Social Prescribing Link Worker

Social prescribing empowers people totake control of their health and well-being through referral to a non-medicallink worker who gives time, focus on what matters to the patient, takes a holisticapproach, and connects people to community groups and statutory services forpractical 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 well-being.

The post holder will work with adiverse range of people from different cultural and social backgrounds. Theability to work confidently and effectively in a varied, and sometimeschallenging environment is essential.

The successful candidate will haveexcellent interpersonal and communication skills, and be organised, patient andempathetic. They will have experience of working in health, social care orother support roles including direct contact with people, families or carers.

Main duties of the job Providepersonalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take controlof their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes.

Develop trusting relationships bygiving 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 well-being, introducingor reconnecting people to community group and statutory services.

The role will require managing andprioritising your own caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities andany urgent support required by individuals on the caseload. It is vital thatyou have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate ornecessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies, whenwhat the person needs is beyond the scope of the link worker role e.g. whenthere is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.

About us We have 10,800 patients and operate from a single site. We are based in Stanley, Co Durham, which is easily accessible from Durham and Newcastle.

We operate using the SystmOne clinical system.

We are a proactive and supportive practice with a key focus on continuous development and improvement.

We recognise the increased pressure within General Practice and offer a supportive environment, striving on improving the working day for our practice team.

We are a training practice for both medical students and GP trainees and encourage development within the practice.

The practice has a Good rating by the CQC and we are committed to investing and improving the medical care we provide for our patients.

There is a strong sense of team within the practice will all team members working together making this truly enjoyable place to work.

Job responsibilities Key Duties &Responsibilities

Providepersonalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take controlof their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes.

Develop trusting relationships bygiving 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, introducingor reconnecting people to community group and statutory services.

The role will require managing andprioritising your own caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities andany urgent support required by individuals on the caseload. It is vital thatyou have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate ornecessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies, whenwhat the person needs is beyond the scope of the link worker role e.g. whenthere is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.

Referrals

• Promoting social prescribing, its rolein self-management, and the wider determinants of health.
• Buildrelationships with key staff in within the practice, attending relevantmeetings, becoming part of the wider network team, giving information andfeedback on social prescribing.
• Be proactive in developing stronglinks with all local agencies to encourage referrals, recognising what theyneed to be confident in the service to make appropriate referrals.
• Work inpartnership with all local agencies to raise awareness of social prescribingand how partnership working can reduce pressure on statutory services, improvehealth outcomes and enable a holistic approach to care.
• Provide colleagueswith regular updates about social prescribing, including training staff and providinginformation on how to access information to encourage appropriate referrals.
• Seek regular feedback about thequality of service and impact of socialprescribing.

Meetpeople on a one-to-one basis, making home visits where appropriate withinorganisations policies and procedures. Give people time to tell their storiesand focus on what matters to me. Build trust with the person, providing non-judgemental support, respecting diversity and lifestyle choices. Work from astrength-based approach focusing on a personsassets.

Be a friendly source of information about wellbeing and prevention approaches.

Helppeople identify the wider issues that impact on their health and wellbeing,such as debt, poor housing, being unemployed, loneliness and caring responsibilities.

Proactivelyidentify vulnerable and at risk patients who may benefit from personalisedsupport.

Workwith the person, their families and carers and consider how they can all besupported through social prescribing.

Helppeople maintain or regain independence through living skills, adaptations,enablement approaches and simple safeguards.

Workwith individuals to co-produce a simple personalised support plan based onthe persons priorities, interests, values and motivations including whatthey can expect from the groups, activities and services they are beingconnected to and what the person can do for themselves to improve their healthand wellbeing.

Whereappropriate, physically introduce people to community groups, activities andstatutory services, ensuring they are comfortable. Follow up to ensure they arehappy, able to engage, included and receiving good support.

Wherepeople may be eligible for a personal health budget, help them to explore thisoption as a way of providing funded, personalised support to be independent,including helping people to gain skills for meaningful employment, where appropriate.

Forgestrong links with local VCSE organisations, community and neighbourhood levelgroups, utilising their networks and building on whats already available tocreate a map or menu of community groups and assets.

Developsupportive relationships with local VCSE organisations, community groups andstatutory services, to make timely, appropriate and supported referrals for theperson being introduced.

Ensurethat local community groups and VCSE organisations being referred to have basicprocedures in place for ensuring that vulnerable individuals are safe and,where there are safeguarding concerns, work with all partners to dealappropriately with issues. Where such policies and procedures are not in place,support groups to work towards this standard before referrals are made to them.

Checkthat community groups and VCSE organisations meet in insured premises and thathealth and safety requirements are in place. Where such policies and proceduresare not in place, support groups to work towards this standard before referralsare made to them.

Supportlocal groups to act in accordance with information governance policies andprocedures, ensuring compliance with the Data Protection Act.

Workwith commissioners and local partners to identify unmet needs within thecommunity and gaps in community provision.

Person Specification Experience

• Experience of supporting people, their families and carers in a related role (including unpaid work)
• Experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health/health improvement (including unpaid work)
• Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations
• Experience of working with the VCSE sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups
• 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

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

Skills & 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
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