Job Description

Background and service:

GDAS are recruiting for roles to join our Assertive Outreach Team.

The Assertive Outreach Team seeks to achieve the objectives set out in The Welsh Government's Substance Misuse Delivery Plan including:

Ensure services commissioned to support co-occurring cases are aligned and working in partnership with housing and homelessness services. Seek to co-locate services with local authority homelessness teams where appropriate, in order to provide a more person-centred service to those who are either homeless or at threat of homelessness. In order to adopt a preventative approach, develop protocols with social housing and private sector landlords to help identify tenants who may be in need of support for their substance use. To work with partners to ensure services are accessible for all and that outreach services are available to those who are isolated due to their substance misuse issues, particularly older people.
The AO team provides the support needed to prevent people with substance use and other complexities such as Poly substance use, risky drug and alcohol using behaviour, homelessness, mental health related issues, physical health issues, sexual exploitation and those experiencing or perpetrating domestic abuse from becoming street homeless, or to support those who are experiencing street homelessness. We support service users through case management. With a smaller caseload this role will require frequent contact and support within an outreach basis. With a focus on harm reduction work, this role will support overdose management, outreach needle exchange, BBV testing and sexual health support, linking in with the health inclusion team, the sexual health team and other specialist health professionals, housing services, Domestic Abuse services and other partnership agencies.

The AO team provides rapid, flexible and responsive approaches to engage and support this cohort, including the offer of support at times and venues that is favourable for the individual, increasing the capacity and ability of individuals or households to prevent homelessness, maintain a home or enabling access to suitable housing for individuals or households.

One of our central functions as a team is to broker access to other services for people in housing need, navigating systems and advocating assertively where there are barriers to access or support.

Role Purpose:

Under supervision of the Assertive Outreach Team Leader and Service Manager, the post holder will work as part of the multi-disciplinary outreach team to support the delivery of recovery care plans for clients with a range of mental health, substance use presentations and housing needs in the community and facilitating appointments in the community and signposting.

They will have working knowledge and experience of both drug and alcohol detoxification and treatment programmes with an understanding of holistic aspects of care. They will have experience with service users who have mental health and co-occurring substance use difficulties to provide the speediest, most effective facilitation to connect with the services they may need.

The post-holder will work directly with service users with co-occurring needs across the area. The main aim of the role is to engage with these individuals, identify barriers and work with them towards recovery and social stability. The post holder will support the delivery of community-based mental health, substance use and housing support services within the area.

They will work closely and in partnership with the other elements of the service including the GDAS clinical team, specialist mental health, specialist substance use services and housing in the borough. They will support the Assertive Outreach Manager in developing links between services that ensure service users with complexities access the full range of care and treatment services to meet their needs.

The post holder will work intensively with people to support them in their home and/or community, preventing further decline in their presentation and emergency services responses alongside facilitating appointments in the community to promote wellbeing and recovery. Will deliver harm reduction work and softer outcomes such as signposting to benefits, food banks, drop-in services, health and wellbeing appointments and GP surgeries.

The post holder will deliver all services in line with Kaleidoscope's Operational Policies and Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs), ensuring that care is safe, undertaken to a high standard and informed by up-to-date practice. The post-holder should therefore be committed to evidence-based practice, sound clinical governance and continual improvement.

The post holder will have a non-judgmental approach to people who have substance misuse and mental health problems and be able to provide a welcoming and accessible service to existing and potential service users.

A full training programme will be available for the suitable candidate and a 6 month probationary period will be required.

Key Duties and Responsibilities:

To fully inform service users about their recovery/treatment options, involve them in decisions and consent, and encourage them to take opportunities to achieve a safer way of using substances whilst building the service users skill set to support them towards recovery, if this is their goal to do so.

To ensure individuals' personal strengths/recovery capital, including social capital and networks, continue to be built during their recovery.

To attend and report to safeguarding reviews, meetings and conferences, Multi- Agency Risk Assessment Conferences (MARACs) and Domestic Abuse Conference call (DACC), to attend and call 115 or multi agency meetings in order to share risk information and to facilitate multi agency working.

To work within agreed policies, procedures and protocols to safeguard children and vulnerable adults.

To offer emotional support, advice, information and education where appropriate to service users, carers and their family including signposting them to other services.

To foster and maintain good working relations with members of other community teams, health and social care workers.

Receiving and sharing information from GPs, carers and other partnership agencies.

Be able to recognise signs of abuse and know procedures they need to follow to escalate their concerns.

Help and support service users to maintain their health including BBV, sexual health and mental health by means of signposting to appropriate support services.

Participate in the delivery of care programmes and undertake duties, which are allocated by the Assertive Outreach Manager.

Work with service users who have co-occurring and sometimes complex issues.

Report and maintain client records, provide team updates and keep those involved in a service users care informed of contact and client progress.

Report immediately to qualified professionals any change observed in a service users condition, that may contribute to the safety of service user or the wider public.

Demonstrate a positive attitude and maintain a professional manner at all times.

Display a calm and patient approach to those service users in times of crisis.

Safely escort and accompany service users needing to attend appointments.

Visit clients in their homes being aware of lone working safety issues and policies.

To contribute to the promotion of health, prevention of illness and improve wellbeing as directed by the Assertive Outreach Manager.

To promote healthy lifestyle choices including potentially leading exercise activities/groups and support clients to access community facilities to this aim.

We offer a late night drop in until 6pm one day per week which this post holder will support via a Rota.

In carrying out the above duties the post holder will:

Work flexibly across operational sites.

Work flexibly within an agreed number of hours of work to maintain the most appropriate level of service provision.

Seek to improve personal performance, contribution, knowledge and skills.

Participate in appraisal, supervision and Learning & Development processes.

Keep abreast of developments in services, legislation and practice relevant to the relevant client group.

Ensure the implementation of the all service policies.

Contribute to maintaining safe systems of work and a safe environment.

Undertake other duties appropriate to the grade of the post.

This post has been identified as requiring the post holder to provide evidence of BBV immunisation status in order to carry out the role effectively. The role may require the post holder to undertake Dry Blood Spot Testing/ Substance Misuse Testing/ Working in Needle Exchange therefore Kaleidoscope wishes to ensure that staff are not at risk of infection or transmission of a disease that may affect their own or patient safety. Staff will therefore need to evidence their immunisation history, exemption or non-responder on commencement of employment or at routine intervals at the request of the Organisation.

Job Type: Full-time

Pay: 26,265.00-28,305.00 per year

Benefits:

Additional leave Bereavement leave Cycle to work scheme Enhanced maternity leave Enhanced paternity leave
Work Location: In person