PCN Social Prescribing Link Worker

NHS; City Of London; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A local health service provider is recruiting Social Prescribing Link Workers in London. These roles involve working directly with individuals to enhance their health and well-being through community support. Candidates should have experience in community development and hold relevant qualifications. This job is practice-based, aligning with the broader goal of addressing health inequalities in the community.

Qualifications

• Experience of working directly in a community development context.
• Experience in supporting individuals and their families.
• Prior experience working within Primary Care Networks.

Responsibilities

• Empower individuals in health and well-being.
• Develop trusting relationships focusing on individual goals.
• Co-produce personalized support packages.
• Educate staff about community services.

Skills

Community development

Health and social care

Support planning

Building relationships

Education

NVQ Level 3 or equivalent

Job description

The LondonBorough of Waltham Forest and Waltham Forest Federated GP Network aresupporting the Primary Care Networks established across the boroughto recruit Social Prescribing Link Workers.The postswill be part of a wider Integrated Care development known as the ManagedNetwork of Care & Support. The role is practice based and not remote. The Managed Network focuses on prevention andearly intervention. A key activity is toprovide non-clinical support to vulnerable residents by employing link workersacross 3 well-being pathways, Social Prescribing, well-being at Home and LocalArea Coordination. The model has beendeveloped as part of the Waltham Forest Integrated Care Partnership and is partof the Promoting Wellbeing Programme.

Main duties of the job

Social Prescribing Link Workers empowerpeople to take control of their health and well-being by taking a holisticapproach and connecting people to practical and emotional support in thecommunity and statutory sectors.Officers give people time to focus on their aspirations & goals andhelp to build active and sustainable communities by working collaborativelywith local partners.

You will be practice based on a rotational basis working at different practices within the PCN. This is not a remote role.

The activities undertaken by SocialPrescribing Link Workers help to strengthen personal and community resilienceand reduce health inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of healthsuch as debt, poor housing and social isolation.

The service is targeted atparticular groups of residents. SocialPrescribing Link Workers will support residents to become more independent and enhancetheir well-being

About us

Fednet WTE CIC works with 36 GP Practices in Waltham Forest. We are a private limited company who provides NHS Services based in Primary Care, pooling the skills and resources of local GPs to provide large scale services as part of the local NHS Strategy to bring more services into the Community to help people stay well and at home.

Job responsibilities

1. Working with direct supervision by a GP, taking referrals from awide range of agencies - working with primary care networks, community healthteams, hospital discharge teams, social care services, housing agencies,employment organisations and the voluntary & community sector (VCS). This list is not exhaustive.

2.Provide personalised support to individuals, families and carers, helpingthem to take control of their well-being so they can live more independentlyand improve their health outcomes, as key members of the Primary Care Networkmulti-disciplinary team.

3.Develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focusingon what matters to the person. The approach should be holistic and based on theindividuals aspirations and goals and how these impact the wider determinantsof health.

4.Co-produce a personalised support package to improve health andwellbeing, introducing or re-connecting people to community groups and statutory services. The role may involve managinga caseload and this will need to be prioritised based on competing demands andthe needs of clients.

5.Draw on, and increase, the strengths and capacities of localcommunities - enabling VCS organisations and community groups to receive referrals.Ensure groups are supported and havebasic safeguarding processes in place for vulnerable individuals, so people candevelop friendships, a sense of belonging and increase knowledge, skills andconfidence.

6.Alongside other members of the Primary Care Networkmulti-disciplinary team, work collaboratively with local partners to contributetowards supporting local VCS organisations and community groups to becomesustainable and that community asset arenurtured. This may mean making groupleaders aware of opportunities for small grants or micro-commissioning, whereavailable. It may also mean providing helpto set up new community groups and services, where gaps in local provision are identified.

7.Social Prescribing Link Workers will have a role in educatingnon-clinical and clinical staff within their Primary Care Network multi-disciplinaryteams on what other services are available within the community and how andwhen patients can access them. This mayinclude verbal or written advice and guidance.

Key tasks

Referrals

Promote social prescribing and the role it can play infacilitating self-management and improving outcomes by addressing the widerdeterminants of health.

As part of the Primary Care Network multi-disciplinary team, buildrelationships with key stakeholders and workers in other well-being pathwaysthat are part of the PCN. Attendrelevant multi-disciplinary team meetings and provide information and feedbackon social prescribing and other wellbeing-related services.

Develop strong links with local agencies, encouraging referrals byproviding a high-quality and responsive service to referring practitioners.

Work in partnership with local agencies to raise awareness of howsocial prescribing and other well-being pathways can reduce pressure onstatutory services and enable a holistic approach to care.

Provide advice and training on how to access information aboutsupport-related services and make appropriate referrals.

Seek feedback from referring agencies about service quality andimpact.

Encourage referrals from communities that statutory agencies findhard to reach.

Person Specification

Experience

• Experience of working directly in a community development context, health and social care, learning support, public health or health improvement. This can include unpaid work.
• Experience in supporting people, their families and carers in a related role.
• Experience in support planning
• Experience working with the VCS sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or experience, or working towards. Supporting evidence will be required if you are working towards a level 3 NVQ.
• Previous experience of working within a PCN.

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.