MAIN PURPOSE

Social prescribing empowers people to take control of their health and wellbeing through referral to non-medical ‘link workers’ who give time, focus on ‘what matters to me’ and take a holistic approach, connecting people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support.

To provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take control of their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes; strengthen personal resilience and reduce health inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health such as debt, poor housing, physical inactivity and low understanding of the health condition. 

To take a holistic approach, based on the person’s priorities and the wider determinants of health to co-produce a Personal Action Plan to improve health and wellbeing, introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services. 

To encourage the patient to carry out the goals set in the Plan, and to work with other services and agencies to ensure the individuals get any extra support they require to achieve their goals.

The role will require you to manage and prioritise your own caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required by individuals. 

MAIN ACCOUNTABILITIES

• Take referrals from a wide range of agencies, including GPs, CWP, treatment teams, multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams, allied health professionals, fire service, police, job centres, social care services, housing associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations (list not exhaustive).

• Provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take control of their wellbeing, live independently and improve their health outcomes. Develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on ‘what matters to me’. Take a holistic approach, based on the person’s priorities and the wider determinants of health. 

• Co-produce a personalised action plan to improve health and wellbeing, introducing or reconnecting people to community groups and statutory services. 

• Use motivational interviewing and coaching techniques to support individuals to achieve their desired outcomes.

• Managing and prioritisation of a personal caseload, in accordance with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required by individuals on the caseload. It is vital that you have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals/agencies, when what the person needs is beyond the scope of the link  worker role – e.g. when there is a mental health need requiring a qualified practitioner.

• Build relationships with key staff in the health care setting,  attending relevant meetings, becoming part of the wider network team, giving information and feedback on social prescribing.

• Develop supportive relationships with local VCSE organisations, community groups and statutory services, to make timely, appropriate and supported referrals for the person being introduced.

• Be proactive in developing strong links with all local agencies to encourage referrals; working in partnership working to reduce pressure on statutory services, improve health outcomes and enable a holistic approach to care.

• Seek regular feedback about the quality of service and impact of social prescribing on referral agencies.

• Work sensitively with people, their families and carers to capture key information, enabling tracking of the impact of social prescribing on their health and wellbeing; ensure that all recording and reporting is completed to a high standard to the expected timescales.

• Encourage people, their families and carers to provide feedback and to share their stories about the impact of social prescribing on their lives.

• Work closely with GP practices within the PCN to ensure that social prescribing referral codes are inputted to EMIS and that the person’s use of the NHS can be tracked, adhering to data protection legislation and data sharing agreements. 

• Adhere to organisational policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety.

• Work with your line manager to access regular supervision to enable you to deal effectively with the difficult issues that people present.

• Undertake any tasks consistent with the level of the post and the scope of the role, ensuring that work is delivered in a timely and effective manner.

• Duties may vary from time to time, without changing the general character of the post or the level of responsibility.

Person Specification Requirements:

Key attributes, knowledge and confidence

1 - Experience of working directly in community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health/health improvement (including unpaid work).  

2 - Ability to actively listen, empathise with people and provide person-centred support in a non-judgemental way; inspiring trust and confidence, motivating change. 

3 - Ability to respect and value individual lifestyles, backgrounds and cultures.  Understanding of and commitment to the aims, principles and values of the Citizens Advice service and commitment to equality, diversity and inclusion.

4 - Understanding of the wider determinants of health and commitment to reducing health inequalities, proactively working to reach people from diverse communities 

5 - Ability to identify risk and assess/manage risk when working with individuals.  Confident and comfortable with difficult situations 

6 - Can demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and ability to work well under pressure; organising, planning and prioritising on own initiative. 

7 - Delivering results – ability to achieve the outcomes and outputs for the project. 

8 - Knowledge of IT systems including ability to use word processing skills, email, virtual meeting platforms, and the internet to create simple plans and reports 

9 - Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working, information governance, and health and safety 

Other requirements (E - Essential, D - Desirable)

E - Meet DBS reference standards and criminal record checks

D - Training in motivational coaching, goal setting and interviewing or equivalent experience (desirable)

D - NVQ Level 3, Advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards or relevant experience

D - Willingness to work flexible hours when required to meet work demands 

D - Access to own transport and ability to travel across the locality on a regular basis including to visit people in their own homes. 

Interview dates: Monday 26th October and Wednesday 28th October

Interview location: Birkenhead, Wirral

Please note: Interviews will be held in person only. Virtual interviews are not available for this role.

Citizens Advice Wirral is part of the Disability Confident scheme. We're taking positive action by providing interviews to candidates who have a registered disability - provided they meet the minimum skills for the role. We'll ask you whether you are eligible when you apply, so if you'd like to be considered for this scheme, all you need to do is let us know in your application.

At Citizens Advice Wirral we use role-specific situational questions as part of our recruitment process. These are designed to help us understand how applicants would approach scenarios they are likely to encounter in the role. Applications are assessed on the quality, relevance and authenticity of responses, and the extent to which answers demonstrate the applicant’s own judgement, reasoning and experience.

We use AI screening tools to support the review process. Where answers appear overly generic or do not clearly reflect an applicant’s own thinking or decision-making, this may affect how strongly the answer scores against the marking criteria.

If you require assistive technology or other support to complete your application, or need reasonable adjustments at any stage of the recruitment process, please let us know.