Job summary
- Main area
- Community Support Worker
- Grade
- Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 364-A-8952
- Employer
- Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- The Harland Centre
- Town
- Westcliff on sea
- Salary
- £24,625 - £25,674 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 12/05/2025 23:59
Employer heading

Community Support Worker FIRST
Band 3
About Us
EPUT provides community health, mental health and learning disability services to support more than 3.2 million people living across Bedfordshire, Essex and Suffolk. Also:
- We are among the largest employers in the in the East of England region, with more than 10,000 staff working across more than 200 sites.
- We run the COVID-19 vaccination programme across mid and south Essex and Suffolk and north east Essex.
EPUT was formed on 1 April 2017 following the merger of North Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (NEP) and South Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (SEPT). A new leadership team was established at the Trust in 2020.
Our vision and values
Our Vision
“To be the leading health and wellbeing service in the provision of mental health and community care”.
Our Purpose
“We care for people every day. What we do together, matters”.
Our Values
- We Care
- We Learn
- We Empower
Our strategic objectives
- We will deliver safe, high quality integrated care services.
- We will enable each other to be the best that we can.
- We will work together with our partners to make our services better.
- We will help our communities to thrive.
Our services
- Mental Health Services
- Community Health Services
- Learning Disabilities Services
- Social Care
Find out more about the services we offer in our service directory.
Job overview
Please note we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should a sufficient number of applications be received.
PREVIOUS APPLICANTS NEED NOT APPLY - If you have previously applied for this role and your application was not successful you will not be considered during the shortlisting stage
The role of FIRST is to prevent acute psychiatric hospital admissions for older adults aged 70 years and over who are presenting in acute crisis which may be complex in nature where their mental health and related physical health conditions can be managed within the community between the operational hours of 8am-8pm. FIRST provides responsive assessments and proactive home treatment. This includes joint working with the MDT, Older adult CMHT’s, Home treatment teams, GP’s, inpatient wards and all other partner agencies including the voluntary sector.
FIRST will gate keep all Mental Health inpatient admissions and facilitate early discharge should a hospital stay be no longer required and treatment can be continued safely in their place of residence.
FIRST is a community based team and it is essential that you are able to drive a car and have a vehicle for work purposes with valid UK driving license.
Regrettably, we cannot offer sponsorship for all of our job roles. If you apply for a role that we cannot offer sponsorship for, unfortunately your application form be rejected from the process.
Main duties of the job
You will be working as a Support worker to assist the multidisciplinary clinical team, working in one specified pathway or across pathways in accordance with area / locality structures, You will be working with Service users in the community in their own homes or place of residence across the SE locality covering South end Castle point and Rockford. Your role will include providing physical health care checks, emotional support, cares support and signposting to other organizations.
Working for our organisation
EPUT are looking for motivated staff who shares our Trust values of Care, Learn and Empower. In return, EPUT can offer you a range of benefits and development including;
- Season Ticket Loans
- NHS discounts for staff
- Excellent Training facilities and opportunities
- Buying and Selling annual leave scheme
- The opportunity to work bank shifts and expand knowledge and experience in other areas
- Salary Sacrifice schemes including lease cars and Cycle to Work
- Day One Flexible Employer
The Trust supports and actively encourages flexible working for all employees. We offer many options and you are encouraged to ask the recruiting manager what is possible for this role. If appointed, you will have the opportunity to apply for a flexible working request from the first day of your employment
Join our Staff bank
What is Staff Bank?
Our EPUT NHS staff bank is an entity managed by the trust that hires clinical and non-clinical healthcare professionals to take on shifts at our trust hospitals and community settings. Here at EPUT we maintain our own bank of specialist staff to ensure that we are able offer safe and effective care at all times.
All our permanent staff are automatically enrolled onto the staff bank however this does not mean you have to work any additional shifts, but the option is there for you if you wish.
If you are joining our Trust in a fixed term role, please indicate on your New Starter Paperwork that you wish to join our staff bank.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
The Mid and South Essex Integrated Care System (ICS) brings together key health, care, community, and voluntary sector organisations from across our area. Our aim is to work together in partnership to join up health and care services, improving our population’s health and wellbeing and reducing health inequalities. One such example of this collaborative work is the launch of our HCA Academy, an ICS initiative between Essex Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust (EPUT) and Mid and South Essex NHS Foundation Trust (MSEFT) to support the incoming Health Care assistant (HCA) workforce. The academy models a ‘one workforce’ cross system approach to the onboarding, induction, education and experience of Healthcare Assistants.
To support this ‘one workforce model’ the successful candidate for this post will be required to attend our 5 day (Monday to Friday) face to face Induction Programme at our MSE ICS Education Hub at Brentwood Community Hospital. Your start date will therefore fall on one of two of the HCA Academy induction dates across the month, which will be discussed and agreed during the recruitment process.
Our HCA Academy Induction programme has been designed to train and support the successful candidate through the early stages of their employment at EPUT and will provide opportunities to enhance skills, knowledge and experience.
Further information will be provided post interview.
This will be followed by an additional 5 day (Monday to Friday) EPUT corporate / mandatory training welcome. (EPUT Welcome will be varied between face to face and virtual delivery).
Person specification
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Basic understanding of the nature of mental health conditions and how it can affect people’s day to day life
- Experience understanding/recording of service user activity on a clinical information system
- Basic IT skills i.e. Word and Outlook
Skills and Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of dealing with confidential and sensitive Information.
- Understanding of working with people with mental health conditions and an appreciation of vulnerability.
Additional Qualities
Essential criteria
- Current driving licence, and access to a vehicle for work purposes.
- Ability to travel across sites and across Trust boundaries to attend meetings, etc.
Desirable
Desirable criteria
- NVQ3 in Health or Social Care or equivalent experience.
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.
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Charlotte Castledine
- Job title
- Clinical Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01702 226190
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