Lead Social Prescribing Link Worker

NHS; City Of London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A community healthcare provider in the UK is seeking a Lead Social Prescribing Link Worker to manage a team and connect individuals to local resources for health and wellbeing. Ideal candidates will have strong interpersonal skills, relevant experience in health or social care, and a commitment to reducing health inequalities. The position offers a salary range of £30,000 to £35,000 per year based on experience, and is a permanent, full-time role at North Lewisham Primary Care Network.

Qualifications

• Experience working in health or social care settings.
• Ability to manage and prioritize a caseload effectively.
• Understanding of wider determinants of health.

Responsibilities

• Lead a team of Social Prescribers within a multidisciplinary healthcare team.
• Manage referrals and collaborate with GP practices.
• Develop and maintain relationships with community agencies.

Skills

Interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Empathy

Organizational skills

Education

NVQ Level 3 or equivalent

Tools

Joy platform

Job description

We are looking to recruit a LEAD Social Prescribing Link Worker, to work within our Primary Care Network multidisciplinary healthcare team. The post holder will lead a team of Social Prescribers, and will work with a diverse range of people from different cultural and social backgrounds. The ability to work confidently and effectively in a varied and sometimes challenging environment is essential.

The successful candidate will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, and be organised, patient and empathetic. They will have experience of working in health, social care or other support roles including direct contact with people, families or carers.

Social prescribing empowers people to take control of their health and wellbeing through referral to non-medical link workers who give time, focus on what matters to me and take a holistic approach, connecting people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support.

Social prescribing can help to strengthen community resilience and personal resilience and reduces health inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor housing and physical inactivity, by increasing peoples active involvement with their local communities. It particularly works for people with long-term conditions; for people who are lonely or isolated, in debt, unemployed, have poor or no housing or have complex social needs, which affect their wellbeing.

Main duties of the job

MAIN DUTIES & RESPONSIBILITIES

Take referrals from and work with GP practices and other professionals within the PCN as well as receiving self-referrals from the public.

The role will require managing and prioritising the caseload of the whole team, in accordance with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required by individuals on the caseload. As the lead for the team, you will analyze the data (Joy platform) and engage with the team as to their strategic focus for the weeks ahead, and hold them accountable for said delivery. Accordingly, a sizable part of the role will be managing people.

It is vital that you have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies, when what the person needs is beyond the scope of the link worker role e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.

About us

North Lewisham Primary Care Network (NLPCN) is the largest PCN in Lewisham and has a very diverse population made up of 10 GP Practices serving a population of over 90,000 patients. Health inequality affects our patients. North Lewisham has higher than average levels of deprivation and BAME populations and poorer health outcomes.

VISION & VALUES

The aim of the NLPCN is to offer high quality patient-centered healthcare, which is committed to bringing together GP practices so that they can more effectively work with others. Our ambition is to reduce inequalities in healthcare and improve the quality of health and wellbeing throughout North Lewisham through increased access to high quality, integrated health and social care.

These health inequalities are partly driven by differences in the uptake and provision of health and social care services but are also substantially influenced by the structural determinants of health, including education, housing, physical work environment, and poverty.

As a PCN, NLPCN operates as part of the local accountable integrated care system, working and collaborating with GP practices, a wide range of healthcare professionals, social services professionals as well as local community groups. This enables us to not only focus on direct health services but also on the social and other issues that impact on health thereby enhancing the health and wellbeing of patients and community.

Job responsibilities

KEY TASKS

Referrals

Promoting social prescribing, its role in self-management, and the wider determinants of health

Build relationships with key staff in GP practices within the local Primary Care Network (PCN), attending relevant meetings, becoming part of the wider network team, 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 outcomes and enable a holistic approach to care

Provide the PCN 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 self-referrals and connecting with all local communities, particularly those communities that statutory agencies may find hard to reach.

