Social Prescriber Link Worker

NHS; City Of London; On-site; GBP 30,000 - 31,000; Part time

Job summary

A local healthcare organization in London is looking for a Social Prescribing Link Worker to support patients by connecting them to community services. This role involves working with GP practices, providing personalized assistance, and developing support plans tailored to individual needs. Ideal candidates should have a background in health or social care, excellent communication skills, and experience working with diverse communities. The role offers a salary of £30,090 to £30,385 per year for 11.25 hours a week.

Qualifications

• Background in health/social care or working with vulnerable individuals.
• Experience with mental health or community support services.
• Excellent communication and relationship-building skills.

Responsibilities

• Connect and support patients referred by GP practices.
• Develop personalized support plans and assess needs.
• Motivate individuals to engage with community resources.

Skills

Good interpersonal skills

Communication skills

Ability to motivate and empower others

IT skills

Understanding of community services

Education

Background in health/social care

Experience working in multicultural areas

Tools

Charity Log CRM

Job description

These are innovative roles todevelop social prescribing in the local NHS. Based in one of the six PrimaryCare Networks (PCN) you will work in different GP practices across that Network to deliver their specific priorities. You will join a team of ten SocialPrescribing Link Workers workingin Haringey PCNs and be part of a wider community-based Borough team whichoffers information, signposting and short-term support across the eightlocalities in Haringey.

Social prescribing empowers people totake control of their health and wellbeing through referral to non-medicalSocial Prescribing Link Workers, who give time, focus on what matters tome and take a holistic approach, connecting people to community groups andstatutory services for practical and emotional support.

Social prescribing can help tostrengthen community resilience and personal resilience and reduces healthinequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poorhousing and physical inactivity, by increasing peoples active involvement withtheir local communities. It particularly works for people with long-termconditions (including support for mental health), for people who are lonely orisolated, or have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.

Main duties of the job

At thecentre of the social prescribing process is the Social Prescribing Link Worker,working with GP Practices in a Primary Care Network, who connects patients whoare referred to a range of activities and services in the local area dependingon their needs, interests and capacity for engagement. This is a complex roleas the SPLW will need to have good interpersonal skills to engage with thepatient and have a comprehensive knowledge of the services and activitiesavailable in the local area.

About us

Public Voice is a Community Interest Company(CIC) with a mission to improve neighbourhoods, the lives of the people wholive in them and the public services they use.

Through our work, we ensure people in thecommunity are heard bringing together diverse voices and including those whofind themselves marginalised or are rarely reached by service providers. Wetake a user-centred, co-production approach to understanding individuals andcommunities needs, and translate that into meaningful insights for serviceproviders in government, public health, and housing. The results are betteroutcomes for residents and service users, more effective and efficient servicesfor providers, and stronger and healthier neighbourhoods.

We also deliver a Community Navigation Service called Reachand Connect www.reachandconnect.net which provides short-termsupport to residents aged 50+ through signposting and brief interventions whereadditional support is required. The team of SPLWs form part of this wider teambut are based in GP Practices and offer a service to all adults over eighteenyears of age.

Job responsibilities

Working with GP practices within one of theprimary care networks, taking referrals from GPs, pharmacies,multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams, allied health professionalsand other agencies. It is vital that you have a strong awareness andunderstanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back toother health professionals/agencies, when what the person needs is beyond thescope of the SPLW role – e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring aqualified practitioner.

Provide personalised support to individuals,their families and carers to take control of their wellbeing, liveindependently and improve their health outcomes. Develop trusting relationshipsby giving people time and focus on ’what matters to me’. Take a holisticapproach, based on the person’s priorities and the wider determinants of health.

Co-produce a personalised support plan to improve health and wellbeing, introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services. The role will require managing and prioritising your own caseload, inaccordance with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required byindividual.

Work in partnership with key staff in GPpractices within the local Primary Care Network (PCN) to deliver theirpriorities, attending relevant meetings, becoming part of the wider networkteam, giving information and feedback on social prescribing. As a member of thelocal Community Navigator team you will attend regular team meetings to givefeedback on the service, raise issues and receive briefings and updates from teammembers.

• Accept referrals for people with health conditions (including common mental health conditions, obesity, diabetes, respiratoryconditions, mobility issues and sensory impairment) who wish to benefit from community support, focusing on people who are isolated. This includesself-referrals and online enquiries.
• Proactively contact, engage and inspire people to takepart, assessing their needs and offering a personalised approach to includeface to face meetings, home visits, telephone support as required.
• Motivate, empower and encourage people to take positiveaction to improve their health and wellbeing, by connecting with others,attending groups, promoting self‑care, volunteering, accessing advice andinformation and support services. Set goals and develop plans with people tohelp them take control of their health and wellbeing.
• Work with people in a supportive, holistic way (using aMotivational Interview approach) to address practical and psychologicalbarriers, such as lack of transport, low confidence and social isolation, toco‑produce a solution.
• Using the Charity Log CRM system and directory, supportpeople to choose appropriate community activities to support their wellbeing, such as exercise groups, self‑help groups, debt advice, community gardening;and Haringey Circle.
• Maintain regular, supportive contact to address issues asthey arise and ensure people progress and achieve their goals.
• Ensure all necessary data and information about patients,users and volunteers is recorded accurately and confidentially on the CRMdatabase with awareness of information governance best practice.
• Use recognised tools with patients to track improvementsin their health and wellbeing, such as Warwick Edinburgh scale and Work with GPpractices to review data on GP appointments and hospital admissions to trackstatistical improvements at practices.
• Engage with Patient Participation Groups, existingcommunity groups, patients and staff to promote volunteer opportunities.
• Work closely with the locality Community Navigator teamto benefit from the co‑ordination of activities and link in with the widerservice offer.
• Help to identify opportunities and activities in thelocal area which people could benefit from, such as local community groups,make contact, engage them in the service and register them on the CRM directory(with support from colleagues).
• Achieve demanding targets for numbers of people engagedand supported and produce monthly monitoring reports as required.

Person Specification

Qualifications

• Background in health / social care or working with vulnerable / isolated people.
• Experience of working in an urban multi-cultural area.

Experience

• To be non‑judgmental and to take a positive approach to all people.
• Able to follow processes and systems when accepting referrals, assessing people, developing action plans and following up.
• Excellent communication skills, able to negotiate, build relationships, advocate for people and inspire others.
• To be sensitive to the needs of individuals and communities that are perceived as hard‑to‑reach.
• The ability to effectively communicate with a wide range of stakeholders, including good social interaction and listening skills.
• Driven, target focused and highly motivated.
• Resilient and confident, able to work in a busy environment (GP practice) with colleagues under pressure and champion the service to health professionals.
• Outgoing, energetic and passionate about improving the health and wellbeing of others.
• Good IT skills and experience of using a database or CRM system.
• Good knowledge of information governance and ability to maintain confidentiality at all times, within any statutory guidance on safeguarding.
• Able to work autonomously and be a self‑starter.
• Able to take decisions and use professional expertise, but within a structured framework and existing systems and policies.
• Effective team player who contributes to the success of others.
• Experience of motivating, empowering, supporting people to achieve goals.
• Experience of working with or supporting people with mental health.
• Experience of working with volunteers.
• Fluent in a second language.

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.

Human Resources and Administration Manager

£30,090 to £30,385 a year Pro Rata for 11.25 hours a week