Job Description

The Youth Worker is an integral member of the Play Service and will work very closely with the Play Service manager and Deputy Health Play Specialist manager.



The youth worker will work within the Play Service team delivering professional youth work supporting the Trust adolescent strategy and specific identified aims, objectives and outcomes and work closely with other Youth work colleagues to develop the services for adolescents.



The other roles include



To encourage and to develop a peer group network of support for teenagers To develop and run a wide range of age -appropriate recreational activities both online and face to face to enable young people aged 11-21 years to develop cognitive, social and emotional skills to help prepare them for the move to Adult Services To participate in the multi-disciplinary team using specific skills to contribute to the care and understanding of the young people, their families and carers. To ensure the clinic environment is young person friendly and meets their needs. The Youth Worker and Play Service Manger are jointly responsible for ensuring competency, therefore be specific to the specialty, clinical area or patient group Create and maintain relationships with patients, parent/carers, offering advice and support where necessary. Accompany patients to other areas of the hospital for specialised treatment. Direct supervision using experience and knowledge to ensure patients attend transition clinics and encourage early communication if unable to attend. Working alongside the young people, use informal or formal assessment to establish the needs of this patient group. Using these results, work closely with the healthcare team in establishing an appropriate response to support these young people throughout the service. To provide and lead recreational facilities and youth work activities for young people at Alder Hey Children's foundation hospital. Encourage and supervise the interaction of young people with activities, with particular emphasis on group work and using motivational approaches, where appropriate. To devise and develop ways in which a peer group support can be achieved. Work with young people to prepare them for specific activities, treatment plans and transition to adult services. To coordinate and supervise social support networks to encourage social interaction and support to young people in order to aid adjustment to diagnosis. Encourage peer support within this group. Provide active outreach to young people struggling to engage with health services

As one of Europe's biggest and busiest children's hospitals, at Alder Hey Children's NHS Foundation Trust, we treat everything from common illnesses to highly complex and specialist conditions. In addition to our main hospital site, we offer paediatric services at a number of community sites and hold local clinics across Merseyside, Cumbria, Shropshire, Wales and the Isle of Man. We also provide specialist inpatient care for children with complex mental health needs in our recently relocated and newly opened state of the art facility.



Alder Hey has a thriving research portfolio and leads research into children's medicines, infection, inflammation and oncology. We are becoming recognised as one of the world's leaders in children's healthcare and research. We contribute to public health, lead cutting-edge research and teach the next generation of children's specialists. Alongside this is our Innovation Hub, a dedicated space where clinicians and industries can come together to create new products and technologies.



We know that a children's hospital is different and that our job is more than just treating an illness. To us, every child is an individual. As well as giving them the very best care, we set out to make them feel happy, safe and confident as they play, learn and grow. At Alder Hey we are here to look after a child and their family and that includes mums, dads, brothers and sisters.



To participate in fundraising processes, including suggestions for fundraisers, proposals of contributions to the service and accepting donations at charitable events. To keep accurate records of financial outgoings and donated income for charitable trust to be monitored throughout the year. Responsibility for ordering supplies and equipment as appropriate. To supervise unqualified staff such as youth work, play specialist students and volunteers. Contribute to a learning environment for students and provide mentoring when required. To coordinate creative and therapeutic activities and implement a range of strategies. Liaise with complementary therapies, music workshop, community and youth groups to contribute to these strategies To keep records of the numbers and types of patients receiving recreational services/input and to assess social and emotional capabilities before and after intervention. * To attend unit meetings e.g. clinical governance, action log, staff support regularly. To participate in a range of multidisciplinary meetings both within the trust and outside agencies regularly.