About Us EPUT provides community health, mental health and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Also: We are among the largest employers in the in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites. We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex. EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020. Our vision and values Our Vision "To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care". Our Purpose "We care for people every day. What we do together, matters". Our Values We Care We Learn We Empower Our strategic objectives We will deliver safe, high quality integrated care services. We will enable each other to be the best that we can. We will work together with our partners to make our services better. We will help our communities to thrive. Our services Mental Health Services Community Health Services Learning Disabilities Services Social Care Find out more about the services we offer in our service directory. Job overview Support Worker - Mental Health Urgent Care Department Base - Basildon Hospital Hours - 7 days a week service delivery based on a rostered shift pattern, t his is a 24 hours a day, MATERNITY COVER (SECONDMENT / FIXED TERM) An exciting opportunity has arisen for enthusiastic and motivated individuals to join the Mental Health Urgent Care Department at Basildon. This service will offer anyone in Essex, who is over the age of 18 in a mental health crisis, an urgent biopsychosocial assessment and immediate care planning. The department will offer a calm and therapeutic mental health setting to see the majority of urgent/emergency mental health presentations and represent an improvement on the service previously offered in busy emergency departments. Main duties of the job The post holder will support the work of clinicians working in the department. In the context of a mental health crisis, mental health services commonly see people when they are experiencing or have experienced any of the following: Self-harm leading to medical or surgical treatment Suicidal ideation The consequences of alcohol & drug use, including when co-occurring with a mental health problem Dementia or delirium A severe mental illness, such as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder or severe depression, or a personality disorder Social vulnerability that may have a mental health problem or trauma as a component or root cause, for example, homelessness or domestic abuse We believe our workforce are our strongest asset & we make it a priority to ensure we develop & create strong career pathways for our current & new staff joining us. Our HCA Role works at a band 3 level, however if you do not have enough experience but still want to join EPUT as an HCA, we have a solution for you: If you have been successful at the interview stage, but do not have enough experience for this role, you may be offered a position as a Band 2 HCA Apprentice. As part of the Band 2 HCA role you will be enrolled onto the Apprenticeship scheme, providing you with the opportunity to earn as you learn. This role enables you to gain valuable experience on the wards/community settings whilst working towards gaining your Care Certificate & naturally progressing into the guaranteed Band 3 HCA role. Working for our organisation EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including; Season Ticket Loans NHS discounts for staff Excellent Training facilities and opportunities Buying and Selling annual leave scheme The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work Day One Flexible Employer The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment Join our Staff bank What is Staff Bank? Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times. All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish. If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank. Detailed job description and main responsibilities The post holder will be working within the Urgent Care Department providing support and assistance to professionally qualified staff whilst delivering high quality care and support to patients signposted to this service. Patients, relatives, carers and all staff will find the post holder flexible, approachable, and helpful and co-operative, upholding the ethos of EPUT of good customer care at all times with an awareness of own attitude at all times. The service operates 24 hours a day, 7 days a week service delivery based on a rostered shift pattern. The Urgent Care Department is delivered by Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust located within the Basildon Hospital site. Person specification Qualifications Essential criteria NVQ3 in Health or Social Care or equivalent experience Knowledge Essential criteria Basic understanding of the nature of mental health conditions and how it can affect people's day to day life Please note - staff who are formally at risk within the organisation will be given priority in securing alternative employment. Should it come to light that a post being advertised by the Trust is considered 'suitable alternative employment' to an individual who is at risk, the recruiting manager will be advised and the post will be withdrawn from NHS Jobs. Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Applications for this role should be written by the applicant. If artificial intelligence (AI) programmes are used then the application may be rejected due to this document being an important part of the assessment process. This does not prevent applicants seeking appropriate support with applications should they need to for the purposes of any declared disability. Important Professional References Make sure that as a part of your application you have professional references with business contract information covering your last three year employment history. We are unable to accept personal or character references. As a newly appointed employee you are responsible for incurring the cost of your initial DBS check relevant to your post, the amount will be deducted from your first salary with the Trust. Applications for Job Share are positively welcomed. Equal Opportunities Employer Our Trust is an Equal Opportunities Employer. We particularly welcome applications from people with experience of using mental health services. We also hold the Disability two tick symbol and have made the pledge to commit to employing more people with learning disabilities, we encourage people with a disability to apply. If you require this application form in another format i.e. Braille or audio tape etc, please contact the Recruitment Department on 01375 364513 or email epunft.recruitment.advertsnhs.net and we can arrange for this to be dispatched to you. The Trust has the right to expire vacancies prior to the closing date if they so wish. The Trust makes every attempt to contact all applicants and we strongly advise that you check the email account which is registered with NHS Jobs regularly, we would advise however due to the high number of applications we receive that if you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date your application has been unsuccessful on this occasion. We are committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults, and expect all staff to undertake this commitment. Applicants will be subject to robust safer recruitment processes. Covid Vaccination Although Covid vaccinations are no longer a mandatory requirement within the NHS we continue to encourage and support the vaccination uptake as this remains the best line of defence against Covid19. The safety of our staff and patients is a top priority for us at EPUT. If you would like to book a Covid vaccination or would like more information please contact us by emailing epunft.cv19hrnhs.net. Employer certification / accreditation badges Applicant requirements This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service. Documents to download Support Worker MHUCD Job Description (PDF, 736.5KB) Support Worker Person Specification (PDF, 432.6KB) EPUT Pledge - Step into Health (PDF, 211.0KB) Candidate Privacy Policy (PDF, 336.6KB) Right to Work Information (PDF, 293.6KB) Employer Recognition Scheme - Gold Award (PDF, 27.7KB) Trust Vision and Values (PDF, 168.9KB) Values of the NHS Pension (PDF, 151.3KB)