Community Support Worker - NHS
Oxford Health NHS Foundation Trust has been rated as Good by the Care Quality Commission (CQC).
We are a responsive and innovative Foundation Trust that places our values of Caring, Safe and Excellent at the heart of everything we do. We take great pride in our staff and believe that investing in you is key to us achieving our vision of outstanding care delivered by outstanding people.
We work with a wide range of partner organisations to deliver care and support to people in their own homes and from a number of hospitals and community bases. We focus on delivering care as close to home as possible for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset.
We actively support anti-racism, equality, diversity, and inclusion so, if you’re excited about this job opportunity and you meet our Trust values, but feel unsure about applying, then please get in touch and we will be happy to have a conversation with you.
We are also committed to increasing diversity in the workforce, that is why we actively encourage applications from those groups of people who are currently under-represented, which include amongst others: people with disabilities; men from all socio-economic backgrounds; people from diverse ethnic backgrounds; and people from the LGBTQIA+ community.
Good luck and we hope to hear from you.
Job overview
Do want to support vital work in the community within Buckinghamshire?
An exciting opportunity has arisen to become part of a new service supporting young people age 14-35 who are at high risk of developing psychosis. The service works to reduce that risk by providing timely psychological intervention and support to stay on track.
The Community Support Worker is essential in that aim, working together to keep people engaged in their valued activities.
This role may be an excellent opportunity for career changers or those without clinical experience wanting to take their first steps into a clinical mental health setting. There will identify opportunities for training and development and they're keen to welcome a fresh perspective and new ideas.
Main duties of the job- Offer regular and practical support to service users to help them develop independence, maintain dignity, and build their own support networks within the community.
- Support service users in identifying their needs and assist team members in assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating individual care plans.
- Encourage and assist service users in accessing community resources and services, such as clubs, libraries, and daytime services to promote independent living to users
- Provide practical support for daily living activities, including self-care, home management (e.g., budgeting, cooking, cleaning, shopping), and accessing information about health services and welfare rights.
- Maintain confidentiality and security of patient data in compliance with policies.
The ability to travel independently between sites within the Trust is essential for this role.
Working for our organisation
Oxford Health is a great place to work and to be able to showcase the best of yourself when making an application you are encouraged to read the “candidate guide to making an application” which is attached to all roles. Please include details around qualifications (including years these were gained particularly if we need to assess for clinical roles that these are still valid) and ensure that the supporting statement is tailored to the role you are applying for and addresses the essential criteria found in the JD.
As a Trust we provide physical, mental health and social care for people of all ages across Oxfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Swindon, Wiltshire, Bath and North East Somerset. Our services are delivered at community bases, hospitals, clinics and people’s homes, delivering care as close to home as possible.Our vision is that no matter who you are or where you are, you will tell us that you receive: “Outstanding care delivered by an outstanding team”
Our values are: “Caring, safe and excellent”
At Oxford Health we offer a wide range of benefits designed to support your career and wellbeing. These include:
- Excellent opportunities for career progression
- Individual and Trust wide learning and development
- 27 days annual leave, plus bank holidays, rising to 33 days with continuous service
- NHS Discount
- Pension scheme
- Lease car scheme
- Employee Assistance Programme
- Mental Health First Aiders
- Staff accommodation (waiting lists may apply)
- Staff networking and support groups
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
We hope that the advert has given you a clear understanding of the skills we are seeking and the opportunity at hand. You will need to use the “supporting statement” element of your application form to demonstrate your suitability for this role and you should refer to the job description, person specification and the guidance notes attached to this role to help you tailor your application.The essential and desirable criteria will be used to shortlist for interview and you should ensure that you refer to these within your application to increase your chances of being selected for interview.
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- GCSE in English and Maths (A-C)
- NVQ Level 2 or 3, or other relevant qualifications
Further training or job related skills
Essential criteria- Able to use Word, Excel and Microsoft Teams
Experience
Essential criteria- Experience of working in a healthcare or people-centred environment
- Experience of mental health services (as a worker or service user/carer)
Personal Qualities
Essential criteria- Able to engage with service users and, as appropriate, to any carers, to contribute to the service user’s quality of life.
Contractual Requirements
Essential criteria- Ability to travel independently between sites within the Trust, including visiting people at home, sometimes as a lone worker. This may also include transporting clients to appointments.
- All new starters have a thorough induction process, both local and Trust wide, which aims to create a positive supportive working environment allowing new employees to learn key elements of their role over a reasonable timescale.
- Appointment to this post is subject to the trust receiving satisfactory references covering 3 years of employment or study. Please ask your referees to respond promptly to reference requests.
- We’re advocates of flexible working and many of our roles offer a range of employment options to help you balance your work and personal life.
- Employees are expected to undertake mandatory and statutory training related to their role.
- We are ambitious in our pursuit of excellence, driven by the belief that a fair, just and fully inclusive organisational culture enables our teams to deliver the best quality of care and services possible and we work hard to ensure that our diverse workforce reflects the communities that we serve.
- We welcome applications from all sections of the community, are an Equal Opportunities employer with a number of internal networking groups to support our employees and where possible will always look to make reasonable adjustments in order that you can fulfil the role to recognise your full potential. All our employees are committed to demonstrating through their behaviour our core values – safe, caring and excellent.
- We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and vulnerable adults, we expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment.
- Oxford is a world-renowned centre of excellence for research. Oxford Health works closely with the University of Oxford department of Psychiatry and the Department of Primary care, has a Biomedical Research Centre dedicated to improving mental health and the NIHR Clinical Research Facility at the Warneford site. The Trust also hosts the NIHR Applied Research Collaboration (ARC) which carries out applied research that directly impacts patient health and wellbeing