Job Title:
Link Worker
Salary:
£18,776.16
Location:
Hybrid Role- South Dartmoor and Totnes Primary Care Network but based in Totnes Caring Office and from the 5 GP surgeries
Hours of Work:
25.5 hours per week
Responsible to:
Social Prescribing Lead
Duration:
Until 31 March 2027
Mandatory requirements
DBS Check: Enhanced
Safeguarding level: 2 minimum
Purpose
This role is assigned to the South Dartmoor and Totnes Primary Care Network. The Link Worker plays a vital part in helping people connect with services and activities in their local community to help improve their health and wellbeing.
The role of the Link Worker is to be responsible for
- Receiving and providing support for referrals from GPs, for those individuals who meet the agreed criteria and who may benefit from social support and activities available from the voluntary and community sector.
- Supporting individuals to identify, communicate and achieve their aspirations for better lives
Anticipated outcomes
An individual will
- Have a stronger voice in communicating their needs and wishes in health and wellbeing matters
- Be actively managing their own wellbeing, health and care
- Have improved experience of care and support in the community
- Have an improved sense of wellbeing
- Be calling less upon GP and acute care.
Key responsibilities
- To promote a culture based on the principle of focussing on ‘what matters to the person’, ensuring dignity, choice, respect, independence and rights are upheld at all times
- Carry out initial assessment using strength-based tools, of each client’s circumstances, issues and interest and extent of their non-clinical needs
- Encourage and support individuals to identify areas of voluntary & community support and activities which may help and be of interest to them
- to create a support plan owned by the individual and to support individuals to take the first steps to accessing them
- Use agreed referral mechanisms with statutory partners and the voluntary and community sector.
- Share information appropriately in line with protocols and confidentiality requirements
- Advocate with health and care colleagues to ensure individuals wishes are taken into consideration. This may involve attending MDT and other relevant meetings
- Liaise with clients wider support network (family, carers, other agencies) as agreed with the client to ensure they are supported to put their plan into action
- Work with health & social care colleagues on a day-to-day basis, to stimulate referrals and provide accurate and timely feedback on support offered to clients
- Develop and maintain positive and effective working relationships with voluntary & community providers and referral partners across the area, liaising with them to get the best outcomes for the client and promote good practice
- Identify barriers to or issues preventing greater engagement and/or uptake by individuals, referral partners, voluntary & community providers
- Inform Social Prescriber lead of gaps in services and barriers and issues experienced by Voluntary Sector providers to stimulate sector support from infrastructure organisations
- Identify opportunities for networking and joining up services where appropriate
- Identify opportunities for community building where activities do not exist which would benefit a group of individuals and facilitate their development
General Duties
- to complete relevant administrative tasks including keeping accurate evidence of work
- planning, work carried out and provide reports and information to contribute to the monitoring and evaluation processes.
- to use agreed tools and resources
- to organise own caseload, recording interactions and time accurately and effectively
- to take part in team meetings and training opportunities as required & provide written and verbal reports as requested
- to work in accordance with all policies and procedures which apply to the job and
- understand the reasons for these, including those around Confidentiality, Equal Opportunities, Health & Safety, Lone working and Safeguarding
- to undertake other reasonable tasks commensurate with the level of responsibility of this post as may be required from time to time
- to work flexibly when required, which may occasionally include working outside of contractual hours of work.
- To participate in individual and group supervision on a regular basis
- To participate in training and workforce development opportunities as they arise
PERSON SPECIFICATION
Essential to have:
- Ability to quickly build trust and a positive dialogue with individuals who face challenges about their health and wellbeing or other issues, in order to assess their needs
- Sensitivity & commitment to working with people and motivating them to take control of their life and access activities, support and advice which is available
- Commitment to a flexible approach and a focus on ‘what matters’ for an individual
- Confidence & ability to work with a broad range of groups and individuals, forming and maintaining positive and productive working relationships with a range of people from different professional and personal backgrounds
- Understanding of the local area and relevant issues
- Evidence of knowledge of types of support available within the local community and other sources of support and advice
- Excellent IT skills including digital literacy
- Ability to work as part of a team and on own initiative within organisational policies and procedures
- Ability to work independently, with minimal supervision, including initiating actions, implementing decisions, monitoring and reporting
- Clear, demonstrable understanding of data protection requirements and participant confidentiality
- Sound knowledge, understanding & commitment to equal opportunities and diversity
- Ability to organise own time, manage workload & meet deadlines, working flexibly when required
- Ability to produce promotional material, monitoring information and reports
- Covid Vaccination Requirement. The Government has formally announced that it intends to introduce regulations that will require most healthcare workers to be fully vaccinated (1st & 2nd dose) against COVID-19 by 1st April 2022. To achieve this the successful applicant must have had their 1st COVID-19 vaccination by 3rd February 2022. Therefore, full COVID-19 vaccination will be a condition of employment unless an individual is medically exempt. We will ask for proof of vaccination during the recruitment process.
Desirable to have:
- Experience of working in or with the health, voluntary or community sector
- Experience of working with vulnerable people
- Experience of working in partnership with health and social care professionals and/or community services
- Knowledge and experience of issues such as social isolation, mental health, housing, poor physical activity, employment, debt, diet and access to Clinical and Adult and Social Care services
- A current driving licence and access to own vehicle with business insurance.
Pay: £18,776.16 per year
Work Location: Hybrid remote in Totnes TQ9
