Job summary
- Main area
- Mental Health
- Grade
- NHS AfC: Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Part time - 22.5 hours per week (Monday - Friday)
- Job ref
- 311-T600-25-A
- Employer
- Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- Health Support Team, Trust HQ
- Town
- Ashton Under Lyne
- Salary
- £24,937 - £26,598 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 05/08/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Mental Health Support Worker
NHS AfC: Band 3
If you are Kind, Fair, Ingenious and Determined then we want you to come and join our #PennineCarePeople
https://www.penninecare.nhs.uk/values
Job overview
The post holder will participate in the running and development of the GM SMI Physical Health Team, sitting alongside the treatment support team, focussing on patients who have been identified as having a Severe Mental Illness (SMI), supporting them to access an annual primary care physical health screen, reducing barriers and helping patients who cannot access services directly, and offering a level of outreach work for patient interventions. The post holder will also be providing physical health monitoring and escalating the information to be reviewed by senior practitioners.
The post-holder will provide support, for patients on the GP held SMI register.
Their register includes patients who are, and patients who are not under the direct care of PennineCare.
The post holder will work across primary and secondary care settings, promoting continuity of care and effective communication. You will participate in the on-going development of the service and in the education programmes of nursing students and other disciplines.
Main duties of the job
To provide annual physical health checks as part of the Severe Mental Health (SMI) physical health function which operates across primary and secondary services.
Working for our organisation
Treatment Support Team (TST) manage the treatment of patients in the community. There are various pathways for service users under the Treatment Support Team.
The aim of the Treatment support team is to offer and provide an efficient, high-quality service and standard of treatment and care for patients in the community, adhering to NICE guidelines, underpinned by policies and procedures under Pennine Care Foundation Trust.
Severe Mental Illness team, (SMI): This team sits alongside Treatment Support and offers support to GP’s to help engage clients with an SMI to complete their annual physical health check
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Clinical
To support and implement care that meets the mental, physical, spiritual, psychological and social needs of the patient, being sensitive to age, culture, race, gender, ethnicity, sexuality and disability.
To support the delivering of care, to address the health and wellbeing needs of patients, within the scope of the Greater Manchester SMI Physical Health project, and as directed from relevant professionals, following appropriate training on smoking, healthy eating and
exercise.
To refer onto expert services in the community where a need has been identified
To support the day to day functioning of health/treatment Clinics with support and guidance from relevant professionals, such as the nursing team, consultants and pharmacists.
To monitor the effects & side effects of medication, with guidance from relevant professionals, such as the nursing team, consultants and pharmacists. To be able to identify and respond to concerns appropriately.
To undertake venepuncture after relevant training and ongoing guidance.
To undertake physical health checks, and respond to & report concerns appropriately.
(No moving and handling required).
To support the safe storage of medical equipment within the clinical setting, in line with Trust Policy.
To monitor stock levels in clinic and report low stock to the team.
To contribute to the provision of a safe clinical environment and to adopt a nonjudgemental approach with patients based on respect and dignity.
To provide health promotion to patients, understanding the relationship between mental health and physical health. To be able to enhance a patients overall wellbeing, and promote parity of esteem.
To support multi-disciplinary meetings and contribute to information sharing & clinical decisions regarding patients
To support patients whose health and wellbeing is at risk, acting upon and escalating concerns appropriately.
Provide support to enable patients’ to engage in meeting their health needs. This will include arranging initial appointments and attending with the service user if required, contacting them by phone and enlisting other services to support
To work within Pennine Care NHS Foundation Trust policy, professional and legal frameworks at all times. This requires awareness of local child and adult safeguarding protocols, relevant mental health legislation and the Care Programme Approach.
To demonstrate an understanding of the impact of poor physical health on a patient’s mental health, and support their carers/family to be able to promote their wellbeing.
To have the ability to identify limitations and to be able to seek assistance and guidance from senior staff as necessary.
To assist patients to access healthy activities and ensure the safety, wellbeing and interests of patients and carers.
To recognise and respond appropriately to challenging behaviour in line with Trust policies.
To attend and participate in team meetings and contribute ideas to multi-professional team discussions.
To develop and demonstrate skills in the supervision process, both for personal benefit and in supporting junior staff and students.
Person specification
education/qualifications
Essential criteria
- Good standard of general education including good numeracy and literacy skills.
- NVQ 3 or equivalent
- Commitment to undertake Continuing Personal Development
Desirable criteria
- Evidence of recent further development / training.
Experience
Essential criteria
- Experience of undertaking a supportive role.
- Experience of working with individuals with mental health needs
- Experience of working with individuals in distress
Desirable criteria
- Experience of lone working
- Working with groups/coordinating activities for service users
- Working with people with mental health problems
Knowledge
Essential criteria
- Understanding of mental health issues and how these impact on individuals
- Understanding of confidentiality and data protection issues.
- Knowledge of physical health observations.
- Knowledge of diversity and anti-discriminatory practice/equal opportunities
Desirable criteria
- Awareness of local services.
- Knowledge of benefits / employment systems.
- An understanding of the mental health system.
- Basic first aid skills
- Ability to work sensitively with people in a mental health crisis
skills and abilities
Essential criteria
- Ability to listen effectively
- Good written and verbal communication skills
- Ability to empathise with service users
- Ability to implement care plans for individuals with the support of others as appropriate.
- Ability to create innovative solutions to help empower service users.
- Ability to work unsupervised in a range of settings
- Ability to form positive therapeutic relationships with service users and carers.
- Willingness to make a positive contribution to improving the quality of life for people with mental health problems.
- Ability to acknowledge diversity and promote antidiscriminatory practice / equal opportunities.
- Ability to provide practical support with daily living activities.
- An ability to act calmly in emergencies and to respond in a professional manner to stressful and challenging behaviour.
- Basic IT Skills
- Ability to work flexibly and to prioritise workload
- Ability to work as part of a team
Desirable criteria
- Willingness to engage with or have undertaken Venepuncture and physical health checks training.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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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
- Sally Jones
- Job title
- Health Support Team Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01617163500
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