As a Hospital-Based Drug and Alcohol Recovery Worker, you will play a critical role in a team providing comprehensive support to individuals with substance misuse issues across various hospital settings, including A&E, inpatient wards, and outpatient clinics. This dynamic role focuses on delivering holistic, person-centred care to patients while promoting recovery and reducing hospital readmissions.
This is a new and exciting post to Bedford hospital and as such provides a lot of scope for your input into how the job role will develop.
Main duties of the job
You will conduct assessments, brief interventions, work as part of an MDT delivering crisis interventions, and offer tailored psychosocial support to engage patients in appropriate treatment pathways. Collaborating closely with multidisciplinary teams, you will ensure seamless coordination of care and address the broader needs of patients, including mental health, housing, and social support.
In addition to direct patient care, you will work alongside the senior practitioner to educate and support hospital staff, enhancing their understanding of substance misuse and promoting best practices in care. By fostering a culture of awareness and empathy, you will contribute to improved patient outcomes and a more integrated approach to recovery within the hospital environment.
Job responsibilities
Drug and Alcohol hospital recovery worker Role Overview
As a Hospital based recovery worker, you will be pivotal in enhancing the engagement of individuals facing alcohol or drug challenges within a hospital environment.
Key Responsibilities:
1. Provide one-on-one psychosocial support to patients who frequently attend hospital wards and the Emergency Department (ED), encouraging their participation in the community drug and alcohol service in their own local area.
2. Conduct initial screenings and triage assessments for new clients providing onward referrals as needed.
3. Collaborate with external services, such as mental health providers, primary care, social care, and other relevant agencies, to address the comprehensive needs of service users.
4. Monitor and report on service outcomes, aiming to reduce avoidable GP visits, urgent care visits, A&E attendances, hospital admissions, and ambulance calls, particularly within the frequent attender cohort part of this will be attending monthly High Intensity User group meetings.
5. Support the Drug and Alcohol practitioner on hospital ward rounds to identify patients with alcohol-related needs and engage them in appropriate treatment services.
6. Advocate for service users to secure support with housing, benefits, and access to mental, physical health, and substance misuse treatments.
7. Support service users in developing strategies to enhance self-esteem, social skills, and psychological well-being, aiding their recovery from alcohol dependence.
8. Support the Drug and Alcohol practitioner to provide education to staff across the hospital setting.
About you...
1. Experience working within a health and social care, community or hospital setting.
2. Experience with motivational interviewing.
3. An understanding of substance misuse.
Person Specification
Education
Essential
1. Good literacy and numeracy.
2. English and Maths at minimum GCSE or higher.
3. Information and Communication Technology literacy.
Experience
Essential
1. Experience of working in Health or Social Care as a key worker.
2. Experience of working within a multi disciplinary team.
3. Experience of managing a full caseload.
4. Experience of providing evidence based interventions.
5. Experience of Recovery Focused interventions.
6. Experience of using Information and Communication Technology to deliver clinical practice.
Skills
Essential
1. Ability to apply recovery values and principles in day to day work.
2. Ability to empower service users to draw from their strengths and assets, and identify solutions.
3. Skills in assessing needs and setting goals.
4. Skills in planning, implementing and evaluating care.
5. Ability to manage a caseload.
6. Effective communication skills, verbal and written.
7. Ability to respond flexibly to the demands of the service.
8. Ability to maintain professional boundaries and work effectively with service users, colleagues and other agencies.
9. Have a positive attitude to learning and personal development.
Knowledge
Essential
1. Knowledge of addiction theories and evidence based interventions in substance misuse.
2. Understanding and commitment to the values and principles of Recovery.
3. Understanding of statutory responsibilities e.g. Safeguarding Children.
4. Understanding and commitment to Equality and Diversity.
5. Understanding and commitment to delivering Key Performance Indicators.
6. Understanding and commitment to delivering quality care in line with national monitoring eg CQC.
Employer details
Employer name
East London NHS Foundation Trust
Address
P2R Bedford
21 The Crescent
Bedford
MK40 2RT
Any attachments will be accessible after you click to apply.
363-SSLB6872823 #J-18808-Ljbffr