Be a friendly source of information about 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 based on the persons priorities, interests, values 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 community groups, activities and statutory services, ensuring they are comfortable. 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

Support community groups and VCSE organisations to receive referrals

Develop supportive relationships with local VCSE organisations, community groups and statutory services, to make timely, appropriate and supported referrals for the person being introduced

Ensure that local community groups and VCSE organisations being referred to have basic procedures in place for ensuring that vulnerable individuals are safe and, where there are safeguarding concerns, work with all partners to deal appropriately with issues. Where such policies and procedures are not in place, support groups to work towards this standard before referrals are made to them

Support local groups to act in accordance with information governance policies and procedures, ensuring compliance with the Data Protection Act

Work with commissioners and local partners to identify unmet needs within the community and gaps in community provision

Support local partners and commissioners to develop new groups and services where needed, through small grants for community groups, micro-commissioning and development support

Encourage people who have been connected to community support through social prescribing to volunteer and give their time freely to others, in order to build their skills and confidence, and strengthen community resilience

Develop a team of volunteers within your service to provide buddying support for people, starting new groups and finding creative community solutions to local issues

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

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. Use the case management system to track the persons progress. Provide appropriate feedback to referral agencies about the people they referred

Work closely with GP practices within the PCN to ensure that social prescribing referral codes are inputted to EMIS/System One/Vision and that the persons use of the NHS can be tracked, adhering to data protection legislation and data sharing agreements.

Clinical Governance

Identify risk issues that impact on peoples health or social care needs

Take appropriate action to the significance of the risk and consistent with protection procedures, applying protection procedures, following lone worker procedure

Demonstrate effective team working inclusive of all relevant professionals

Report all accidents / incidents, and all ill health, failings in equipment and / or environment to line managers

Contribute towards audit and data collection as required

Once assessed as competent will be accountable for their own practice within their area of responsibility when identified and agreed with the line manager

Work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the roles and responsibilities

Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety

Work with the Clinical Director to access regular clinical supervision, to enable you to deal effectively with the difficult issues that people present.

Work as part of the team to seek feedback, continually improve the service and contribute to business planning

Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner

Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

Supervision

The post holder will have access to appropriate clinical supervision and an appropriate named individual in the PCN to provide general advice and support on a day-to-day basis.

Confidentiality

In the course of seeking treatment, patients entrust us with, or allow us to gather, sensitive information in relation to their health and other matters. They do so in confidence and have the right to expect that staff will respect their privacy and act appropriately

In the performance of the duties outlined in this job description, the post-holder may have access to confidential information relating to patients and their carers, practice staff and other healthcare workers. They may also have access to information relating to the practice as a business organisation. All such information from any source is to be regarded as strictly confidential

Information relating to patients, carers, colleagues, other healthcare workers or the business of the practice, may only be divulged to authorised persons in accordance with the practice policies and procedures relating to confidentiality and the protection of personal and sensitive data.

Person Specification

Knowledge and Skills

• Understanding of the wider determinants of health, including social, economic and environmental factors and their impact;
• Knowledge of community development approaches;
• Knowledge of IT systems, including ability to use word processing skills, emails and the internet to create simple plans;
• Knowledge of motivational coaching and interview skills;
• Awareness of GDPR; Awareness of Safeguarding Children & Adults.
• Knowledge of the personalised care approach
• Knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality
• Knowledge of the Joy platform

Experience

• Experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health/health improvement (including unpaid work); Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work); Experience of working with the VCSE sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups; Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations;
• Experience of data collection and providing monitoring information to assess the impact of services; Experience of supporting and/or working with vulnerable people.

Qualities and Attributes

• Ability to listen, empathise with people and provide person- centred support in a non- judgemental way;
• Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity;
• Commitment to reducing health inequalities and proactively working to reach people from all communities;
• Able to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence, motivating others to reach their potential;
• Ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing, with people, their families, carers, community groups, partner agencies and stakeholders;
• Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals;
• Have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back toother health professionals/agencies, when what the person needs is beyond the scope of the link worker role;
• Able to work from an asset-based approach, building on existing community and personal assets;
• Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks;
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues;
• Commitment to collaborative working with all local agencies;
• Demonstrates personal accountability, emotional resilience and works well under pressure;
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines;
• High level of written and oral communication skills;
• Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative; and to lead said team;
• Understanding of the needs of small volunteer-led community groups and ability to support their development;
• Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety;

Other

• Meets DBS reference standards and has a clear criminal record, in line with the law on spent;
• Willingness to work flexible hours when required to meet work demands; Ability to travel across the locality if required.

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3, Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards this level.
• Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development
• Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience

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 name

North Lewisham Primary Care Network

Address

North Lewisham PCN Suite 4 Waldron Health Centre

£30,000 to £35,000 a yearDepending on experience

Contract

Permanent

Working pattern

Reference number

A5463-25-0005

Job locations

North Lewisham PCN Suite 4 Waldron Health Centre