Recovery Support Worker

If you are looking for a rare and exciting opportunity and you have a particular interest in Forensic community services, then this is the position for you.

The post holder will join an already established wider Occupational Therapy service and will be based within the Specialist Forensic Community team.

As a recovery support worker you will be managed by the Occupational Therapy team working across medium and low secure services, accountable to the Head of AHP and Rehabilitation.

A core part of the role will involve facilitating group activities with service users in the community, working with individuals to facilitate their engagement skills in their local area. Considerable focus will be on transitions for service users between in-patient and community settings in the locality.

This will entail in-reach work into the inpatient settings and supporting the service users to move out of long term secure care into various supported packages of care, which might include hostels or independent living. The role will consist of facilitating groups across the different hubs in London. The role will also involve supporting community service users step down in levels of accommodation or discharge to local community mental health teams.

Main duties of the job

1. To support service users to identify their needs, interests and aspirations and work towards their identified goals.
2. To actively promote healthy lifestyles and behaviours.
3. To plan and deliver a range of diversional activities that meet service users' needs and assist the clinical team in the assessment of the service user's mental health needs.
4. To support the clinical team in providing a therapeutic environment and structuring a service user's day, planning and delivering appropriate diversional activities and engaging with service users.
5. To facilitate group and individual activities in a range of environments - ward, site, and community.
6. To support service users with involvement and participation in activity and their treatment, as part of the multi-disciplinary team.
7. Support clinical caseload under the direction of an occupational therapist.
8. Support occupational therapist with input into standardised assessments for ADL reports, functional axe, and CPA reports.
9. To ensure documentation is accurate and reflective.
10. Diaries and stats are outcome on RIO.

About us

West London NHS Trust is one of the most diverse providers of mental health, community and social care in the UK.

Our 3,982 staff care for people in hospital and in the community, helping them to recover and go on to lead full and productive lives. We aim to be the best organisation of our kind in the country.

We provide care and treatment for more than 800,000 people living in the London boroughs of Ealing, Hammersmith & Fulham and Hounslow, delivering services in the community (at home, in GP surgeries and care homes), hospital, specialist clinics and forensic (secure) units.

We're rated good overall by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).

Together, we're committed to promoting hope and wellbeing, working with patients, service users, carers, families and partners across the communities we serve.

We are keen to ensure that our workforce reflects the community it serves, particularly in terms of ethnicity, gender, disability, LGBTQ+ and experience of mental illness.

Job responsibilities

The Forensic Services are based at St Bernards Hospital on the Ealing site in London and comprise a number of specialist areas including Women's and Men's inpatient services at both low and medium security including community services.

Please Note: As this role is based on a male-only ward and involves working closely with male service users who may require support in personal care, physical health needs, and activities in a sensitive and secure environment, male applicants are preferred for this position under a genuine occupational requirement. This is in line with the Equality Act 2010, which permits a gender-specific requirement for roles where it is necessary for the position's nature or the nature of the services provided. The Trust is working to ensure a balance in staffing to meet the needs of male service users effectively and provide an appropriate environment for both staff and patients. As such, this vacancy is intended to contribute to this effort.

The post holder will join an already established wider Occupational Therapy service and will be based within the Specialist Forensic Community team.

As a recovery support worker you will be managed by the Occupational Therapy team working across medium and low secure services, accountable to the Head of AHP and Rehabilitation.

A core part of the role will involve facilitating group activities with service users in the community, working with individuals to facilitate their engagement skills in their local area. Considerable focus will be on transitions for service users between in-patient and community settings in the locality.

This will entail in-reach work into the inpatient settings and supporting the service users to move out of long term secure care into various supported packages of care, which might include hostels or independent living.

Successful applicants will need to consider how to support service users engagement in meaningful roles and interests within the restrictions of their legal sections.

You will carry a caseload and have responsibilities to provide a range of activities and community based interventions that develop and maintain service user skills in line with recovery principles and practice i.e. social integration and leisure management.

We have strong links with education so service users can gain the qualifications that they need to develop their skills and CVs and move into external work and educational options.

As an Occupational Therapy Service we have a strong commitment to CPD within the trust and provide a range of opportunities for staff with the expectation that learning is shared and clinical excellence is achieved. Supervision of students is expected.

Person Specification

Qualifications & Training

• Educated to GCSE level or equivalent (with a minimum of 5 A-E qualifications, which must include Maths and English)
• NVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care plus post qualifications or further study/training to diploma level or NVQ 4 in Mental Health and/or WLMHT Assistant Practitioner Course or equivalent level of experience or Relevant healthcare degree
• Ability to demonstrate competency in specific clinical skills relating to role.
• Computer qualification or experience/skills.

Experience

• Significant experience of working with individuals who have experienced mental illness in a residential, community or in-patient care setting
• Previous experience of working in a Health or Social Care setting in a paid or voluntary position.
• To be knowledgeable/understanding about factors that cause/impact of mental health problems and associated interventions.
• Demonstrate a knowledge/understanding of: a) The key sections of the Mental Health Act and its use in practice or b) equivalent mental health or social care legislation appropriate to service area or c) legislation pertinent to substance misuse services.
• Evidence of caring and/or demonstrable interest in working within a care setting
• Evidence of compassion and basic kindness
• Courage - having the honesty and integrity to report mistakes

Knowledge

• Excellent verbal and written communication skill
• Able to work on own initiative
• Able to work as part of a team.
• Demonstrate well developed interpersonal skills
• Basic computer skills, ability to use 'word' programmes.
• Clear personal and interpersonal boundaries
• Ability and willingness to undertake training to increase competency level
• Knowledge of equality and diversity and rights
• Motivation and commitment
• Knowledge/understanding of: a) Recovery approach and service user involvement b) The key sections of the Mental Health Act c) Service user involvement d) Strategies relating to Risk management e) Safeguarding principles f) Physical healthcare monitoring and interpretation g) Principles of Care Certificate Assessment

Personal Qualities

• Ability to carry out all aspects of the job
• Ability to identify tasks and delegate appropriately.
• Good at working in a team
• Thoughtful and reflective
• Ability to actively listen and observe
• Ability to demonstrate the Trust Values, Togetherness, Caring, Excellence and Responsibility
• Ability to demonstrate emotional resilience and appropriate coping skills
• Ability to undertake the required PMVA teamwork training

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.

Deputy Head of Allied Health Professionals

£26,530 to £29,114 a year pa inclusive of all allowances