Community Wellbeing Co-Ordinator (Social Prescribing Link Worker)

At Bexley Voluntary Services Council (BVSC) you will find a team who are absolutely committed to supporting a strong, sustainable, and influential voluntary and community sector that can make a positive impact on people’s lives in Bexley.

We work hard, we help each other and go out of our way to help others and find solutions rather than focusing on problems. We are positive and proactive and, although absolutely focused on our areas of expertise, we work as a team so that BVSC is the best it can be. Above all, everything we do is to strengthen our local Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS).

Community Connect is a well-established Social Prescribing service and you will empower and support residents to access charities, community organisations and groups to enable them to improve their own health & wellbeing. You will work closely with local organisations and healthcare professionals to continue to develop the project and provide the best service to residents.

Duties and Responsibilities

• Be responsible for incoming resident referrals. You will meet with the resident, understand their needs and what matters to them to develop a personalised action plan to provide relevant support.
  
  
• Be responsible for referring patients to onward voluntary and community groups for continuing support to their health and wellbeing.
  
  
• Provide ongoing support to the resident for approximately four sessions, which could vary from follow-up phone calls or attending appointments with the resident, centred around what is best for the resident. 

• Be responsible for developing exit strategies and ensuring residents are receiving appropriate support, and aware of the right services before discharge.
  
  
• Actively feedback key themes and insight to ensure continuing development and support of Bexley’s Voluntary Sector.
  
  
• To assist in maintaining the database of local services and activities in Bexley.
  
  
• Meet residents in a variety of locations including community locations in Bexley and Bexley GP Practices.
  
  
• To provide regular updates and reports on caseload management, ensuring that the CRM system is kept sufficiently up-to-date and records all information accurately.
  
  
• Work in partnership with GP Surgeries, including providing patient updates, regular outreach sessions and attending multi-disciplinary meetings.
  
  
• Be a champion of Social Prescribing, and the voluntary sector, locally, regionally, and nationally. 

•  Undertake any other duties and tasks which may reasonably be required, as discussed with line-manager.

• Adhere to and actively implement BVSC’s policies and procedures such as Equality and Diversity, Health & Safety and Safeguarding.

• Identify, report, and monitor any safeguarding risks and concerns for Children, Young People, and Adults.   

•  Commit to undertaking any training considered necessary to ensure and develop own knowledge and skills to effectively deliver the role.

These are the normal duties which are required of the position; however, we do require that all staff be flexible and may be required to perform other duties to ensure the efficient running of services. It is envisaged that this post will be community based but this will be regularly reviewed.

Person Specification

We are looking for people who demonstrate personal qualities that are consistent with our organisational values, who have the right experience and skills for the role.

Skills and Experience

• Experience of working in a person-centred way in any health or care services
• Experience of working within a framework of confidentiality and with access to sensitive personal data
• Excellent interpersonal skills with experience of working with people from diverse backgrounds.  Ability to build rapport with a wide range of people demonstrating empathy and understanding
• Be kind, approachable and empathetic in your approach to supporting residents with their health and wellbeing
• Excellent IT skills including previous use of Microsoft Office (especially Microsoft Excel) and CRM database systems.
• Committed to improving lives and communities
• Excellent communication skills, enabling you to confidently receive referrals on the phone & email; extracting relevant information whilst ensuring people feel supported and informed
• A creative problem solver and able to prioritise a varied workload, managing conflicting priorities to meet deadlines
• Have access to own transport  (car, motorbike or bicycle) and able to travel efficiently across the borough
• Able to work on your own initiative and meet deadlines
• Enthusiasm, flexibility and a positive ‘can do’ attitude

Desirable

• Existing knowledge of local voluntary sector services and resources and understanding of Health and Social Care Services
• Understanding of health inequalities and wider determinents of health, particularly within the North of Bexley borough including; Thamesmead, Belvedere, Erith, Slade Green
• A health or social care related qualification

This position will be subject to satisfactory references and DBS check