Job Summary
We are looking for a Peer Support Worker to join our Home Treatment Team Service and work as part of an integrated team providing support to people with long-term mental health problems. The Post is available full and we would consider band 3-4 developmental post for the suitable candidate .
As a Peer Support Worker you will be responsible for providing support to people with long term mental health problems, supporting people to develop their independence, self-management skills and achieve their recovery goals.
Main duties of the job
This is an exciting opportunity to join one of our HTAS accredited teams with post falling under the London Borough of Sutton within South West London and St Georges Mental Health NHS Trust. The role is for someone with Lived experience of mental health difficulties. We would provide training and supervision. This will be an opportunity to develop communication and skills working therapeutically alongside others to support patients with mental health difficulties.
The successful candidate will provide recovery-orientated peer support to people with long-term mental health problems, facilitating access to community activities and emotional support.
About us
We are Proud to Belong at South West London and St George’s Mental Health NHS Trust.
We have expert services, a rich history and a clear commitment to providing the best quality care for those with mental ill-health. The Care Quality Commission already rates our services as ‘good’ – we aspire to be ‘outstanding’.
This is a great time to join us. We are transforming the way we care for our communities to support our mission of Making Life Better Together. We have built two brand new mental health facilities at Springfield University Hospital, which are amongst the best in the world. More developments are planned across our sites and services.
We are inclusive and diverse and strive to be actively anti racist. We want to attract people from all backgrounds and experiences to enrich the work we do together. We are proud to co-produce and involve our local communities in all that we do.
We offer flexible working, career development and a variety of benefits to enable a positive, welcoming environment in which our people and their careers can thrive.
Job description
Job responsibilities
Service User/Carer Experience
- Establish supportive and respectful relationships with people using mental health services and their carers, friends and families.
- Support the promotion of recovery orientated environments, modelling positive strengths based, non-discriminatory, non-jargon language in all areas of work.
- To demonstrate and promote the values and positive image of the Trust in terms of a compassionate, empathic and responsive experience of the service.
- Interact with service users and carers to enable them to communicate their needs, personal resources, choices and decisions regarding their care and support.
- Identifying appropriate crisis, wellbeing and recovery tools and resources (both mental health or social care specific but also individual) that will support someone both in real time and when facing any future crisis to minimise negative impacts.
- To help service users access information on health promotion as well as mental and physical wellbeing.
- To contribute to lone-working and safeguarding procedures/processes to support service user/carer/public safety.
Service Improvements
- To reduce the frequency and potential negative impact of unnecessary or prolonged contact with mental health services
- Contribute to the positive reputation and development of policy and practice around the expansion of workforce of people with lived experience within the Trust.
- Support people to access the information and advice they require to make informed decision and choices around the support they receive.
- To proactively raise the profile of peer support both within SWLStG, and externally, through co-delivery of presentations, workshops, and participation in Trust wide peer related projects and audits: and information sharing as required and as agreed with the line manager.
Personal and People Development
- Recognise own limitations and make judgements within level of own competency when undertaking peer support work.
- Recognise situations which require intervention from another member of the team and escalate to more senior staff.
- Responsibility for maintaining appropriate boundaries with the people with whom you are in contact with in the course of your work.
- Participate in the induction of new staff and assist in the delivery of training to other lived experience roles as appropriate.
- Access and promote tools for maintaining personal wellbeing and seek support/help if situations are difficult to manage.
- To be aware of, teach others and challenge issues in relation to stigma, low expectations and anti-discriminatory practice as appropriate.
- To develop peer-focused leadership skills to support the reputation of the lived experience workforce, supporting new projects as needed.
Communication
- Identify from building a connection with service users when it is appropriate and safe to share personal experiences, and where sharing is purposeful.
- Communicate in a way which recognises difference and ensures that people feel included and their individual communication needs are met.
- Using the values of peer support, overcome barriers or difficulties that service users might have in understanding peer support so that they can effectively engage.
- To support the service user to prepare for meetings regarding their care, assisting them to understand and be able to communicate their rights and choices within services.
- Use communication skills effectively when supporting people in distress, in line with trust policies.
- To ensure appropriate level of record keeping and adhere to local and Trust policy.
- Report any untoward incidents or unusual occurrences to the manager in a timely manner.
Person Specification
Education and Qualification
Essential
- Good standard of education with a relevant qualification AS Level, NVQ 3 or equivalent OR
- Key Skills in Literacy and Numeracy Level 2 (or willing to achieve within 2 years) and equivalent experience of providing peer support in the mental health sector and willingness to complete accredited PSW training.
- Evidence of mental health specific training
Desirable
- Peer Support Worker training
- Safeguarding Adults and Children Training
Experience and Knowledge
Essential
- Experience of representing someone’s views or advocating on their behalf
- Lived experience of mental health problems from which you have recovered.
- Experience of using wellbeing or recovery focussed tools to manage own mental health.
- Experience of working within a team
- Experience of using wellbeing or recovery focused tools to support someone else in managing their mental health.
- Recent experience of working in the mental health sector
- Experience of participating in and contributing to peer support groups.
Desirable
- Experience of having used secondary mental health services.
- Experience of facilitating peer-led groups
- Experience of involvement in service development, of contributing to project development/management
- Experience of recording and reporting on service improvement initiatives in any setting
- Experience of supervising others
- Experience of recruiting others to roles in either a paid or voluntary capacity
- Experience of training, coaching or supporting the development of others in the workplace
- Understanding of the role of Home Treatment Teams
Disclosure and Barring Service Check
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.
Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab).
From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab).
Closing Date: 30 September 2024
