Crisis Support Worker

at  Northamptonshire Healthcare NHS Foundation Trust

NHFT are building on their work within the Acute General Hospitals and alongside 3 rd sector partners in order to provide service users and their family/carers with a first point of contact to the Acute Liaison Mental Health Services based within the hospitals.
The role requires a support worker that can ‘think outside the box’ where taking initiative is essential. The role incorporates leadership skills. Taking a key part in decision making forums and supporting colleagues is essential. It will require advanced skills in prioritisation so to best support the service user and colleagues.
The post of Support Worker will apply a strength based approach to work collaboratively with service users, their link care coordinators and their family/carers to facilitate the following:
Support achievement of a personally acceptable quality of life
To help guide the process of recovery
To help to restore what has been lost through illness
To enable access to community resources
The support workers will work closely with our qualified mental health professionals, who will also provide them with regular supervision and guidance.
The post holder will work as part of the Acute Liaison Mental Health Service, predominantly at Kettering General Hospital, with the ability to cover Northampton General Hospital if required and to support the wider Crisis Care Pathway including the Crisis Houses, Crisis Cafes, Mental Health Hub and police engagements. This is a developmental post that will require the post holder to build strong links with acute general hospitals and 3rd sector partners to collaboratively support the management of service users in crisis attending the acute hospitals across the county.
The post holder will have experience of community engagement and have worked in teams that support individuals at the point of crisis or with increased risks. The service developments will endeavor to create an effective first point of contact to mental health services at acute hospitals.

To liaise and communicate effectively with statutory and non-statutory mental health agencies regarding identification of individuals with mental health needs who are admitted to the general hospitals.
To provide an intervention to ensure individuals are appropriately supported and facilitate links with community resources and specialist services as required.
To support colleagues in specialised risk and mental health assessments of individuals and inform recommendations for their care/treatment.
To be actively involved in the support of service users and their carers from their first point of contact with the Acute Liaison Mental Health Service through to their discharge from hospital.
Improve the experience of patients with mental health illnesses who receive care in the Acute General Hospitals.
To support in partnership with clinical staff and service users in the planning and implementation of care.
Help the service user gain access to resources to include benefits and welfare rights.
Provide information on health promotion.
Help to identify early signs of relapse by monitoring the service user’s progress, level of functioning and mental state and alert the appropriate staff involved in the service user’s care.
Provide support with the wider team to service users in crisis.
Supporting individuals on the acute hospital wards, through providing structured interventions to support behavioural change using motivational interviewing communication style.
To liaise closely with the full range of services within the local community; statutory and non-statutory services.
To facilitate access for family members, partners and carers with information and support to ensure a coordinated and enhanced approach to working with individuals.
Promote choice during all interactions.
Use of IT including Microsoft Word/Excel/PowerPoint and Internet.
To be open to learning and creatively finding solutions.
To actively promote individuals and colleagues rights and responsibilities, and diversity in line with NHFT policies and procedures.
To promote and develop effective working relationships with key agencies.
To take personal responsibility to keep knowledge up to date.
To maintain records, collect statistical data and store information in accordance with the requirements of the post, NHFT and protocols and the Data Protection Act.
Productive working relationships with team, clinician, senior practitioners, managers and other NHFT Departments.
To prepare for and participate in regular supervision/peer support meetings with senior practitioners.
Improve the experience of patients with mental health illnesses who receive care in the crisis care pathway.
Provide perspective to multi-disciplinary team members regarding assessment, intervention, management and safety planning.
Provide a service to the Crisis Care Pathway countywide.
Contribute to support, training and skill development for individuals and groups in mental health awareness.
To promote and develop effective working relationships with key groups with the general acute hospitals and associated community based teams, EMAS, Police and 3rd sector colleagues.
There will be an expectation that out of hours support will be provided within this role, and that the post holder will be able to provide cover for the service Countywide, working on a shift pattern across a 24/7 basis.
To promote co-production with the service user in all processes and interventions throughout the services within the pathway