Social Prescriber / Social Prescribing Link Worker

Social Prescriber / Social Prescribing Link Worker

As a Social Prescriber, you’ll work closely with GP practices and the wider multidisciplinary team to support people whose health and wellbeing are affected by social, emotional or practical issues.

This post is available as either a Band 4 Developmental Social Prescriber or a Band 5 Social Prescriber, depending on your qualifications, experience and knowledge. If appointed at Band 4, you will receive structured support, supervision and development to build the skills and competencies required to progress to a Band 5 Social Prescriber.

You’ll spend time understanding what matters most to each individual, helping them identify their goals and connecting them with local services, community groups and voluntary organisations that can improve their wellbeing.

No two days are the same. You may be supporting someone experiencing loneliness, helping a patient access housing or financial advice, connecting carers with local support, or working alongside healthcare professionals to reduce health inequalities across our communities. Throughout the role, you’ll develop strong relationships with community partners and play an important part in delivering personalised, preventative care.

A full driving licence & access to a car for work purposes is required.

Main duties of the job

As a Social Prescriber, you will:

• Manage a caseload of patients referred by GP practices and partner organisations.
• Work with individuals to understand what matters most to them and identify goals to improve their health and wellbeing.
• Develop personalised support plans using a holistic, person-centred approach.
• Signpost and connect people to local community groups, voluntary organisations and statutory services.
• Build strong working relationships with GP practices, the wider multidisciplinary team and community partners.
• Support patients to improve independence, reduce isolation and access appropriate support.
• Carry out appointments in GP practices, community venues, and by telephone, where appropriate.
• Identify when a patient’s needs require referral to another healthcare professional or specialist service.
• Maintain accurate clinical records and collect outcome data using the appropriate clinical systems.
• Promote social prescribing across the Primary Care Network and contribute to reducing health inequalities.
• Develop knowledge of local services and community resources to ensure patients receive the most appropriate support.
• Work in line with safeguarding, information governance, confidentiality and lone working policies.
• Participate in regular supervision, training and continuing professional development.

About us

St Helens Central Primary Care Network (PCN) is made up of eight GP practices working together to provide joined-up, patient-centred care to over 40,000 patients.

We have a strong multidisciplinary team including GPs, Advanced Practitioners, Pharmacists, Care Coordinators, Health & Wellbeing Coaches, Mental Health Practitioners and Social Prescribers. Our aim is to provide proactive, preventative care that helps people remain independent and improves health outcomes.

We’re looking for a compassionate, motivated individual to join our growing team as a Social Prescriber.

This is an exciting opportunity for someone who enjoys working directly with people, building relationships within the local community and helping individuals access the right support at the right time.

Job responsibilities

Keyresponsibilities

Working under the supervision of the wider PCN Team, take referrals from thePCNs Core Network Practices and from a wide range of agencies, includingpharmacies, wider multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams, alliedhealth professionals, fire service, police, job centres, social care services, housing associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations (list not exhaustive).

Provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to takecontrol of their health and wellbeing, live independently and improve theirhealth access and outcomes, as a key member of the PCN multi-disciplinary team.Develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on what mattersto me. Take a holistic approach, based on the persons priorities and thewider determinants of health. Co-produce a simple personalised care and supportplan to improve health and wellbeing, introducing or reconnecting people toappropriate community groups and statutory services. The role will requiremanaging and prioritising your own caseload, in accordance with the needs,priorities and any urgent support required by individuals on the caseload. Itis vital that you have a strong awareness and understanding of when it isappropriate or necessary to refer people back to other healthprofessionals/agencies, when the persons needs are beyond the scope of thelink worker role e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring aqualified practitioner.

Work with a diverse range of people and communities, to draw on and increasethe strengths and capacities of local communities, enabling local VCSEorganisations and community groups to receive social prescribing referrals.

Alongside other members of the PCN multi-disciplinary team, workcollaboratively with all local diverse partners to contribute towardssupporting the local VCSE organisations and community groups to becomesustainable and that community assets are nurtured, through sharingintelligence regarding any gaps or problems identified in local provision withcommissioners and local authorities.

Social prescribing link workers will have a key role in educating non-clinicaland clinical staff within their PCN multi-disciplinary teams on what otherservices are available within the community and how and when patients canaccess them. This may include verbal or written advice and guidance.

KeyTasks

Referrals

Promote social prescribing, its role in self-management, addressing healthinequalities and the wider determinants of health.

As part of the PCN multi-disciplinary team, build relationships with staff inGP practices within the local PCN, attending relevant MDT meetings, givinginformation and feedback on social prescribing.

Be proactive in developing strong links with all local agencies to encouragereferrals, recognising what they need to be confident in the service to makeappropriate referrals.

Work in partnership with all local agencies to raise awareness of socialprescribing and how partnership working can reduce pressure on statutoryservices, improve health access and outcomes and enable a holistic approach tocare.

Provide referral agencies with regular updates about social prescribing,including training for their staff and how to access information to encourageappropriate referrals.

Seek regular feedback about the quality of service and impact of socialprescribing on referral agencies.

Be proactive in encouraging equality and inclusion, through self-referrals andconnecting with all diverse local communities, particularly those communitiesthat statutory agencies may find hard to reach.

Meet people 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 and respect with the person,providing non-judgemental and non-discriminatory support, respecting diversityand lifestyle choices. Work from a strength-based approach focusing on apersons assets.

