At Hertfordshire Partnership Foundation Trust we are looking for people to join us who share our values and those of the NHS. Before your application can be considered please take part on our online values questionnaire, which you can find below. When you have finished you will be sent a 'completion code' by email, which will be valid for 6 months and required to submit your application form.
We have an exciting opportunity for a Carer Support Worker to join our Adult Community Mental Health Services Team in North Hertfordshire / Stevenage.
The area is well served with transport links to historic Hertfordshire and its glorious countryside as well as into London and beyond. We are looking for a Carer Support Worker who is passionate about delivering care to Carers of Adults with mental health issues.
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is an exceptional organisation with big ambitions, our aim is to be the leading provider of mental health and specialist learning disability services in the country.
We can offer you a competitive salary, staff benefits package, excellent career development and training that comes from working for Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.
Whilst it is a challenging period for the NHS, there has never been a more exciting time to join HPFT. We are on a “Good to Great” journey as we continue to innovate, improve, transform and deliver the very highest standards of care to the service users and communities that we serve.
Main duties of the job
1. To work as part of a team which provides mental health services.
2. To focus directly on the needs of Carers requiring support (inc assessment of their needs) using the Support Time and Recovery Model.
3. To work quadrant wide across both the North Hertfordshire and Stevenage Adult Community Mental Health Services Teams.
4. To work closely in association with the Service Manager and Team Leaders; as well as other senior staff and other agencies, to help maximise the quality and quantity of Carer services within available resources.
5. To work within approaches outlined through the Care Act 2014 and local policy re: providing Carers support.
6. To provide support, give time and thus promote recovery.
7. All Staff should comply with the Trust’s Anti-Discriminatory Statement, Employee Charter, Trust Policies and Procedures, Code of Conduct and Equality and Diversity.
Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:
Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
1. To provide support, give time to an allocated group of carers and thus promote carer support and recovery and promote their place in the broader community.
2. Responsible for providing support to the care co-ordinator, through providing support to the carer and linking any shared objectives into ongoing care planning.
3. To positively promote wellbeing and support for self-management for carers within the community.
4. To enable the capacity of the teams to develop a rapport with carers, based upon attentiveness, sensitivity, understanding, compassion and honesty.
5. To develop plans that will enable the provision of practical support to carers in developing and managing their lives.
6. To ensure the right information is available to enable staff and carers to gain access to resources, including benefits and welfare rights.
7. To help to identify early signs of ‘carer breakdown’ by monitoring the wellbeing of carers.
8. To report regularly to care co-ordinators and appropriate key workers.
9. To maintain accurate records as required by existing procedures, entering appropriate details on the carer record as necessary.
10. To ensure the carer understands and has a clear pathway of support across community services; to include, on occasion, liaison work with acute services.
11. To undertake direct carer work where this is deemed appropriate, and to proactively engage carers in working to achieve their own desired outcomes in line with recovery principles, and recorded in their care plans.
12. To respond to urgent situations emergencies or crises using local protocols. E.g. implementation of carer contingency plans, carer breakdown.
13. To lead on the development of structured and semi-structured group work with carers within the community settings, and to contribute to the research of local need and the development of such groups to meet it.
14. To use information systems including information technology and be willing to undertake appropriate training.
15. To attend and actively participate in training sessions, team / care plan review meetings and supervision as appropriate.
16. To undertake such other duties as may be determined from time to time within the general scope of the post.
Person specification
KNOWLEDGE, TRAINING & EXPERIENCE
* NVQ Level 3 Qualification or Mental Health Certificate Level 3 or agreement to undertake such training as soon as resources permit.
* Commitment to continuing personal development.
AREAS OF EXPERIENCE / KNOWLEDGE
* Direct work with Carers.
* Carrying out assessments.
* Care Act 2014.
* Triangle of care.
* An understanding of mental illnesses and the mental health system.
* Understanding of the issues and concerns of Carers.
* Keenness to make a positive contribution to improving the life of people with mental health problems.
* Ability to provide practical support to enable Carers to achieve their wellbeing aims.
* Ability to plan and manage own workload and to work unsupervised in a range of settings.
* Care Planning.
* Group Work.
* Knowledge of local resources including welfare benefits and employment support.
COMMUNICATION SKILLS
* Good written communications skills including ability to write reports and letters.
* Good verbal communications skills including the ability to observe and listen effectively.
* Ability to use IT programmes effectively, including E-Mail, Microsoft Word, Excel and Powerpoint.
ANALYTICAL SKILLS
* Ability to analyse information and create innovative personalised solutions.
* Ability to research information and resources.
About us
Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (HPFT) is rated by the Care Quality Commission as an Outstanding provider of mental health and learning disability services. In 2021, we won the prestigious Health Service Journal award for Mental Health Trust of the Year, with the judges saying they were “blown away” by our people’s achievements and that everything they saw “sings and hums”. This year, our staff rated us the 4th best mental health and learning disability trust to work for out of all 52 trusts in the country. Our staff tell us that they are proud to be part of the HPFT team, proud of the standard of care we provide and proud that service users are our top priority. Our people tell us they feel supported though a great development, wellbeing and work-life balance offer and a highly compassionate, values-driven culture. We are equally proud of our staff, who live our values of being welcoming, kind, positive, respectful and professional so that together we provide great care and great outcomes for our service users and carers.
If you would like to join a team to be proud of and you share our values and passion for great care and outcomes for our service users and carers, we would love to hear from you.
Additional Information
HPFT is committed to being an equal opportunities employer and in order to reflect the diversity of its population, positively encourages applications from all areas of the community. We aim to be a representative organisation with regards to age, disability, ethnicity, gender, beliefs and sexual orientation and are fully committed to equality, diversity and human rights and encourage applications from all sections of the community including users of mental health services.
The Trust is committed to helping staff balance work and home life and welcomes applications from candidates wishing to work part-time or under flexible working arrangements.
Infection Control
All our staff will need to comply with current Infection Prevention and Control measures which could include wearing a mask on all our Trust sites and in all roles.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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.
Name: Karen Howard
Job title: Head Of Service North & East/South East ACMHS
Email address: karen.howard1@nhs.net
Telephone number: 01462 417790
Additional information: E-Mail is most suitable method of contact
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