Social Prescriber
Job Description
Job summary
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 an 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 can help to strengthen community resilience and personal resilience and reduces health inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health, such as debt, poor housing and physical inactivity, by increasing peoples active involvement with their local communities. It 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
Key responsibilities include - take referrals from a wide range of agencies, working with GP practices within primary care networks, pharmacies, multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams, allied health 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 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.
There is also an administration responsibility with this role working with and supporting the administration team at Village Surgery.
About us
We are a friendly practice situated within Derby in a diverse community, we care for 12000+ patients. We have 5 GP partners, 3 Salaried GPs, full Nursing team along with Clinical Pharmacists, Pharmacy Technicians, FCP along with Administrative and Managerial support.
Major cities such as Sheffield, Leeds, and Nottingham are all within an hour's train journey, and local airports include East Midlands, Manchester and Leeds, Bradford, with London within a couple of hours.
There are excellent schools in the local area, we are only a few minutes from the hospital.
We have a huge variety of patients, with their own unique needs. We are proud of the great care we give our patients and their families; if you are looking for an NHS position within Primary care that is small enough to care and large enough to be exciting is the place for you.
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.
Administrative
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.
Person Specification
Qualifications
Essential
- Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development
Desirable
- Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience
Skills & Knowledge
Essential
- 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
Desirable
- Knowledge of the personalised care approach
Experience
Essential
- 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 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
Desirable
- 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
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.
Employer details
Employer name
Village Surgery
Address
Browning Street
Derby
Derbyshire
DE23 8AL
