Welcome from our Chief Executive

Our organisation is expanding and we're looking for people with the right values, skills and/or potential to join us. We need people with energy, expertise, enthusiasm to help us provide the very best possible specialist NHS mental health and learning disability care. This involves helping us achieve our strategy to improve the quality of life for the communities we serve through People, Prevention and Partnerships.

So what can we offer you in return?

We're an organisation which puts people first. We'll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. We'll help you learn, acquire new skills and gain further experience to support your career development. And we'll provide the opportunity for you to bring your fresh ideas to work about how we can do things differently and continue improving.

You will also be joining a health and care system committed to working together to do the best we can for the communities we serve. Above all, at Sussex Partnership you'll have the chance to make a difference to the lives of the patients, carers and families across our communities.

If you like the sound of that, then come and join our team.

Job overview

We are looking for highly motivated and enthusiastic Physical Health Support Workers to join us as a Band 3 Community Support Worker (Access Facilitator) within East Sussex. Whilst previous experience of working in a mental health or care setting would be helpful, we would welcome applications from people who feel they have the necessary transferable skills and experience and importantly the enthusiasm to make a difference in this exciting new role. You will be ideally, but not necessarily as training will form part of the role, qualified to NVQ Level 3 in care or equivalent.

You will be involved in community visits and engagement work with clients with a history of SMI (Serious Mental Illness) that are not engaging with their GP surgery; the work includes client contact and communication, undertaking simple physical health checks when necessary as well as encouraging/ supporting clients to attend their surgery appointments.

Main duties of the job

You will work with a group of GP surgeries in a specified area of East Sussex, as a vital member of the Mental Health Multidisciplinary Team, to help to form a joined up approach for SMI patients.

You will be required to:

• To actively undertake community visits in a variety of settings (E.g. G.P Surgeries, home visits and community centres), to deliver a simple physical health assessment
• Work with a range of Health Care staff and attend relevant G.P Surgery and Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust (SPFT) meetings to ensure individuals you work with receive appropriate interventions and follow up care.
• To work with individuals, Health Care and Voluntary and Community partners to develop physical health care goals for the people you work with and plans to promote and encourage self-management of physical health.

Refer and help individuals worked with to develop supportive relationships with partner organisations and communities to access Health Improvement interventions

Working for our organisation

As we work towards our goal of providing accessible and supportive service across Sussex our community mental health services are being transformed to recognise the changes in how people want to access them. We are working in close partnership with a range of partners and our 'experts by experience' to develop and improve our service offer.

As part of this exciting transformation, we are expanding our community rehabilitation, personality disorder and eating disorder services, as well as providing investment to our community mental health teams and increasing mental health provision in primary care.

What does this mean for you?

Because we need to recruit a diverse range of people and skillsets to join us, the job (and training & development) opportunities we have on offer are as broad as they are interesting.

For an informal chat and to find out more about our range of vacancies, send us your contact details to CommunityTransformation@sussexpartnership.nhs.uk

Detailed job description and main responsibilities
As part of the Adult Community Transformation Programme, our Access Facilitator Service will work with and build supportive working relationships with G.P Practices that sit within the Primary Care Networks (PCNs) in the East Sussex Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG) area, appropriate Sussex Partnership Foundation Trust (SPFT) services and Voluntary and Community sector partners and providers.

REQUIREMENTS

In order to be a successful Access Facilitator in our team you will have:

• NVQ Level 3 in care, or equivalent qualification or level of experience will also be considered - E.g. Customer/people facing experience
• Willingness to complete relevant physical health checks and interventions training
• Experience or willingness to work with service users, carers and family members
• Effective interpersonal skills
• Knowledge of physical/mental health conditions and health inequalities for people with SMI (included in the NHS Long Term plan).

While some prior knowledge of health checks and working with people with mental illness would be useful, we will be providing the necessary training to carry out the post successfully if you are not from a health care background.

This is a hugely exciting opportunity, to be working for a new and innovative service that will be very important in achieving the objectives of the Adult Community Transformation Programme.

As part of this role we will also be offering you the fantastic opportunity to join our Level 3 Senior Healthcare Support Worker apprenticeship course, this would enable you to, over a maximum of 24 months to gain a Level 3 Diploma in Healthcare Support. You would be fully supported throughout the course through a work-based tutor and regular reviews.

Join us and you will be working for a Trust that is continuously developing a working environment and culture which is based on trust, learning, accountability and responsibility, where staff feel empowered to influence and make positive changes to working practices.

We also place a huge focus on the wellbeing of our staff, as well as ensuring our reward packages reflect the immensely important work you would be doing. Our partnership 'perks' include the following:

• Generous holiday entitlement
• Cycle scheme
• Generous pension
• Flexible working
• Tax free child care
• Travel season ticket
• Continuous professional development
• Retailer and restaurant discounts
• Gym and fitness discounts
• Mindfulness courses
• Free eye exam and discounted glasses
• Discounted car scheme
• Free health checks
• Employee networks
• Free parking
• Free legal and financial information
• Free confidential counselling
• Wellbeing MOT's (we have our own Wellbeing team)
• Mobile phone discounts

Please state within your supporting statement, in rank order (1-3) if you have a preferred locality within East Sussex you wish to be considered for (Please see below the list of localities). Whilst we cannot guarantee a position in a particular area, your application will be taken into consideration.

• Hastings
• Rural Rother
• Bexill-on-Sea
• Havens
• Lewes
• High Weald
• Eastbourne
• Seaford
• Hailsham

Work Bases will be allocated according to your assigned area.

See attached Job Description & Person Specification for full details.

Please apply using the link in this advert, or for more information explore the attachments or contact, in the first instance:

Jenny Edge (General Manager - Emotional Wellbeing Services) jenny.edge@spft.nhs.uk

Greg Coghlan (Lead Nurse - SMI LCS liaison team) greg.coghlan@spft.nhs.uk

Person specification

Qualifications
Essential criteria

• •NVQ Level 3 in care, or equivalent qualification or level of experience with transferrable skills E.g. Customer/people facing experience
• Willingness to undertake Continuing Personal Development
• Willingness to complete relevant physical health checks and interventions training

Knowledge & Experience
Essential criteria

• Experience of working with clients, the public or both
• Experience of working as part of a team towards a common goal
• Basic understanding of the NHS and its independencies

Sussex Partnership NHS FT is committed to supporting a diverse workforce that reflects our communities. Our workforce is currently under-represented from Black and Minority, Ethnic and disabled communities and we would welcome applications from these communities.

We regret that we are unable to advise candidates if they have not been shortlisted. If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date please assume that you have been unsuccessful on this occasion.

In the event of an excessive number of applicants the Trust reserves the right to close this vacancy earlier than indicated.

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust takes its responsibilities for the safeguarding and protection of children and young people and vulnerable adults very seriously and expects this of all its employees and bank workers. The Trust works with adult and children's social care to ensure that the integrated service has systems in place to equip staff and bank workers with the knowledge and skills to recognize abuse, and take action to safeguard and protect vulnerable adults and children and young people. It is expected that all staff and bank workers familiarise themselves with the appropriate structures and policies and with the Sussex child protection and safeguarding procedures and the Sussex multi-agency policy and procedures for safeguarding vulnerable adults and undertake the relevant essential training and further training appropriate to their role.

Successful candidates are normally offered salaries at the bottom of the relevant salary range. However, where previous or equivalent NHS experience in a similar role can be demonstrated and evidenced, this may be taken into consideration when setting the starting salary.