Peer Support Worker

Job overview

Please note you must have right to work in the UK to apply for this position.

Due to current Home Office Guidelines, we are unable to sponsor this job role.

As an integral and highly valued member of the Inpatient Care Team working within Basildon Mental Health Unit, the Peer Support Worker will provide formal and professional peer support and practical assistance to service users in order for them to regain control over their lives and their unique recovery journey in a progressive way during their time on the ward.

Working in line with the national peer support competency framework, and the key principles of peer support as outlined by ImROC, The PSW will effectively use their own lived experience of recovery to support a person in their own recovery journey, helping the people they are supporting to navigate the inpatient pathway. By building positive relationship with service users and patients based on mutuality, reciprocity, and inclusivity, they will support people to identify their recovery goals and strengths working towards discharge. The PSW will advocate for a persons needs and support that person to self-advocate during their inpatient stay.

Main duties of the job

Where the term “service users” is used, this includes individual service users, people with lived experience, their family members and carers.

• To improve the lives of people with mental ill health by minimising the impact of their condition through the delivery of excellent services to promote recovery and wellbeing
• To be compassionate in meeting the needs of patients and their carers
• To work closely with multidisciplinary team within the service regarding the mental health needs of the people they are support

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

COMMUNICATION AND WORKING RELATIONSHIPS:

• To acknowledge and work to the key principles for providing peer support (Mutuality, Reciprocity, Non-Directive, Strengths-based, Progressive, Inclusive, Recovery-Focused, and Safe)
• Be aware the emotional context, staying calm and being clear, consistent and reliable. Ensuring that the approach with colleagues, and service users is balanced and fair.
• To work with multi-disciplinary teams to support service users access additional services and teams within the inpatient setting to better meet their needs where possible.
• To accept and respect service users’ personal beliefs, uniqueness and identities. Working and communicating in a way that acknowledges the personal social, cultural and spiritual strengths and needs of the individual.
• To be aware of, teach others and challenge issues in relation to stigma, low expectations and anti-discriminatory practice as appropriate.
• To attend multidisciplinary team and other meetings as appropriate, and champion a recovery and holistic approach to care. To actively participate in regular supervision and be willing to reflect on interpersonal dynamics.
• To be trauma-informed, and be an ambassador for trauma informed care

CARING RESPONSIBLITIES:

• To support service users to direct their own recovery process through encouraging them to work collaboratively with teams, and where possible, carers, to identify their own goals and needs and to co-produce care plans to support these.
• To assist service users to identify their strengths, personal interests and goals, and support them to access and participate in activities which meet these, whilst demonstrating acceptance of and respect towards service users' personal beliefs, uniqueness and identity.
• To support service users to maintain and/or develop positive relationships with others and learn how to improve or eliminate unhealthy relationships.
• To provide support to service users in the community and maintain continuity of contact if they are an inpatient, as appropriate to the role.
• To facilitate the individual to move through and beyond community services.
• To model/mentor a recovery process and demonstrate coping skills, using own experience.
• To contribute to the assessment, planning, implementation and review of care with multidisciplinary teams.
• To accompany service users to appointments, therapeutic or social, and community-based activities, as appropriate.
• To work with their allocated service users as they. navigate inpatient services to assist recovery.
• To assist service users to integrate into the service and local area and support them to access information on health promotion, mental and physical wellbeing where possible.
• To assist the service user to understand their rights and choices within the services in which they participate.
• To offer transitional support and aid navigation for Peers and Carers to access EPUT, third sector providers and community resources as the need dictates where possible.
• To work with the family and carer ambassadors where possible to have a holistic approach to peer support for services users and their families / carers.
• To promote opportunities for peer support and Lived experience in other areas of inpatient services.
• To be an ambassador for lived experience across inpatient services.

RISK MANAGEMENT:

• To manage and work effectively in line with Trust risk policies and procedures, whilst supporting an individual's recovery.
• To ensure any observed concerns regarding an individual's wellbeing, including any issues of safeguarding, are raised with the team at the earliest opportunity.
• To report any untoward incidents or unusual occurrences to management immediately.
• Infection Control – to be responsible for the prevention and control of infection.

STRATEGIC AND OPERATIONAL RESPONSIBILITIES:

• To embed recovery values and the ethos of peer support into Mental Health Services and champion the role of Peer support worker within the service, the trust and in the community and share best practice.
• To bear a caseload that will be dependent on capacity and demand, and individually negotiated with supervisor/line management.
• To plan, manage and prioritise own workload.
• To positively promote and support independent living by maintaining knowledge of and links with community organisations, especially in relation to employment and leisure.
• To maintain up-to-date knowledge of legislation and national and local policies in relation to the specific service user group and peer support.
• To attend operational and strategic meetings as identified and agreed with line manager, and contribute to development of Peer Support Worker roles in the ICS.
• To attend peer professional development forums.
• To read and understand the statutory requirements of the Mental Health Act 1983.
• To ensure day-to-day practice reflects the highest standards of governance, clinical effectiveness, safety and patient experience
• With the team managers and lead clinicians, play a lead role in the development of the Peer support worker team and the role of the peer support worker. Promote and encourage the development of the peer support initiatives.

ADMINISTRATION AND INFORMATION SYSTEMS:

• To comply with Trust policy regarding the use of the intranet, internet and e-mail and the requirements of the Freedom of Information Act.
• To maintain a record of activities in which engaged. To uphold data protection legislation and only share client information as per EPUT’s information governance policy, information-sharing protocols and client confidentiality agreements.
• Use of trust computers, mobile phones and other trust software.

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.