Healthcare Support Worker

NHS; Gillingham; On-site; GBP 19,000 - 24,000; Full time

Job summary

A community health service provider in Gillingham is seeking enthusiastic Healthcare Support Workers to assist clients with complex mental health needs. You will work in a Community Rehabilitation Team to promote recovery and support service users in daily living activities. Applicants must have an NVQ in Health and Social Care or be willing to work towards it, hold a valid UK driving license, and have experience in mental health settings. The position may require working evenings and weekends.

Qualifications

• Good general education, competent in literacy and numeracy.
• Awareness of enduring mental health disorders and the Recovery Model.
• Ability to converse effectively with individuals and groups.

Responsibilities

• Support service users to promote recovery and maintain community living.
• Implement individual care plans under guidance of health professionals.
• Provide physical health checks and document findings.

Skills

Communication skills

Teamwork

Empathy

Organizational skills

Education

NVQ or equivalent in Health and Social Care

Job description

The Community Rehabilitation Service provides a flexible range of mental health interventions to help clients complex mental health needs to manage their mental health more effectively and remain in their own homes.

The team works in close partnership with Social Care and housing providers to ensure each client has the necessary resources available to enable them to engage in their rehab journey. Across the Community Rehabilitation teams, the clinical team consists of Occupational Therapists, Psychologists, Nurses, and VCSE Workers.

We currently have an exciting opportunities for two enthusiastic and motivated Healthcare Support Worker to join our North Kent Community Rehabilitation Service. Post one will cover Dartford, Gravesend and Swanley. Post two will cover Medway and Swale.

Individuals may be expected to ensure the team is able provide input between the hours of 08:00 and 20:00 according to the needs of the service, including working some evenings, weekends and public holidays.

Main duties of the job

• You will work as part of a Community Rehabilitation Team , focusing on the direct needs of service users.
• Under the guidance and supervision of the Multi-Disciplinary Team, you will provide support and give time to an allocated group of service users in order to promote their recovery and maintain them in their community environment. You will be promoting and facilitating therapeutic activity, promoting self-care and supporting with activities of daily living.
• You will support service users to identify their needs and to assist Clinicians to plan, implement and evaluate individual care plans.
• You will be working to the recovery model to support the service user to work towards their identified goals.
• Giving physical health checks and physical health care as required or instructed, documenting the physical health checks on the early warning scoring system (MEWS), chart and reporting changes to the nurse/healthcare professional in charge.
• Undertaking day-to-day tasks as allocated by Nurse/healthcare professional.

The post holder must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

About us

We are the Kent and Medway Mental Health NHS Trust. We care for the mental health and wellbeing of people across Kent and Medway. Our teams support adults with a wide range of mental health needs. Because we cover the whole county and both hospital and community settings, we can make care more joined up and easier to access for the 1.8 million people of Kent and Medway. Rated 'Good' by the CQC, we care for over 2,000 people in our hospitals and 54,000 in the community each year.

Our vision is simple: We are here to help communities not just live with mental illness, but live well. It's why we're passionate about working with communities to make mental health care better for everyone. And everything we do is guided by our values caring, inclusive, curious and confident.

Join us - if you share our passion for better mental health care and want to be part of a team that's doing well together.

Job responsibilities

Please refer to the attached job description for the full details on the responsibilities and person specification

Person Specification

Training and Qualifications

• Good general education, competent in literacy and numeracy
• NVQ or equivalent in a relevant subject (e.g. Health and Social Care) or be prepared to work towards this

UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle

• The post holder must hold a full, valid, UK driving licence and have access to a car/vehicle to use for business purposes (unless you have a disability as defined by the Equality Act 2010).

Experience

• Experience of working with individuals with complex mental health problems.
• Experience of working in a community mental health setting.
• Experience of implementing rehabilitation plans.
• Experience of individual and group work.

Knowledge and Skills

• An awareness of enduring mental health disorders.
• A basic understanding of the Recovery Model.
• An awareness of the impact of mental health needs on clients, families and carers.
• Ability to follow specific directions as required.
• An ability to form rapport with individuals and groups.
• An ability to maintain a high degree of professionalism at all times, even in challenging/complex situations.
• Ability to work autonomously and cooperatively as part of an interdisciplinary team, showing an awareness of team dynamics.
• Ability to communicate information using a variety of mediums.
• Basic awareness of clinical governance.
• Effective organisational/planning and decision-making skills.
• Sound knowledge and practice of IT skills.
• To be able to travel efficiently throughout the area.
• An awareness of social activities and amenities within the local community.
• Knowledge of benefits and employment systems.
• Basic health and safety awareness.
• A basic understanding of the Mental Health Act.

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.