Healthcare Navigator

Oxleas NHS Foundation Trust; Sheerness; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 40,000; Full time

Job summary

A leading NHS organization is seeking a compassionate Healthcare Navigator to join the team at HMP Elmley in Sheerness, England. The role involves providing guidance and support in healthcare settings, especially for individuals in custody. Responsibilities include enhancing patient access to healthcare services, addressing vulnerabilities, and improving partnerships between services. The ideal candidate will possess strong communication skills and a commitment to working with diverse populations. This position offers the opportunity to make a meaningful impact on the lives of those in the healthcare system.

Qualifications

• Willing to undertake National Security Vetting.
• Ability to communicate clearly and professionally.
• Empathetic with strong listening and negotiation skills.

Responsibilities

• Provide reassurance and guidance to patients.
• Act as a bridge between HMPSS and healthcare providers.
• Support access to healthcare and social care services.

Skills

Compassion

Knowledge of healthcare

Excellent IT skills

Communication skills

Ability to work as part of a team

Tools

Microsoft Office

SystmOne

Job description

Overview

Are you passionate about making a difference in the lives of others? Do you have skills for providing guidance and support in healthcare settings? If so, we have an exciting opportunity for you! As part of the Kent Prison Healthcare contract awarded to Oxleas NHS trust in 2022, we are able to expand recruitment and are looking for a compassionate, knowledgeable and motivated Healthcare Navigator to join our friendly team at HMP Elmley. Our healthcare team have a real impact on promoting health and well-being to those in prison and we pride ourselves on using skills and strategies that instil hope for patients future resettlement back into the community. We directly deliver Mental Health, Physical Health, Pharmacy and Clinical Substance Misuse in an integrated healthcare delivery model to provide effective and responsive care to improve wellbeing and support better outcomes in the future.

Key Responsibilities

• Providing reassurance, guidance, and signposting to health and social care services to minimize distress and risk.
• Acting as a bridge between HMPSS and healthcare providers to improve joint care.
• Offering a visible presence in the First Night Centre/Induction Wing.
• Addressing vulnerabilities associated with early days in custody, including reducing self-harm.
• Supporting access to healthcare and social care services, especially for people from diverse backgrounds or with specific needs.
• Improving partnership working between services, particularly social care and Safer Custody teams.
• Assisting with improving patient choice regarding healthcare interventions and promoting Health Champions.
• Identify risk factors during early days in custody.
• Improve Induction into establishments.
• Create greater awareness of healthcare and social care options and the range of services available.
• Support access to those services i.e. use of PODS, application process especially for people from diverse backgrounds or with specific needs.
• Improve engagement rates into healthcare and reduce did‑not‑attend appointments.
• Further support social prescribing and promote and manage Health Champions.
• Set up and run specific patient forums particularly relating to post ACCT.
• Input into complex case meetings.
• Be responsible for logging and making referrals.
• Offer appropriate support and guidance to patients and their families/carers.
• Plan / organise work using own initiative, whilst being able to work as a valuable member of a team.
• Have excellent IT skills, to include Microsoft Office, Outlook and Excel.
• Undertake general office duties to support the role.
• Provide coordination of and participate in relevant internal and external working groups and provide project advice, expertise and support where requested.

Communication Responsibilities

• Maintain close working partnerships with all services that may be involved with the care and management of offenders, (prison staff, Ministry of Justice, Trust & Directorate senior managers & relevant forums, CMHT staff, NHS Hospitals, Probation Services, CPS, Courts, GP's, community health services, Housing/Benefit services, social care, community multi agency forums etc.).
• Communicate clearly and professionally in a way in which patients will be able to understand and feel supported.
• Record patient interventions on relevant electronic database systems (e.g. SystmOne and Prison Systems) and contribute to report generation, analysis and production.
• Use clinical systems for record keeping, audit and evaluation.
• Develop and implement data collection systems that will provide accurate and timely data.
• Maintain confidentiality.
• Use a range of verbal and non‑verbal communication tools to communicate effectively with patients, carers and families and colleagues.
• Provide reassurance, guidance and signposting to health and social care services that will contribute to minimising distress and risk.
• Identify learning needs, plan, implement and evaluate programmes of education to meet identified need.
• Establish own support mechanisms to enable structured reflection, including supervision, development of supportive networks mentoring and coaching.
• The post holder should be physically fit for the role with the necessary keyboard and IT skills.
• Required to communicate across the health community and with patients / carers where the nature of the information given may be sensitive and could be disputed.
• The post holder should be empathetic and skilled in listening, persuasion and negotiation, and recognises care, compassion, competency, communication, and commitment in their role.

Custodial Responsibilities

• Assume personal responsibility for the security of issued keys.
• Understand and comply with prison orders, procedures, and instructions in your area of work.
• Comply with all security requirements.
• Respond to any situation or circumstance that might indicate a threat to security of the establishment or to the safety of an individual, completing Incident, Security, Injury, or other reports as appropriate.
• Report breaches of order and discipline including reporting and recording untoward incidents according to local protocol.
• Contribute to effective risk assessment and management procedures.

Requirements

• All applicants must be willing to undertake National Security Vetting in order to work in a Prison Setting.
• Proof of right to work documentation.
• Proof of ID, needs to include 1 photographic ID.
• Proof of address documentation.
• Non‑UK passport holders will need to have correct documentation (right to work in the UK) and a Home Office Share code.
• 5 years address history will be needed.
• Applicants that are not UK Passport holders who provide less than 5 years UK address history will need to provide a Police Certificate which must be in English from where they resided previously.
• Applicants who are UK Passport holders who have lived abroad for a period of more than six months during the last three years will need to provide a certificate of good conduct or an overseas police check in English from the countries resided in or visited.
• Additional guidance about police certificates can be found at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/criminal-records-checks-for-overseas-applicants.

Inclusive Workplace

We are committed to creating an inclusive workplace that welcomes and supports individuals of all abilities. Remember, if you meet the minimum criteria for this role and you have a disability, you can be guaranteed an interview under the Disability Confident Scheme – Please ensure you select this on your application form. We would encourage you to be open about your needs so we can work with you to design a comfortable and accessible interview experience. Any information you provide regarding a disability or a need for adjustments will be treated in confidence and will only be shared with colleagues who are supporting this request. If you require any adjustments to participate fully in the interview process, please let us know by adding the relevant details when scheduling your preferred interview date and time. Please feel free to contact the appointing manager to discuss your needs.

Company Background

Oxleas offers a wide range of NHS healthcare services to people in community and secure environment settings. Our services include community health care such as district nursing and speech and language therapy, care for people with learning disabilities and mental health care such as psychiatry, nursing and therapies. Our multidisciplinary teams look after people of all ages and we work in close partnership with other parts of the NHS, local councils and the voluntary sector and through our new provider collaboratives. Our 4,300 members of staff work in many different settings including hospitals, clinics, prisons, secure hospitals, children's centres, schools and people's homes. We have over 125 sites in a variety of locations in the South of England. In London we operate within the Boroughs of Bexley, Bromley Greenwich and into Kent. We manage hospital sites including Queen Mary's Hospital, Sidcup and Memorial Hospital, Woolwich, as well as the Bracton Centre, our medium secure unit for people with mental health needs. We are the largest NHS provider of prison health services providing healthcare to prisons within Devon, Dorset, Bristol, Wiltshire and Gloucestershire, Kent and South London. We are proud of the care we provide and our people.

Our Values

• We’re Kind
• We’re Fair
• We Listen
• We Care