Social Prescribing Link Worker

PRIMARY CARE NETWORK (PCN) Social Prescribing Link Worker

JOB TITLE: Social Prescribing Link Worker
LOCATION: Practice based working across PCN member site locations
HOURS OF WORK: Full Time 37.5 hrs
SALARY: £24,000-30,000 pa based on experience

Overview: Newton & Haydock Primary Care Network
Newton and Haydock Primary Care Network consists of 4 NHS GP practices in Newton-le-Willows and Haydock, Merseyside across several sites. The Network enables NHS staff to work across the practices to help deliver services to 50,000 patients.

The Practices

· Haydock Medical Centre

· Patterdale Lodge

· Newton Medical Centre

· Vista Road Surgery

Network Teams

• Frailty Team
• Clinical Pharmacists
• First Contact Physiotherapists
• Social Prescribing
• Mental Health

The Role

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Social Prescribing Link Worker who is passionate about empowering people to take control of their health to join our existing developing team within our PCN, we provide high quality support to our patients and are looking for an enthusiastic, empathetic individual to join the team to support us in achieving this.

We are looking for someone to be proactive in getting to know and support our local community assets and should be motivated by helping people to become active and independent members of their local community.

Also have experience of working positively with people facing complex social and emotional challenges, and some knowledge of solution-focussed coaching approaches. The successful candidate will be working with people from diverse cultural and social backgrounds and will need to work confidently and effectively in a diverse, and sometimes challenging environment.

Social prescribing empowers people to take control of their health and wellbeing through referral to ‘link workers’ who give time, focus on ‘what matters to me’ and take a holistic approach to an individual’s health and wellbeing, connecting people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support. Link workers also support existing groups to be accessible and sustainable and help people to start new community groups, working collaboratively with all local partners. Social prescribing link workers (SPLW) will work as a key part of the primary care network (PCN) multi-disciplinary team.

Job responsibilities

• To work with the other PCN Social Prescriber, to promote and develop the service.
• To manage a caseload of patients maintaining accurate records of each contact and share information appropriately.
• To undertake patient assessments as deemed appropriate.
• To make referrals or signpost to statutory and voluntary services - following up as appropriate.
• Promote social prescribing, its role in self-management, and the wider determinants of health.
• 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, providing reports including monitoring and evaluation including general feedback on social prescribing.
• 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.
• Provide personalised support and work with patients to help them better understand their health and wellbeing.
• Work with the person, their families and carers and consider how they can all be supported through social prescribing.
• Help people maintain or regain independence through living skills, adaptations, enablement approaches and simple safeguards.
• There may also be an element of undertaking some physical health monitoring with our patients.

The Social Prescriber will complete the following as part of the role:

• Be enrolled in, undertaking or qualified from appropriate training as set out by the Personalised Care Institute
• https://www.england.nhs.uk/personalisedcare/supporting-health-and-care-staff-to-deliver-personalised-care/personalised-care-institute/

Please note that this is an evolving role, and the candidate will need to be flexible and adaptable.

Job Types: Full-time, Permanent

Pay: £24,000.00-£30,000.00 per year

Benefits:

• Company pension
• On-site parking

Schedule:

• Monday to Friday
• No weekends

Education:

• GCSE or equivalent (preferred)

Experience:

• Training: 1 year (preferred)
• Health and Social Care: 1 year (preferred)

Licence/Certification:

• NMC (preferred)
• Driving Licence (preferred)

Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 16/12/2024
Reference ID: Social Prescribing Link Worker
Expected start date: 06/01/2025