Social Worker

Job summary

We are looking for a compassionate, knowledgeable and committed Social Worker to work as part of our team in Secure Inpatient Services.

If this is you, we have a post available for a full time Registered Social Worker at Ridgeway - Roseberry Park Hospital. The post will be open to those who are looking for a progression opportunity, and experienced social workers. You will need to be an enthusiastic team player with good communication skills and the willingness to learn and develop, as well as share your knowledge in this valued field of mental health and learning disabilities. In return we offer you the opportunity to work with a highly skilled and experienced MDT providing support and supervision for you, alongside excellent standards of care for our patients.

We are an established team providing social work support across a range of low and medium secure mental health, autism and learning disability wards.

Please note that the standard working hours for this role are Monday to Friday 9am to 5pm, however flexible working can be considered.

This post is offered as a permanent contract.

Main duties of the job

To keep family and carers regularly informed about the patients assessment, progress and care plan as is appropriate and consistent with the patient's wishes.

To support access to advocacy services for patients, family and carers.

To work within the requirements of the relevant legislation, policies and procedures.

To safeguard and promote the welfare of children and work closely with local authority's and children and families services regarding leave arrangements or a child visiting a patient.

To work with other members of the MDT to collaboratively engage the patient in the Care Programme Approach, including the provision of reports for relevant meetings.

To be responsible and accountable for their own and delegated patient records in line with SWE and Trust Guidelines.

To communicate effectively with all members of the multi-disciplinary team whilst liaising with external agencies and organisations as appropriate from the Trust area, demonstrating a commitment to collaborative working, including attendance at relevant MDT meetings (e.g. MAPPA.)

To be committed to the delivery of a service based on an agreed framework for good practice within local and national initiatives to meet the needs of patients and provide safe practice, using both individual and group therapeutic interventions as appropriate.

To prepare and present reports in relation to individual patients as and when necessary, in line with professional competence, patient need and service requirements.

About us

We are the Mental Health & Learning Disability NHS Trust for County Durham and Darlington, Teesside, North Yorkshire, York and Selby. From education and prevention to crisis and specialist care --our talented and compassionate teams work in partnership with our patients, communities and partners to help the people of our region feel safe, understood, believed in and cared for.

We nurture the recovery journey of anyone in need of our help. In Our Trust, everyone has a say in how they are supported and treated because we listen to every person in our care until they feel understood. Our patients, their families and carers work together with us towards better mental health.

We're committed to new thinking that improves the wellbeing of our region. We connect with our communities and partners to get mental health care right, in areas that really need it.

We won't rest until everyone in our region has the mental health care they need, to lead their best possible life.

Job description

Job responsibilities

Delivering high quality patient care

Professionally accountable for own complex social work caseload, working autonomously to deliver social work intervention 1-1 and/or in groups, in a variety of settings (which may include the service users own home).

Will seek guidance for highly complex cases from relevant more seniorprofessional as appropriate.

Undertakes complex and noncomplex social work assessments, co-creates social work goals, and delivers social work interventions.

Obtains patient consent (or appropriate legal alternative) for social work assessment /interventions, using autonomous professional judgment incomplex situations ensuring that all patients remain at the centre of decision making and are fully safeguarded.

Promotes and maintains safety, privacy and dignity of all patients in the delivery of patient centred care, recognising and respecting differences including spiritual and cultural beliefs.

Recognise diversity and apply anti-discriminatory and anti-oppressive principles in practice.

Leads and supports others to promote recovery, coproduction and allyship with service users, carers and others involved in their care.

Acts, wherever applicable, in accordance with all relevant legislation for example the Human rights Act, Mental Health Act, Mental Capacity Act, Children Act, duty of candour and associated policies, procedures, and supports others to do so.

Recognises the potential for signs of patient harm, abuse or neglect, including poor clinical practice, reporting all such concerns and taking all reasonable steps to protect the patient with due regard to therapeutic positive risk taking and supports others to do so.

Responsible for identifying and reporting concerns regarding the safeguarding of all those who may be at risk within expected timescales and in accordance with legislative frameworks and local policies and procedures and supports others to do so.

