Social Worker

Job summary

The Enhanced Rehabilitation Outreach Service (EROS) provides support to individuals with complex and enduring long term severe mental illness, at the point of discharge from inpatient rehabilitation services (both in-house and in the independent sector). The service provides a dedicated, integrated multi-disciplinary team of professionals, who aim to improve quality of life, promote hope, recovery and individual resilience and reduce reliance on crisis and inpatient services to service users. The team deliver evidence-based interventions and use a recovery focused approach, through co-produced plans of care to build resilience and improve wellbeing.

The team also provides advice and support to Community Mental Health Teams, Placement Services and other Providers to develop their capacity and capability to support service users with Serious Mental Health illnesses.

The service has been successful in both improving outcomes for individuals and reducing the reliance on inpatient services and overall length of stay. The service has introduced two additional pathways which will extend the teams current offer and enable more service users to access the service directly from the community (step up) or at point of discharge (step down) from an acute inpatient bed.

This Social Work post will provide specific in-reach to the inpatient rehab units to facilitate safe, early discharges.

Main duties of the job

The Enhanced Rehabilitation Outreach Service (EROS) provides support to individuals with complex and enduring long term severe mental illness, at the point of discharge from inpatient rehabilitation services (both in-house and in the independent sector). The service provides a dedicated, integrated multi-disciplinary team of professionals, who aim to improve quality of life, promote hope, recovery and individual resilience and reduce reliance on crisis and inpatient services to service users. The team deliver evidence-based interventions and use a recovery focused approach, through co-produced plans of care to build resilience and improve wellbeing. Interventions can include:

o Goal setting
o Symptom management
o Medication support
o Targeting negative symptoms and poor physical health
o Positive Risk Management planning
o Short term post transfer community support to service users from in house provision to ensure care package is in place and appropriate
o Supporting service users to access their local community
o Focused support to further improve activities of daily living (ADL) in a community setting
o Individual/group interventions aimed at improving socialisation and employment opportunities
o Advice and support to start the process of undertaking vocational or paid employment
o Advice and support with debt management and tenancy queries

Job description

Job responsibilities

To be a champion of social care with a comprehensive understanding of legislation and statutory guidance.
To take a lead in the promotion of adult safeguarding practice and undertake safeguarding enquires and contribute to the provision of care plans that protect both adults and children from abuse.
To undertake comprehensive assessments and reviews, for people who may present with a high risk, or those with significant interpersonal, social, legal and/or environmental complexities, ensuring people are assessed appropriately against social care eligibility criteria as defined by The Care Act 2014.
To provide specialist social work advice to our inpatient rehab units.
To offer direct support to service users and their carers, and to colleagues, through information and advice, to ensure that those who do not meet social care eligibility are appropriately signposted and supported.
To ensure that appropriate health and social care services are commissioned with and on behalf of service users, including the duty to offer direct payments, and that processes are in place for service users to be charged by the local authority for the social care services they receive, if applicable.
To ensure that commissioned services allow choice to service users and carers and focus on people living in the community with appropriate support and access to universal services.
To undertake regular risk assessments and ensure that vulnerable people are kept safe.
To undertake carer assessments, including identifying contingency plans, and provision of support.
To be skilled in partnership working and identify, develop, and facilitate a wide range of recovery-focused community services, ensuring that colleagues within the locality are also aware of developments and best practice.
To ensure the involvement of service users and their carers to that the Trust can learn from their experiences to make improvements to service delivery.
To ensure accurate computer records of all work undertaken are kept up to date.
To undertake your own post qualifying and other appropriate training to ensure high standards of practice and continuation of your registration with Social Work England.
To provide both management and reflective supervision to newly qualified social workers and unregistered social care staff.
To support newly qualified social workers through the Assessed and Supported Year in Employment (ASYE), with opportunities to train as an ASYE assessor.
To undertake duties as an Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) or be willing to undertake AMHP training.
To participate in your own regular supervision and ensure regular reflection on your own practice as both a social worker and AMHP.
To undertake other tasks and duties which form part of the delegated social care responsibilities accepted by the Trust on behalf of Hertfordshire County Council.
To adhere to Trust policies and procedures.
To undertake additional training as required.
To carry out any other duties as appropriately identified by your line manager.

Person Specification

KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING AND EXPERIENCE:

Essential
An appropriate professional social work qualification
Education to degree level
Registration with Social Work England
Training in principles and application of outcomes focused assessments and personalisation
Relevant post-qualifying training for social workers
Training and experience in Safeguarding

Desirable
Approved Mental Health Professional/Best Interests Assessment Training

AREAS OF EXPERIENCE AND KNOWLEDGE:

Essential
Significant post qualification experience
Knowledge of legislation, theory and policy in relation to relevant care group.
Experience of undertaking assessments, focused as personalisation, choice and control, and care planning.
Understanding and experience of personal budgets and direct payments.
Experience of multidisciplinary working and ability to work collaboratively
Experience of partnership working with service users and carers, demonstrating dignity and respect
Experience of work as Approved Mental Health Professional and/or Best Interests Assessor.

COMMUNICATION SKILLS

Essential
Excellent ability to communication with a wide range of stakeholders including service users and carers, other professional colleagues, members of other organisations and local communities, verbally and in writing
Ability to manage highly sensitive information
Experience of using electronic recording systems and ability to produce accurate, appropriate, and timely reports.

ANALYTICAL SKILLS

Essential
Ability to analyse service user and carer information.
Experience of undertaking small scale audits and surveys.