ED, Homeless Health, and High-Intensity User Housing Worker

Job overview

Are you passionate about helping people experiencing homelessness? Do you enjoy working in a busy and rewarding environment where you can make a real difference?

An exciting opportunity has arisen within the Homeless Health Inclusion Team to support people experiencing homelessness who attend the Accident & Emergency Departments across Imperial College Healthcare NHS Trust.

This is a new 12-month fixed-term role, created to improve the experience and outcomes of patients experiencing homelessness. The post will focus on providing early support and intervention to help patients transition safely back into the community, while reducing the need for repeated hospital attendances.

The successful candidate will be part of the Homeless Health Inclusion Team and report directly to the team. However, they will work independently within the Accident & Emergency Department, acting as a key link between patients, clinical teams, community services, housing providers, and partner organisations to ensure timely support and safe discharge planning.

We are looking for a motivated and compassionate individual who can work calmly and professionally in a fast-paced environment. You will be confident working autonomously while remaining closely connected to the wider Homeless Health Inclusion Team. The role requires excellent communication and relationship-building skills, as you will work closely with patients, hospital staff, local authorities, housing teams, and voluntary sector partners.

Main duties of the job

• Work with ED colleagues, the hospital Homeless Health Team, local HIU ED Case Worker and Borough HIU Care Coordinators to implement referral and feedback mechanisms for homeless people and HIUs.
• Act as the central point of contact for referrals of people experiencing homelessness from ED and other hospital departments.
• Provide immediate support: o Provide direct support with housing, financial, and wellbeing needs, including access to primary and specialist health services on discharge.
• Build and maintain effective relationships with ED staff, HIU teams, GPs, ambulance services, police, mental health professionals, social services, community teams, and third sector partners.
• Proactively identify and act on safeguarding issues for vulnerable adults and children.
• Provide housing and homelessness advice to ED staff and contribute to teaching and awareness sessions.
• Actively identify and address own learning needs, keeping up to date with housing legislation, welfare reforms, and local service provision.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

The full job description provides an overview of the key tasks and responsibilities of the role and the person specification outlines the qualifications, skills, experience and knowledge required.

For both overviews, please view the Job Description attachment with the job advert.

Applicant requirements

The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.