Social Prescriber

Job summary
An exciting opportunity has arisen for a friendly, supportive and community-focused Social Prescriber to join our Personalised Care Team in Gosport Central PCN.

Social Prescribing is a non-clinical, person-centred service that goes beyond traditional healthcare. You do not provide clinical advice, but work alongside GP teams to support patients whose wellbeing is affected by social, emotional and practical needs.

This is a community-based role, working out in the community and visiting patients in their own homes where appropriate. You will take time to listen to what matters to the person, co-produce a personalised care and support plan, and actively link, signpost and connect people to community groups, voluntary sector organisations, housing, debt, befriending and wellbeing services.

You will utilise untapped community resources and support self-help groups and innovative approaches to enable people to better manage their health and long-term conditions.

You will be part of a supportive team covering 85,000 patients registered with Bridgemary Medical Centre, Blossom Health, Rowner Medical Centre, Solent View Medical Practice and The Willow Group. This role would suit candidates with proven experience in social prescribing, link work or community connector roles, confident working autonomously out in the community.

Main duties of the job
Social Prescribers work 1:1 with people in the community, focusing on what matters to them and building a trusting relationship with the person referred. This is a community-facing, mobile role with significant time spent out in the community, in people's homes where appropriate, community venues and with voluntary sector partners, not just within the GP practice.

The Social Prescriber undertakes holistic assessments of patients needs, exploring social, emotional and practical issues that impact health and wellbeing, and co-creates a shared, personalised care and support plan. A central function is to effectively link, connect and signpost individuals to community groups, voluntary sector organisations, commissioned services and statutory support, and to follow up to ensure connection is successful.

The role helps people work on wider health and wellbeing, addressing wider determinants such as debt, poor housing, physical inactivity, lifestyle issues and low-level mental health concerns, by increasing active involvement with local communities. This particularly helps people with long-term conditions including mental health, people who are lonely or isolated, or who have complex social needs.

We are seeking candidates with proven experience working autonomously out in the community, undertaking community-based assessments and building collaborative relationships with local organisations to connect people to the right support.

About us
Hampshire and Isle of Wight Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust provides joined-up mental and physical healthcare for around two million people across our communities. With over 13,000 staff working in the community and local hospitals, we deliver care at every stage of life, helping people live their best and healthiest lives.

Our mental health services include community-based support and early intervention in psychosis (EIP) for both adults and young people, alongside a network of specialist inpatient wards covering forensic, learning disability, eating disorder and older person's care.

We deliver extensive physical health services too, from urgent community response teams helping frail and older patients remain safely at home, to hospitals at home teams providing acute-level care in familiar surroundings. Our neurological services offer rehabilitation and treatment for conditions including Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson's Disease, Motor Neurone Disease, Head Injury, Cerebral Palsy and Stroke. Across Hampshire, our community hospitals provide inpatient rehabilitation as a step down from acute care, and our dedicated teams also staff Treetops Sexual Assault Referral Centre in Portsmouth, offering expert, compassionate support.

Everything we do is underpinned by our CARE values of compassion, accountability, respect and excellence

Job responsibilities
Further information about the Trust and this role can be found on the Job Description and Person Specification document attached. It is important to us that we ensure our recruitment processes are accessible and inclusive to everyone - if as a potential candidate you are concerned a person specification may prevent or restrict your application for employment as a result of unintentional barriers on the grounds of your sex, race, age, sexual orientation, religion/belief or disability please initially contact the Trust's Recruitment team - detailed in the advert. The Trust will seek to resolve this issue wherever possible.

We are happy to talk Flexible Working - all requests for flexible working options can be discussed as part of the interview process.

Qualifications

• NVQ2 in Health Care or equivalent or willingness to commit to training.
• Training in motivational coaching, behavioural change, and goal setting
• Current driving licence and access to a car

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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