Job Description

START is a community mental health service located within The South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust working with homeless people across Southwark, Lambeth, Croydon and Lewisham.

The teams provide multi-disciplinary, integrated (apart from Lambeth) health and social care for people experiencing homelessness in our area. Clients may be rough sleeping or living in hostels in our boroughs and will have a variety of needs, primarily mental ill health but also substance use or physical ill health. They will be unable or unwilling to engage with mainstream care and require an assertive outreach approach aimed at initial building of relationships due to previous trauma or adverse childhood experiences. This will allow formal interventions to later be delivered more effectively. The teams work closely with third sector agencies and statutory colleagues to provide advice and support to the former and advocacy and liaison with the latter to ensure the best care pathway to service users.



This is a new role in the Croydon START Team, aimed at supporting clients in the community and playing a key role in developing and facilitating collaborative and therapeutic relationships with the team. This will involve person centred support in a planned and coordinated manner with other team members, including practical help with activities of daily living, accompanying to appointments to maximise contacts as well as social support and meaningful occupation activities.

We are looking for a forward-thinking, creative and responsive support worker who has a passion for excluded populations, inclusion healthcare and outreach support. You will be enthusiastic, creative, resilient and be able to respond to others in a flexible manner. This varied role offers excellent opportunities to gain experience and skills in community mental health care in an award-winning team. We particularly welcome applications from people with lived experience of homelessness or mental ill health.



South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust (SLaM) provide the widest range of NHS mental health services in the UK as well as substance misuse services for people who are addicted to drugs and alcohol. We work closely with the Institute of Psychiatry, Psychology and Neuroscience (IoPPN), King's College London and are part of King's Health Partners Academic Health Sciences Centre. There are very few organisations in the world that have such wide-ranging capabilities working with mental illness. Our scope is unique because it is built on three major foundations: care and treatment, science and research, and training.

SLaM employ around 5000 staff and serve a local population of 1.1 million people. We have more than 230 services including inpatient wards, outpatient and community services. Currently, provide inpatient care for approximately 5,300 people each year and treat more than 45,000 patients in the community in Croydon, Lambeth, Lewisham and Southwark; as well as substance misuse services for residents of Bexley, Bromley and Greenwich.

By coming to work at SLaM, you will gain experience of being part of an organisation with a rich history and international reputation in mental health care. You will have access to professional development and learning opportunities, and have the chance to work alongside people who are world leaders in their field.

Key Responsibilities:

1. To work as part of the multi-professional team supporting the planning,

implementation and evaluation of service user care needs in collaboration with the service

users, carers and families, and other community/inpatient services.

2. To support personalised care planning within the multi-professional team, working

closely with service users and their carers; to assist service users in their recovery goals

which may include supporting them with practical/daily living tasks and engagement in

social inclusion activities:

working to a high standard and ensuring that as needs change

care plans are updated.

3. To demonstrate risk awareness with respect to risk assessment and ongoing risk

management, practising safely and according to individual service user needs and risk

management plans. Working alongside qualified staff to anticipate the individual needs of

service users, showing risk awareness and communicating to relevant parties as required.

4. To provide relevant support to carers and families.

5. To work in close partnership and maintain effective communication links with other

Borough mental health services and community agencies in order to ensure the continuity of

quality clinical care for service users.

6. To ensure maintenance of clinical records in accordance with good practice and the

Code of Conduct for Non-Regulated Clinical Workers. To maintain confidentiality by

ensuring information is shared in accordance with Trust standards and guidelines. To take

responsibility for keeping the team mental health resources up to date. To record and

report untoward incidents, taking appropriate action and ensuring relevant staff are

informed.

7. Take part in regular supervision and appraisal, and contribute to the well-being of

the team by supporting other team members and treating all colleagues with dignity and respect. To undertake all mandatory training requirements of the role.

8. To contribute towards work with service development initiatives involving service

users and carers where appropriate. To participate in audit, service evaluation and research

undertaken by the team.

9. To be physically capable of fulfilling the role, travelling around the local community and being able to respond rapidly to crises if required.

10. To be able to work with distressing and emotional issues remaining caring,

courteous and compassionate in line with SLaM's 5 Commitments.

11. To promote service user involvement in partnership with SLAM's Peer Support Network and to take a lead on a user involvement project relevant to the service.