Detailed job description and main responsibilities

To contribute to the full range of activities required to deliver ongoing comprehensive mental health assessment for service users with severe and enduring mental health needs living in the community and in a range of settings. This may include: 
a. The use of standardised assessment tools such as Cluster Allocation Support Tool (CAST), KGV 
b. Recovery Star 
c. History, strengths and aspirations 
d. Mental state 
e. Impact of culture and diversity 
f. Functional needs 
g. The needs of family and carer 
h. Evaluation of risk 
i. Physical health 
j. Complicating factors 
k. The interventions and treatments required to enable positive change. 
l. Social Care needs 
m. Safeguarding and public protection 

To contribute to planning, delivering and reviewing treatment programmes using appropriate frameworks in line with evidence–based practice, including strategies to manage risk for service users with complex needs and carers, bringing in other resources as required. 

To act as care coordinator for identified service users, also providing defined interventions to individuals on other workers caseloads. 

To contribute to the planning, delivery and evaluation of defined, therapeutic interventions as identified, in line with personal recovery plans, including to service users who maybe on other caseloads. This might include: 
a. Individual or group therapeutic intervention 
b. Psychological treatments such as CBT, DBT approaches , family interventions 
c. Psychosocial interventions 
d. Motivational and coping enhancement strategies. 
e. Medication management 
f. Interventions under the Mental Health Act, 

To deliver a range of activities/defined interventions to improve the 
friends/relatives/carers (carers) ability to support the service user and to enable them in their relationship with the service user. 

To develop and maintain good partnership working with other services is maintained throughout all treatment episodes, including regular liaison within Primary Health Care Team, inpatient services, day services, voluntary sector and with nominated carers/advocates. 

In collaboration with service users and carers, to be responsible for facilitating the development of comprehensive crisis plans, rapid access plans, advance statements etc, involving other agencies such as primary care etc where appropriate. 

To personally build, hope inspiring relationships with service users, which 
acknowledge the personal journey of each person, and focus on strengths and aspirations to allow the creation of meaningful personal recovery plans. 

To be responsible for maintaining own workload, on a day to day basis, ensuring that time is prioritised effectively, making full use of electronic resources such as diaries/scheduling. 

To be responsible for the protection of individuals from abuse and harm in line with local safeguarding policies and procedures, by contributing with others to the plans to protect people at risk, ensuring the appropriate sharing of information. 

To facilitate access for service users and carers to appropriate community services and interventions outside secondary mental health services and across the complete recovery pathway. 

Personally working collaboratively and sensitively with individuals with a range of mental health needs to develop skills to manage their own health, in accordance with their personal recovery plan, by actively promoting and using approaches which are affirming, build on strengths, identify past positive experience and success, and use small steps to move towards the persons goal. 

To maintain the single health and social care record, ensuring both paper and electronic records are kept up to date in accordance with professional and organisational standards. 

Report and record within agreed timeframes, all activity relating to information reporting and performance requirements. 

To proactively participate in management, workload and clinical supervision in accordance with trust policy, taking personal responsibility for making appropriate arrangements. 

To provide mentoring/ training for others in relevant practice areas, according to professional requirements, taking a collaborative approach to practice development and evidence-based care. Specifically this means providing a safe and effective learning environment for the mentoring and supervising of students , participating in their learning objectives and assessments 

Demonstrate responsibility for developing own practice in line with professional qualifications and for contributing to the development of others, by making use of effective feedback, supervision, coaching and appraisal, and by providing appropriate information to help others. 

To adhere to professional codes of conduct ensuring required skills and 
competencies required are maintained. 

To participate in local arrangements in order to ensure consistent care to service users across the local geography 

To show willingness to support practices which foster and maintain team working.

This post is open to newly qualified social workers. In line with trust policy, all newly qualified social workers will be recruited initially at Band 5 level, regardless of advertised role banding. All NQSWs are expected to successfully complete their ASYE within 2 years of employment, unless there are exceptional circumstances in which case it may be agreed to extend this for a further 2 years. 

On successful completion of the ASYE, for which you will be given full support of an experienced Social Worker as well as Divisional Social Work Lead, and peer support from other ASYE candidates, you will then be eligible to progress to a Band 6 position. 

If you have been appointed to an advertised Band 6 role this will be an automatic progression, following confirmation of your successful completion. If you have been appointed to a Band 5 you will then be eligible to apply for a subsequent Band 6 vacancy.