Bank Social Work Assistant

Job overview

An exciting opportunity has arisen for a Bank Band 3 Social Work Assistant to join our Forensic Social Work Team at Rampton Hospital in Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

You will be part of a dynamic team supporting and contributing to the delivery of an excellent Social Care Service to a forensic patient population across four Clinical Care Streams at Rampton High Secure Hospital. This includes the National Service for Women, the National Learning Disability Service for men, National Deaf Service for men, as well as the Male Personality Disorder and Mental Health Service for men.

You will work alongside Senior Social Workers and Social Workers within a supportive team structure and have opportunities to access training . You will have regular supervision and also gain knowledge and enhance skills from the expertise of other members of the team.

Main duties of the job

We are seeking to recruit individuals who are confident, compassionate and committed to supporting the team in providing a high quality, person centred social care service to our patients and their families/carers.

The role will require an individual to work effectively under the direction and leadership of a registered Social Worker in contributing to the patient's overall care, treatment and recovery. The role involves working directly with patients on wards and supporting and involving families/carers.

The role will also involve undertaking administrative tasks and gathering information to inform the social work assessments.

Working for our organisation

Our care is provided from over 200 sites, spanning community locations, acute settings, and secure environments, including prisons.

We are one of the largest mental health and community Trusts in the East Midlands and one of Nottinghamshire's biggest employers. We also host national and regional services, such as the National High Secure Deaf Service and the Nottingham Centre for Transgender Health.

These networks play a vital role in supporting our diverse workforce and promoting a culture of inclusivity.

The health and wellbeing of our colleagues is a top priority. We invest significantly in this through our in-house occupational health and staff counselling services, supported by a dedicated Health and Wellbeing team.

The Trust is committed to reducing its carbon emissions, with a specialised Energy and Environmental team working to ensure compliance with environmental legislation, enhance our environmental performance, and achieve our net-zero commitment

• Building therapeutic relationships with patients, families and carers to undertake social care tasks, under the direction of the allocated Senior Social Worker.
• Attending and contributing to clinical meetings.
• Providing administrative support to Senior Social Workers.
• Support in the gathering of information to inform Social Work Assessments / Reports.
• Communication with own service, other colleagues and other agencies; use of the telephone, MS Teams, email.
• Use of IT systems such as Outlook, MS Teams, Word & Excel.
• Organisation and administration of patients written files and electronic records.
• Supporting and liaising with family and Carers and undertaking home visits where required.
• To liaise, provide information and support social visitors in relation to transport issues to enable visits to patients. To occasionally transport carers in own vehicle / pool car as required.
• To represent the Social Work Department at any Social Visitor involvement meetings or event days.
• Supporting the Child Accreditation process including the supervision of child visits.
• Successfully time manage and prioritise areas of responsibility.

This is not an exhaustive list of duties and may be changed in line with service needs in conjunction with the post holder.

In these circumstances the Trust would not, therefore, be able to sponsor for a Skilled Worker / Health & Care visa.

Applicants requiring a Skilled Worker Visa can determine the likelihood of obtaining a Certificate of Sponsorship against the relevant criteria here https://www.gov.uk/skilled-worker-visa

Person specification

Skills and attributes

• Caring and compassionate attitude
• ability to work well with others
• ability to maintain confidential and ethical boundaries
• committed to personal and team development
• Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written
• Able to plan and maintain high level of organisation,
• ability to work within a high-pressured environment
• analytical skills

Qualifications

• NVQ Level 3 or equivalent in Health & Social Care or experience of working in a Health or Social Care setting
• a good standard of general education including GCSE in Maths and English or equivalent
• and a working knowledge of computer programmes including Excel spreadsheets and Microsoft packages

• Other qualifications pertinent to the position, ECDL

Training

• Commitment to participate in appropriate training courses or updates in accordance with mandatory requirements and/or individual Personal Development Plans.

• Safeguarding Adults & Children, GDPR, Mental Health, Mental Capacity Awareness

Experience

• Relevant work experience (paid or voluntary) in health or social care setting
• Evidence of working in a collaborative manner with other professionals
• Experience of working with people in emotional distress and presenting with social care needs
• Ability to work autonomously within the boundaries of the role

• Experience of working in a secure forensic service or Criminal Justice Service or a health setting

Knowledge

• Knowledge of Adult & Child Safeguarding
• Awareness of the principles underpinning diversity, equal opportunity and anti-oppressive practice
• Knowledge of mental health
• Knowledge of confidentiality and data protection

• Knowledge of Mental Health Code of Practice
• Carer awareness
• Boundary awareness

• The closing date given is a guide. We reserve the right to close the post early once we have received a sufficient number of applicants, so we advise you to submit your application early to prevent disappointment.
• We will be requesting references by email. Please ensure you include email addresses and contact numbers for your referees to avoid delay in the recruitment process.
• The Trust believes in treating everyone with dignity and respect and encourages applications from all sectors of the community. We guarantee an interview to candidates with disabilities who meet the minimum essential criteria.
• Communication regarding your application will be sent via email therefore, please ensure you regularly check your spam/junk folder.
• In submitting an application form, you authorise Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust to confirm from your previous or current NHS employer and other prior employers; previous NHS service details and personal data held about you. This data will be transferred using NHS Electronic Staff Record and third party systems via an automated process and only used for the purposes of obtaining and maintaining accurate employment records, should you be appointed to the post. Should you require any further information please refer our Privacy Policy shown on the Trust website, please click here for more information.
• For eligible posts, DBS disclosures are mandatory before commencement of employment. If you are in a position that is deemed a regulated adult and/or child care role, you will not be able to start your employment until we have received a satisfactory DBS Disclosure. The Trust is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. Convictions which would otherwise be considered as 'spent' will also be checked as part of an Enhanced DBS Disclosure.