Be a friendly and engaging source of information about health, wellbeing andprevention approaches.

Help people identify the wider issues that impact on their health andwellbeing, such as debt, poor housing, being unemployed, loneliness and caringresponsibilities.

Work with the person, their families and carers and consider how they can allbe supported through social prescribing.

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

Work with individuals to co-produce a simple personalised support plan toaddress the persons health and wellbeing needs based on the personspriorities, interests, values, cultural and religious/faith needs andmotivations including what they can expect from the groups, activities andservices they are being connected to and what the person can do for themselvesto improve their health and wellbeing.

Where appropriate, physically introduce people to culturally appropriatecommunity groups, activities and statutory services, ensuring they arecomfortable, feel valued and respected. Follow up to ensure they are happy,able to engage, included and receiving good support.

Where people may be eligible for a personal health budget, help them to explorethis option as a way of providing funded, personalised support to beindependent, including helping people to gain skills for meaningful employment,where appropriate.

Seek advice and support from the GP supervisor and/or identified individual(s)to discuss patient-related concerns (e.g. abuse, domestic violence and supportwith mental health), referring the patient back to the GP or other suitablehealth professional if required.

Support community groups and VCSE organisations to receive referrals

Forge strong links with a wide range of local VCSE organisations, community andneighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks and building on whatsalready available to create a menu of diverse community groups and assets, whopromote diversity and inclusion.

Develop supportive relationships with local diverse VCSE organisations,culturally appropriate community groups and statutory services, to make timely,appropriate and supported referrals for the person being introduced.

Work collectively with all local partners to ensure community groups are strong andsustainable

Work with commissioners and local partners to identify unmet diverse needswithin the community and gaps in community provision.

Encourage people who have been connected to community support through socialprescribing to volunteer and give their time freely to others, building theirskills and confidence and strengthening community resilience.

Develop a team of volunteers within your service to provide buddying supportfor people, starting new groups and finding creative community solutions tolocal issues.

Encourage people, their families and carers to provide peer support and to dothings together, such as setting up new community groups or volunteering.

Provide a regular confidence survey to community groups receiving referrals,to ensure that they are strong, sustained and have the support they need to bepart of social prescribing.

Datacapture

Work sensitively with people, their families and carers to capture keyinformation, enabling tracking of the impact of social prescribing on theirhealth and wellbeing.

Encourage people, their families and carers to provide feedback and to sharetheir stories about the impact of social prescribing on their lives.

Support referral agencies to provide appropriate information about the personthey are referring. Provide appropriate feedback to referral agencies about thepeople they referred.

Work closely within the MDT and with GP practices within the PCN to ensure that the social prescribing referral codes are inputted into clinical systems (asoutlined in the Network Contract DES), adhering to data protection legislationand data sharing agreements. Professional development

Work with your line manager to undertake continual personal and professionaldevelopment, taking an active part in reviewing and developing the roles andresponsibilities.

Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality,safeguarding, lone working, information governance, equality, diversity andinclusion training and health and safety.

Work as part of the healthcare team to seek feedback, continually improve theservice and contribute to business planning.

Contribute to the development of policies and plans relating to equality,diversity and health inequalities.

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.

Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character ofthe post or the level of responsibility.

Person Specification

Experience

• BAND 4
• Experience of working with people in a health, social care, community or voluntary sector setting.
• Experience of supporting people to improve their health, wellbeing or independence.
• Experience of working with individuals from a range of backgrounds, including those with complex social needs.
• Good communication and interpersonal skills.
• Ability to work as part of a multidisciplinary team whilst managing your own workload.
• Good IT and organisational skills.
• BAND 5
• Previous experience working as a Social Prescriber, Health & Wellbeing Coach, Care Coordinator or in a comparable health, social care or voluntary sector role.
• Experience of managing an independent caseload.
• Experience of undertaking person-centred assessments and developing personalised support plans.
• Experience of working collaboratively within multidisciplinary teams.
• Experience of building relationships with community, voluntary and statutory organisations.
• Experience of supporting individuals with issues such as loneliness, mental wellbeing, long-term conditions, housing, debt, employment or social isolation.
• Experience of maintaining accurate records and using electronic clinical or case management systems.
• BAND 4
• Knowledge of local community services and voluntary organisations.
• Experience within Primary Care or the NHS.
• Understanding of personalised care and social prescribing.
• BAND 5
• Experience working within Primary Care Networks or General Practice.
• Knowledge of local health, social care and voluntary sector services.
• Understanding of safeguarding, information governance and personalised care principles

Qualifications

• BAND 4 Developmental Social Prescriber will have the following qualifications:
• Educated to Level 3 (or equivalent) in Health & Social Care, Community Development, Mental Health, Public Health, Advice & Guidance, Counselling Skills or another relevant subject, or willing to work towards an appropriate qualification.
• GCSE (Grade C/4 or above), or equivalent, in English and Maths.
• Willingness to complete the Personalised Care Institute (PCI) Social Prescribing training and any other training required for the role.
• BAND 5 – Social Prescriber will have the following qualifications:
• Educated to Level 3 (or above) in a relevant subject such as Health & Social Care, Community Development, Public Health, Mental Health, Counselling Skills or equivalent.
• Personalised Care Institute (PCI) Social Prescribing training, or willingness to complete if not already achieved.
• Evidence of continuing professional development.
• GCSE (Grade C/4 or above), or equivalent, in English and Maths.

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.

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