Ensures the highest professional standards and attitudes towards the care of patients are maintained at all times and that care is delivered in accordance with evidence-based practice and relevant professional guidance and supports others to do so.

Ensures Social Work interventions and support are based on current risk assessment, evidence-based practice, critical thinking and whole system support requirements that take account of relevant physical, social, cultural, psychological, spiritual, genetic and environmental factors.

Monitors and evaluates social work treatment utilising relevant outcomemeasures where appropriate, responding appropriately to feedback from service users carers and others.

Modifies social work treatment plans to ensure effectiveness of intervention in order to review progress and ensure effectiveness of clinical interventions and ensuring the same for those you have supervisory responsibility for.

Demonstrates safe physical interventions in the management of violence and aggression as required for the post and in line with trust training requirements e.g, level 1 and/or 2 positive and safe training.

Responds to and supports others with crisis situations, seeking advice and guidance from other relevant professionals and escalating as appropriate.

Responsible for maintaining appropriate boundaries with service users and those involved in their care in line with professional standards.

Successfully communicating with others, establish and maintain great working relationships and gain co-operation.

Communicates in a way which recognises and values difference and ensures that people with a range of communication abilities feel included and their individual communication needs are met.

With consent, communicates information regarding service users care professionally, compassionately and in a timely manner to carers and others involved as appropriate, having due regard for confidentiality at all times.

Please see detailed job description attached.

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential
-Appropriate professional qualification in social work role
-Current relevant registration with specific regulatory body
-International English Language Testing System (IELTS) level 7 (SLT =8) for International recruits

Desirable
-Post graduate training in relevant specialist area

Experience

Essential
-Minimum 12 months post qualifying experience of social work delivery/completion of AYSE for social work (post 2012), pre 2012 evidence of experience in accordance with professional capabilities framework for an experienced social worker

Desirable
-Experience of supporting people with mental health issues, learning disability or autism
-Experience of working in Multidisciplinary Team (SW essential criteria)

Knowledge

Essential
-Understanding of the needs of service users with mental health conditions or learning disabilities.
-Legal literacy

Desirable
-Clinical risk assessment and application in practice
-Knowledge of evidence-based practice in designated specialist area
-Post graduate training in specialist area if applicable to post (e.g. dysphagia, autism diagnostics)
-Experience of working in a multidisciplinary team
-Experience of managing complex social work cases
-Awareness of professional standards and its application to practice

Skills

Essential
-Good observational skills and ability to describe such observations verbally and in writing
-Record keeping and report writing
-Collaborating with service users and carers and their families in accordance with the principles of coproduction
-Manage own complex caseload and prioritise effectively
-Support other to manage their caseload and prioritise effectively within a supervisor or educational relationship
-Effectively manage complex clinical and social issues
-Motivate and work positively and constructively with other members of the team
-Delegate tasks appropriately
-Apply latest research evidence andevaluative thinking in practice
-Provide effective teaching, training and clinical supervision
-Use appropriate digital technologies
-Demonstrates transferable skills from previous roles

Desirable
-Member of relevant professional body if applicable.

Personal Attributes

Essential
-Able to work in accordance with Trust Values.
-Committed to continual quality and service improvement.
-Self-aware and committed to continual professional and personal development.
-Able to accept and respond positively to feedback from supervision.
-Committed to promoting a positive image of people with mental health conditions and learning disabilities, autism
-Committed to promoting a positive image of the Department, profession, service and the wider Trust.
-Awareness of the needs of individuals from diverse social, ethnic and cultural backgrounds
-Ability to relate therapeutically to the needs of the service user group.
-Ability to adapt treatment using own initiative.
-Ability to work collaboratively with members of the MDT to provide an effective service.
-Ability to plan and organise a caseload and prioritise effectively.
-Ability to work on own in variety of settings using initiative appropriately
-Ability to work under pressure
-Able to work flexibly and co-operatively as part of a team.
-Committed to continual quality and service improvement
-Committed to promoting a positive image of the profession and Trust
-Self-awareness and committed to continual personal development
-Ability to work on own in a variety of settings using initiative appropriately

Other Requirements

Essential
-Ability to travel independently in accordance with Trust policies and service need.
-This post is subject to an enhanced satisfactory Disclosure and Barring Service Check