Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW)

Mitcheldean Surgery; Cinderford; On-site; GBP 25,000 - 35,000; Full time

Job summary

A local healthcare provider in Cinderford is seeking a committed individual for a role focused on social prescribing. The successful candidate will work closely with GP practices and community organizations to empower individuals to take control of their health, provide personalized support, and foster community connections. This position offers a flexible working package and the opportunity to make a significant impact on local health outcomes.

Benefits

Training and development

Flexible working package

Qualifications

• Experience working in community development or health and social care context.
• Ability to manage risk when working with individuals.
• Commitment to reducing health inequalities.

Responsibilities

• Provide personalized support to individuals and families to improve wellbeing.
• Build trusting relationships with GP practices within the Primary Care Network.
• Co-produce personalized support plans based on individual priorities.

Skills

Understanding of the wider determinants of health

Knowledge of community development approaches

Knowledge of motivational coaching and interview skills

Ability to listen and empathize

Strong communication skills

Education

NVQ Level 3 or equivalent

Tools

Word processing software

System One

Job description

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. Link workers support existing groups to be accessible and sustainable and help people to start new community groups, working collaboratively with all local partners. Social Prescribing particularly works for people with long-term conditions (including support for mental health), for people who are lonely or isolated, or have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.

Main duties of the job

Take referrals from GP practices within primary care networks and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations when required.

Provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take control of their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes. Develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on what matters to me. Take a holistic approach, based on the persons 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.

About us

Forest Green PCN is a collaborative network of four member practices, we are looking for a proactive individual who is committed to understanding and supporting our patients. You will be supported by our Business Manager, Clinical Director, member practices and our wider PCN team. We offer training and development and a flexible working package.

Job responsibilities

Referrals

1. Promoting social prescribing, its role in self‑management, and the wider determinants of health.
2. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. Provide referral agencies with regular updates about social prescribing, including training for their staff and how to access information to encourage appropriate referrals.
6. Seek regular feedback about the quality of service and impact of social prescribing on referral agencies.
7. Be proactive in encouraging self‑referrals and connecting with all local communities, particularly those communities that statutory agencies may find hard to reach.

Meet people on a one-to-one basis

1. Give people time to tell their stories and focus on what matters to me. Build trust with the person, providing non‑judgemental support, respecting diversity and lifestyle choices. Work from a strength‑based approach focusing on a persons assets.
2. Be a friendly source of information about wellbeing and prevention approaches.
3. Help people identify the wider issues that impact on their health and wellbeing, such as debt, poor housing, being unemployed, loneliness and caring responsibilities.
4. Work with the person, their families and carers and consider how they can all be supported through social prescribing.
5. Help people maintain or regain independence through living skills, adaptations, enablement approaches and simple safeguards.
6. 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.
7. Support community groups and VCSE organisations to receive referrals.
8. Forge strong links with local VCSE organisations, community and neighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks and building on whats already available to create a map or menu of community groups and assets.
9. 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.

Collect and track impact

1. 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.
2. Encourage people, their families and carers to provide feedback and to share their stories about the impact of social prescribing on their lives.
3. Work closely with GP practices within the PCN to ensure that social prescribing referral codes are inputted to System One and that the persons use of the NHS can be tracked, adhering to data protection legislation and data sharing agreements with the clinical commissioning group (CCG).

Clinical Governance

1. Work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professional development, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the roles and responsibilities.
2. Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety.
3. Work with the Clinical Director to access regular clinical supervision, to enable you to deal effectively with the difficult issues that people present.

Team and service development

1. Work as part of the team to seek feedback, continually improve the service and contribute to business planning.
2. 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.
3. Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

The postholder 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.

Person Specification

Skills and Knowledge

• 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
• Knowledge of VCSE and community services in the locality
• Awareness of GDPR
• Awareness of Safeguarding Children & Adults
• Knowledge of the personalised care approach
• Knowledge of System One

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
• Current full driving licence and sole use of car
• Ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis

Experience

• Experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public
• 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 people with their mental health, either in a paid, unpaid or informal capacity

Personal 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 to other health professionals/agencies, when what the person needs is beyond the scope of the link worker role
• Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues
• Commitment to collaborative working with all local agencies
• Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure
• High level of written and oral communication skills
• Ability to work flexibly and enthusiastically within a team or on own initiative
• Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety

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.