Detailed job description and main responsibilities

We’re looking for people who are compassionate, can work well in a team, highly motivated and have excellent written and verbal communication skills. You will be trained for the role and given the opportunity to complete the national recognised care certificate.

Aylesbury Crisis Response and Home Treatment Team (CRHTT), is a vital component of the Urgent Care Pathway, addressing the objectives of the Ten-Year Plan to deliver Crisis Response and Home Treatment Services across Buckinghamshire. Our team is dedicated to supporting our most vulnerable patients and their families in the least restrictive setting possible, providing a range of highly intensive interventions at home. In addition to crisis response and home treatment, we conduct all urgent and emergency assessments, managing a caseload of around 40 service users at any given time. We are in the process of transforming into a fully functioning Crisis and Home Treatment team based on the Crisis Fidelity Model and working towards HTAS accreditation.

The role sees the introduction of lived experience into everyday practice. Depending on service need, PSW’s may offer a variation of group and one to one work and will work within the multi-disciplinary team to support a service users recovery journey.  The post holder will facilitate formal and informal learning, working with staff in clinical practice and supporting clinical teams to develop recovery-based practice.

Oxford Health offer Peer Support Training as part of the role to all new Peer Support Workers, and we additionally offer a nationally recognised accredited Level 3 Apprenticeship (fully funded by Oxford Health), for those eligible.

The Peer Worker Apprenticeship is completed over a period of 15-19 months depending on whether a Peer Support Worker works part time or full time (22.5-37.5 hours).

Eligibility criteria to enrol on the Apprenticeship includes having GCSE/Level 2 Maths and English qualifications. You will be expected to provide evidence of these qualifications. If you do not have these qualifications, we would still welcome your application for consideration, but you would need to complete The Trust’s functional skills courses on Maths and/or English whilst in the role before enrolling on the Apprenticeship. All new Apprentices will receive support from a tutor and supervisor within their working hours.

Lived experience:

• Drawing on lived experience of mental health to provide emotional and practical support to an allocated group of service users to promote their recovery. This may include avoidance of admission and/or promoting recovery for inpatient’s by helping them to identify and build their own support network
• To support service users to engage effectively with care being offered and access appropriate services
• Drawing upon lived experience & using active listening to inspire hope, offer empathy, empowerment, confidence building & validate a service users’ feelings
• To build relationships that are founded on the value of mutuality which will facilitate the provision of regular and practical support, both one to one and via group facilitation, to service users in developing and managing independence and maintaining dignity and self-respect
• To positively promote independent living of service users through role-modelling individual recovery journeys
• To have the individual service user’s needs always at the forefront of the PSW’s practice and to use the skills incorporated in the Peer Support Training to underpin their practice
• To build rapport with service users, whilst maintaining professional boundaries, drawing on both experience and knowledge of the service user perspective and an evidence-based approach.

Is this right for me?

If you are thinking of applying, The Trust strongly recommends reading the attached document entitled 'Things to consider before you apply' .  This document will help you understand more about your readiness for the role so you can make an informed decision if the job is right for you.

Please note, applications for this role close on midnight Sunday 15th June 2025. Interview dates will take place on either Monday 30th June or Tuesday 1st July 2025. Please indicate in your personal statement if there is a date that you definitely couldn't attend.