Mental Health Support Workers

Cardiff and Vale University Health Board; Poole; On-site; GBP 21,000 - 27,000; Full time

Job summary

Dorset HealthCare is seeking compassionate Mental Health Support Workers to join the Allocate on Arrival team based at St Ann's Hospital, Poole. The role requires experience with mental illness and learning disabilities and offers flexible hours including nights, weekends and bank holidays.

DBS check is required and visa sponsorship is not available. You will work across inpatient wards and units with a focus on calm, therapeutic care, strong teamwork, and patient-centred support.

Qualifications

• Experience of supporting people with mental illness and/ or learning disabilities is required.

Responsibilities

• Work flexibly according to service and clinical need across inpatient mental health wards and units.
• Take a positive approach to teamwork.
• Therapeutically observe and engage with patients in accordance with their care plan.
• Report and escalate to the registered staff on shift.
• Listen with empathy and compassion to help patients identify solutions.
• Ensure privacy and dignity for all patients.
• Engage patients in emotional regulation and de-escalation as per care plans.
• Undertake and record physical health monitoring and observations and report to a registered practitioner.
• May accompany patients outside hospital or work at another clinical site as required.

Skills

Compassionate approach

Teamwork

Empathy

Experience with mental health/learning

Job description

We are looking for compassionate and adaptable Mental Health Support Workers, to join us in an exciting new opportunity to work as part of the Allocate on Arrival team based at St Anns Hospital, Poole. This team will work according to service need across our mental health wards and units; including Psychiatric Intensive Care Units, Adult and Older persons Acute Assessment and Treatment wards, and Health Based Place of Safety. St Ann's Hospitalprovides care and treatment to those experiencing acute episodes of mental illness and supporting patients through distressing and vulnerable time in their lives. All wards aim to promote a calm and therapeutic approach and environment where our patients are supported by friendly, skilled and enthusiastic teams to enable them to move forwards with their recovery.This role requires the experience, willingness and skills to work in different clinical wards and environments and take a positive approach in team working. Experience of supporting people with mental illness and/ or learning disabilities is required. We are looking for people who can support patients in a calm and therapeutic manner, especially in difficult or distressing circumstances, in accordance with their care plans and under supervision of registered practitioners. Full or part time hours available (minimum 22.5 hours per week) - this post requires shift working including nights, weekends and Bank Holidays.

For the main duties and responsibilities for this role please read the attached job description and person specification.

We understand that using AI can be a useful and supportive tool when completing your application. However, we have also seen an increase in the over-reliance of AI tools which is negatively impacting applications as they remove candidates individuality, and it becomes much harder to get a sense of who you are and your authentic experience. If you do use AI, it should be used to enhance your application and not to create your supporting statement in its entirety. If we suspect you have used AI to create your supporting statement and this does not match your experience, we may withdraw your application. As part of our vision to have a skilled, diverse and caring workforce, Dorset HealthCare offers support for people getting into work. We offer an employability service to support individuals with application writing, interview skills and other employment support. If you would like or know of anyone who would value this support, please do contact [e-mail] Employment in this post requires an Enhanced Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) check, which the Trust will cover the cost of. Please note visa sponsorship for this role is unfortunately not available. Please ensure you hold valid right to work in the UK and will not require sponsorship if successful.

You will be required to undertake a Prevention and Management of Violence and Aggression course, and it is a condition of your employment that you successfully complete all aspects of this course; if this is not achieved you will not be able to commence working in the post.

• To work flexibly according to service and clinical need across the inpatient mental health wards and units.
• Take a positive approach to teamwork.
• Therapeutically observe and engage with patients in accordance with their care plan. Appropriately report and elevate to the registered member of staff on shift.
• Spend time listening to people with empathy and compassion, helping them to identify solutions to the problems they are facing and access resources that may enable their recovery.
• To ensure provision of privacy and dignity to all patients.
• To therapeutically engage and support patients in emotional regulation strategies during times of distress, and in de-escalation of aggression and conflict situations, in line with care plans, Trust policy and guidance of registered practitioners.
• To undertake and accurately record physical health monitoring and observations, and report/escalate as required to registered practitioner.
• You may be required to accompany patients outside of the hospital, or on occasion to work on another clinical site, this will be within your working hours and with any required transport arranged
• Have you previously worked or volunteered in a busy or high-paced environment? Please provide an example where you have remained calm under pressure., Have you undertaken any previous training to develop your skills and/or willing to professionally develop to meet the needs of the service. (Please provide details)., How do you work well in a team? (Please provide an example), Thinking about the skills neeed for this position such as listening, empathy, motivation and prioritisation. Please state how your personal skills allign and why this role appeals to you., What experience do you have of working with people with mental health and / or learning disabilities, including demonstrable skills in supporting people in emotional distress. How does your experience meet these essential criteria?
  At Dorset HealthCare we're on a mission to empower people to make the most of their lives through our outstanding, joined-up healthcare services. We're a dynamic, forward-looking Trust, running 12 community hospitals, specialist inpatient facilities and a wide range of integrated community and mental health services for a population of almost800,000 people.

We do things differently here - it's one of the reasons the CQC rated us 'outstanding' in 2019. It's also why 95% of patients across our services say they have a good or very good experience of our services and 89% of staff feel they can really make a difference. Whether you're looking to work with us in one of our bustling market towns, vibrant urban locations, thriving seaside spots, or among the rolling hills of Dorset, there are lots of ways you can make a difference in our communities. Our 7,000-strong workforce is at the heart of what we do and our success is a testament to our brilliant people. We're all about building a workplace for the future, we believe in equal opportunities and we celebrate diversity. We're an inclusive workplace, where everyone is welcome, everyone can be authentic, and we are all encouraged to be the best version of ourselves. Working with us you'll be part of a strong team, challenge yourself, build a career, and teach us what we don't know. And you'll be working towards our vision to create healthier lives, empowered citizens and thriving communities.