Community Support Worker
We love what we do and we think you will, too!
At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people’s own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.
We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking ‘what matters to you’.
We’re passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.
Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.
It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us .
Job overview
GRIP (Gloucestershire Recovery in Psychosis) is a county-wide Early Intervention in Psychosis team, that provides care to people experiencing their First Episode of Psychosis. The aim of the team is to work in line with the principles of Early Intervention to deliver specialist care that reflects the principles of recovery and social inclusion.
The team works intensively over a period of up to three years with clients, their families and the wider community to provide the best possible outcomes for people experiencing psychosis and to mitigate the long-term effects of serious mental illness.We are a dynamic, expanding multi-disciplinary team with a strong focus on patient-centred care and promoting hope/collaborative working.
We are pleased to be able to offer a full-time Band 3 post for a community support worker.
The ideal candidate will show a keen interest in Early Intervention in Psychosis values – taking a flexible, compassionate and person-centred approach to working with people at a difficult stage in their lives, and promoting hope for the patient and their family.
Main duties of the job
As a community support worker you will be actively involved in supporting patients to rebuild their lives after an episode of illness. You will be involved in supporting them to rebuild their confidence, develop roles and routine, and engage in activities of interest.Social inclusion is a big part of the role - working with patients to get them involved in both GRIP and community activities, and liaising with other organisations about activities and opportunities available. Community support workers are crucial in setting up and running our groups, allowing patients time to develop new skills and meet other people who have been through similar experiences.
Our community support workers also take a lead role in organising physical health monitoring, including the running of our clinics.
There are lots of opportunities for further training, contributing to care planning and MDT meetings, and developing our service.
The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification.
Working for our organisation
We have a skilled and dedicated workforce of over 5000 colleagues working in a diverse range of services over 55 sites and within people’s homes. We strive to enable a welcoming workplace culture that builds and celebrates civility, inclusivity and diversity, while providing a sense of belonging and trust.
Annual staff surveys, regular Pulse surveys and other engagement opportunities provide our people with lots of opportunity to tell us about their experiences of working with us. In the latest staff survey, 61% of colleagues gave us their views. It was great to hear that:
- 72% of colleagues would recommend the Trust as a place to work, ranking us 1st for Provider Trusts in the South West region on this question.
- 76% would recommend the standard of care provided in our services if a friend or relative needed treatment, also ranking us 1st in the South West region.
- 81% said that care of patients and service users is the Trust’s priority, compared with an average in comparable NHS Trusts in England of 64%.
To that end, we continue to prioritise and invest in our commitment to genuinely becoming a Great Place to Work with consistent top-quartile performance in the annual staff survey and Pulse surveys.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please see attached JD & PS for detailed information.
For further information or to arrange an informal visit, please contact Jess Partridge (Team Manager) on 0300 421 4884 or by emailing [email protected]
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria- NVQ Level 3 or equivalent level of competency based training in a relevant health or social care area
- European Computer Driving Licence (ECDL)
Length and/or nature of experience
Essential criteria- Knowledge and understanding of Risk Assessment and management obtained through formal training course i.e. in house training
- Knowledge and understanding of the Care Programme Approach (CPA) obtained through attendance at in house training
- Experience in the assessment of service users
- Some experience of working in a learning disability, mental health or social care setting
- Experience of lone working and decision making
- Experience of providing social and recreational activities
Professional/Managerial/Specialist Knowledge
Essential criteria- Awareness of issues surrounding diversity and anti-discriminatory practice
- Ability to work un-supervised for periods of up to 4 hours
- Understanding of how mental illness has an impact on motivation, social skills and activities of daily living
- Demonstrate adherence to the Trusts policies and prescribed nursing care plans
- Understanding of the basic principles of Infection Control
Personal skills, abilities and attributes
Essential criteria- Good organisational skills
- Ability to manage time and plan / prioritise work efficiently and effectively
- Good communication skills both written and verbal
- Ability to show empathy and deal in a sensitive and tactful way when communicating with clients
- Ability to use own initiative
- High degree of confidentiality and integrity
- Ability to undertake all statutory and mandatory training including Breakaway (subject to Occupational Health clearance)
Other requirements
Essential criteria- Ability to travel independently and efficiently across the County
- Basic computer skills i.e. Ms Word, Ms Excel, Ms Outlook
- Able to attend and participate in all mandatory and statutory training events
When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:
- Free car parking at many of our sites
- 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
- A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
- A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
- Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
- Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
- Recognition and long service awards
- Fast Track physiotherapy
- Our Wellbeing line
- Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.
For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.