Social Prescriber inSutton inSutton PUBLISHED 9 OCT 2024

Location
: HMP Highdown


Salary:
£25,154 per annum

We are The Forward Trust (formerly RAPt and Blue Sky), the social enterprise with charitable status that empowers people to break the often-interlinked cycles of crime and addiction to move forward with their lives. For more than 25 years we have been working with people to build positive and productive lives, whatever their past. We believe that anyone is capable of lasting change. Our services have supported thousands of people to make positive changes and build productive lives with a job, family, friends and a sense of community.

We believe and are committed to providing opportunities to all people including those with 'Lived Experience' we encourage applications from all backgrounds including those in recovery from addiction, co-dependency or gambling, have experience of previous offending or homelessness.


What You Will Be Doing


This role will lead you to act as a project manager and focus on specific populations of service users who are hard to engage in services. The role of social prescriber will focus on proactively supporting individual's to positively engage with supportive services/activities in order to; reduce their sense of isolation, build pro-social connections, alleviate boredom, support their substance misuse needs and improve wellbeing.

You will be based on site working within a team that have a broad skills mix to deliver combined psychosocial and clinical interventions providing recovery-orientated Health and Wellbeing Services to service users aged 18 and over at: HMP Highdown a closed category C adult male prison located in Banstead, Sutton.

Please be aware that whilst based at HMP Highdown you will also be expected to offer support across service regionally across Surrey services. Travel between sites will therefore be a requirement of the role.


As Social Prescriber Day-to-day You Will Be Responsible For

• Applying person-centred and strengths-based practice to service user engagement
• Providing assertive outreach to those that decline to engage/have disengaged in the health and wellbeing service but are using illicit substances.
• Developing and implementing a framework for non-clinical needs that may be met through social prescribing
• Engaging with service users and peer mentors to identify service user groups to address social and emotional needs affecting health
• Providing brief advice, motivational interviewing and health coaching whilst having non-judgemental conversations tailored to individual need according to UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA)
• Promoting local services that may be available and developing a social prescribing directory
• Working in partnership to reduce health inequality and health promotion
• Providing a socially prescribed service, ensuring that local health and care professionals and link workers are aware of our service and its referral criteria
• Appropriate promotion and signposting of other services and agencies
• Planning, coordinating and delivering health promotion events
• Pro-actively engaging with other service providers, partners and service user groups
• Delivering bespoke health and wellbeing initiatives as part of social prescribing service offering
• Facilitating regular Service User engagement forums
• Leading in planning and delivering activities for staff and service users relating to health improvement
• Providing appropriate harm reduction advice and guidance, assessing, care planning
• Delivering structured 1:1 and group-work sessions including structured treatment programmes if relevant to the unit you are working in
• You may be required to complete second signatory duties and oral swab testing to support clinical treatment
• Through care and integration with other services such as Transitional, Housing, Employment, Gym, Healthcare, Probation and external Drugs Intervention Teams are an essential element of the work to prepare for release.
  
  

What We Are Looking For

• Experience of working with service user groups within front-line health services.
• Knowledge of the issues facing those with experience of substance misuse and/or low-level mental health issues.
• Demonstratable experience of carrying out risk assessments, comprehensive assessments and the design and implementation of SMART care plans.
• Strong IT skills.
• Experience of carrying out psychosocial interventions including using motivational interviewing techniques in both 1:1 and group settings.
• Desirable but not essential, open to applications with relevant experience and/or transferable skills.
  
  

What We Offer

• Training opportunities and career development
• Flexible working
• Season ticket loan scheme
• Electric Car Scheme
• Crisis Loan Scheme
• Simply Health - Health Cashback Scheme
• 3 x Wellbeing Days (Pro Rata'd for Part Time Employees)
• Access to Blue Light Card
• Cycle to work scheme
• 25 Days annual leave plus Bank Holidays (rising to 30 days with length of service)
• Excellent contributory pension scheme. Employer matched contributions of up 6% in the first two years' service and up to 9% thereafter.
• Death in service payment (2x annual salar
• Critical illness insurance (subject to qualifying criteria)
  
  

To Apply


If you feel you are a suitable candidate and would like to work for the Forward Trust, please click apply to be redirected to their website to complete your application.

• We reserve the right to close this vacancy early