Associate Mental Health Worker

Job overview

We currently have a vacancy for Associate Mental Health Worker to join out new Older Person's Home Treatment Team. This is a new service that has been set up to provide service users who are living in the boroughs of Barnet, Enfield and Haringey who are aged 70+ or who have a diagnosis of dementia with specialist support when they are experiencing a mental health crisis as an alternative to in-patient admission.

Main duties of the job

The successful candidate will be responsible for participating and assisting in the delivery of care for service users under the North Boroughs Older Person's Home Treatment Team (OA HTT). This includes supporting carers, families and professionals of those being cared for by the team.

The post holder will be expected to work a 7-day rota covering the boroughs of Barnet, Enfield and Haringey. They will carry out a range of clinical support tasks, including direct patient interactions, risk assessment, and delivering low- level psychological interventions, identified aspart of the service user’s care plan.

They will work as part of the multidisciplinary team to provide excellent, compassionate and sensitive care to people and their social systems. The post holder will provide direct face to face and telephone support to the service users and carers under the care of the crisis team, or those accessing the service via the call centre. Work will be allocated on a shift-by-shift basis by senior members of staff coordinating the shift.

The focus of the role will be that of supporting people aged 70+ in acute mental crisis, supporting carers and families in the same context, providing clinical assistance to registered and medical staff in order to ensure safe provision of care.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Actively participating in the delivery of care to service users in need of intensive home treatment support, as well as their family/carers as per the plan of care determined by the multidisciplinary team.
• Encouraging service users to engage in their individual programme of care and support and with their consent, where appropriate, seek the cooperation of friends / relatives / carers.
• To undertake and assist in the review of service users in mental crisis to include:
• Signposting service users and family carers;
• Actively linking service users and family carers in with local and/or national services;
• Referring service users and family carers to statutory and third sector organisations;
• Recording any changes in physical and mental health and reporting these to a more senior member of staff, acting appropriately on the advice given;
• Providing appropriate information to service users and family carers relating to health promotion and their well-being.
• Supporting implementation and planning of care with support and guidance from the multi-disciplinary team
• To support other members of the team in the care planning process through initial data and information collection, arranging reports, liaising with primary and secondary care, discussion and direct service user support.
• To undertake planned discharges of service users of the Older Adults HTT, with guidance from the multi-disciplinary team, specifically senior staff members (to include Band 6 Clinical Specialists, Band 7 Team Manager and medical staff). To take part in psychological interventions or psycho-education as per individual plans of care under the supervision registered staff.
• To be aware of and assist in meeting the psychological, social, physical, recreational and spiritual needs of all service users. To recognise and value service users as individuals, recognising the importance of maintaining the service user’s dignity at all times.
• To ensure that the care provided respects equality and diversity that is supportive of service users and their carers.
• Contributes towards the ongoing quality of service and care and to identify any risk issues in relation to the service users’ health and social care. Informing the registered practitioner / team / person in charge if there are:
• To recognise and respond appropriately to challenging behaviour in line with Trust policies.
• To undertake and assist in the organisation of the day-to-day smooth running of the service, reporting in a timely manner any issues relating to the fabric or condition of the clinical environment.
• To understand and follow the Trust risk assessment policy, including being aware of the need to follow all safeguarding procedures being aware of the necessity to safeguard and promote the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults at all times when working with service users.
• To develop and maintain relationships with partner organisations and local and national organisations relevant to service user and family carers.
• To have an awareness and understanding of the Mental Capacity Act (2005).
• To actively contribute to clinical or governance reviews of the teams activity and the monitoring of performance. Contributing to relevant audit practice development on research activity that may be taking place in the work area.
• To contribute as required to reviews of policy and procedures.
• To follow all Trust policy relevant to service user care and own role.
• To be able to work and travel across a geographical area, expected to be mobile to meet the needs of the service and its users.

Applicant requirements

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.