Discharge Mental Health Practitioner – Qualified Social

An exciting opportunity has arisen within MHCOP City and Hackney CMHT for a the Band 6 Social Worker to join the team.

The Discharge Social worker is a relatively newly created role to support and assess older adults who are experiencing a wider range of mental health difficulties to be discharged from In- patient assessment wards.

The Discharge worker will also contribute to the discharge planning of older adults who have been admitted into General hospital or working age inpatient wards and need support to be discharged.

The Discharge worker will be based two days in the Team Base in Hackney and will be expected to attend ward rounds/MDT meetings in Older adult wards in Mile end and Newham and may attend some out of area hospitals to contribute to the discharge planning, if there are City and Hackney Older adult patients who need support for discharge.

The Discharge worker will have close connections to the wards working within a rich multi-disciplinary team on the wards and in close partnership with Local Authorities and ICB.

Main duties of the job
To work as a Discharge Social Worker, representing a social work perspective to older adults experiencing mental health difficulties.

The Discharge Social Worker will be a champion of the social model of intervention within the discharge process from Acute Inpatient Wards and General hospital Wards and will ensure that social factors contributing towards the mental health difficulties are recognised and addressed as far as possible.

The Discharge Social Worker will be expected to work in partnership with service users and carers, identifying and utilising strengths and working closely with other agencies and voluntary groups to ensure good outcomes which, as far as possible, maintain independence.

The Discharge Social Worker will have a good working knowledge of The Care Act, Mental Health Act and Mental Capacity Act/DOLS and other social care legislation. Within the team it is vital that Social Workers including the Discharge social worker maintain a social perspective to their work and promote social care issues within the team.

To offer expert advice and guidance to the team on adult safeguarding issues, including writing reports and representing/supporting conferences and other relevant meetings.

To complete post discharge 7 day follow up and 6 week review prior to handover to the community Care Co ordinator.

About us
Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job description
Job responsibilities
Kindly refer to the job description and person specification that is attached to the vacancy profile.

Person Specification

Educational/ Qualification
Essential

Dip SW or equivalent and registered with Social Work England
Evidence of continual professional development

Desirable
Post registration training in relevant area e.g. AMPH, practice educator

Experience
Essential

Substantial community experience of providing mental health care at Band 6 or above
Experience of working in a multi-professional team

Desirable
Experience of supervising and appraising staff.
Experience of deputising and leading an MDT in the absence of the team manager

Knowledge/Skills
Essential

Ability to undertake mental health assessments in a professional and sensitive manner
Ability to communicate with service users/carers and colleagues across agencies effectively
Ability to negotiate and lead across professional boundaries
Ability to challenge traditional methods of practice in a constructive manner.
Ability to identify best practice and develop action plans to resolve poor practice.
Ability to manage own time and work independently, prioritising work as required.
Ability to chair clinical meetings to ensure productive outcomes is achieved
Ability to supervise and appraise staff members.
Ability to motivate and inspire staff

Personal Qualities
Essential

Team player, able to negotiate and lead other professionals whilst considering competing views and agendas
Able to work independently, with initiative, but to seek appropriate guidance and supervision when required.
Self-motivated, committed and open to new ideas and experiences
Committed to core social work values, able to recognise that protection is sometimes required and should be carried out in the least restrictive manner observing the human and civil rights of the individual
A commitment to leadership & change management

Additional Requirements

Essential
Car driver essential and be able to travel between Trust sites throughout the County
Full driving license
Flexible working according to the needs of the service and to support work/life balance and improving working lives.

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.