.
• Join an inclusive EPUT community and connect with others through engagement events and equality or champion networks.
• If you need help, we provide mental health and wellbeing services, occupational health advice and counselling.

Benefits

• 27 days holiday, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days after 10 years' service.
• Excellent pension of up to 14.5% of your pensionable pay.
• Staff discounts include Blue Light Card, NHS discount offers, and staff benefits.
• Season ticket loans are interest-free to cover the cost of travelling to and from work via tram, rail, or bus.

Work that wraps around your needs

• Job share: Applications for job shares are welcomed.

Job responsibilities

• Provide practical and regular support to service users and carers in community or in-patient settings, with a focus on social inclusive activities and recovery e.g., escorting service users to appointments, assisting to complete benefits forms, supporting patients to collect medication from local pharmacy, attending an educational or recreational facility.
• Participate in group activities within the Trust premises and community settings. Records and reports back fully on activities undertaken and alert others in the care team, to any issues that arise during the activities.
• Attends/participates in meetings/CPA reviews as required in relation to allocated Service Users.
• Complete care plan documentation: provide regular written and verbal reports about the service user to the care coordinators and other professionals involved in the care package.
• Act as an advocate within appropriate and agreed boundaries of confidentiality and professionalism.
• The post holder must have the individual service user needs at the fore at all times and use the agreed set of values and skills to underpin their day-to-day work.
• Provide regular and practical support to service users and their carers/significant other in developing and managing dignity and independence.
• Provide support and assistance as necessary with daily living activities.
• Help service users gain access to resources including benefits and welfare rights.
• To ensure the service user understands who is involved in their care across the different services with key contact points/named individuals.
• Assist the care coordinator and service user in developing care plans/crisis/contingency plans in accordance with good practice and local policy guidelines.
• Provide information on health promotion, e.g., healthy eating, exercise, and support service users to participate in relevant groups/activities. Participate in food preparation/cooking skills development.
• Identify and advise on health and safety risks in relation to self and others, e.g., fire, food hygiene, cleanliness.
• Being aware of signs and symptoms of a persons relapse and report back to the manager and/or care coordinator.
• Maintain own professional development by attending regular supervision, training, and adhering to development plans as required.
• Be willing to access training to enhance physical health assessment skills, including but not limited to venepuncture, undertaking ECGs, and general observation

The Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together key health, care, community, and voluntary sector organisations from across our area. Our aim is to work together in partnership to join up health and care services, improving our populations health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities. One such example of this collaborative work is the launch of our HCA Academy, an ICSc initiative between Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT) to support the incoming Health Care assistant (HCA) workforce. The academy models a one workforce cross system approach to the onboarding, induction, education and experience of Healthcare Assistants.

To support this one workforce model the successful candidate for this post will be required to attend our5 day (Monday to Friday) face to face Induction Programme at our MSE ICSc Education Hub at Brentwood Community Hospital. Your start date will therefore fall on one of two of the HCA Academy induction dates across the month, which will be discussed and agreed during the recruitment process.

Our HCA Academy Induction programme has been designed to train and support the successful candidate through the early stages of their employment at EPUT and will provide opportunities to enhance skills, knowledge and experience.

Further information will be provided post interview.

This will be followed by an additional 5 day (Monday to Friday) EPUT corporate / mandatory training welcome. (EPUT Welcome will be varied between face to face and virtual delivery).

Person Specification

Knowledge and Experience

Essential

• Working with people with Mental Health problems

Desirable

• Previous experience in a community or inpatient mental health service

Personal Qualities

Essential

• Always ensures matters of concern are addressed in a timely way, either directly: or raised with the relevant Line Manager; or through the relevant processes within the Trust as appropriate

Desirable

• Designing and facilitating activity/skills based group work

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.

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.