Job Description

Overview of our organisation

Fleetwood Primary Care Network in Fleetwood, Lancashire has an exciting opportunity for a forward-thinking Social Prescribing Link Worker to join our networks innovative Social Prescribing team. There are 3 surgeries within the PCN, located within close proximity of each other, with excellent inter-personal relations, a good support network and a history of collaborative working. The practices are The Mount View Practice, Broadway Medical Centre and Fleetwood Surgery. Our population of around 32,000 is diverse, with varying levels of socio-economic status, young families and elderly patients all of whom make providing care very interesting.

Job summary

The Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW) works alongside a team within general practice and within the Primary Care Network (PCN) and empowers people to take control of their health and well-being.

Social prescribing can help to strengthen community resilience and personal resilience whilst reducing health inequalities by addressing the wider determinants of health such as debt, poor housing and physical inactivity by increasing peoples active involvement with their local communities.

This role can be particularly beneficial to patients with long-term conditions, those with mental health issues and those who are lonely or isolated or who have complex social needs which affect their wellbeing.

Main duties of the job

A referral to a non-medical link worker is designed to support patients in being able to take a holistic approach, connecting people to community groups and statutory services for practical and emotional support. The post holder will be an integral part of the general practice team, working in each practice and across the PCN, as well as part of a wider community groups and their multidisciplinary teams. A SPLW supports existing groups to be accessible and sustainable and helps people to start new community groups, working collaboratively with all local partners.

The following are the core responsibilities of the PCN Social Prescribing Link Worker (SPLW). There may be on occasion, a requirement to carry out other tasks. This will be dependent upon factors such as workload and staffing levels:

To take referrals from a wide range of agencies, working with GP practices within primary care networks, pharmacies, multi-disciplinary teams, hospital discharge teams, allied health professionals, fire service, police, job centres, social care services, housing associations, and voluntary, community and social enterprise (VCSE) organisations (this list is not exhaustive) To provide personalised support to individuals, their families and carers to take control of their well-being, live independently and improve their health outcomes To develop trusting relationships by giving people time and focus on what matters to me To manage and prioritise your own caseload in accordance with the needs, priorities and any urgent support required by individuals on the caseload To have a strong awareness and understanding of when it is appropriate or necessary to refer people back to other health professionals or agencies, when what the person needs is beyond the scope of this SPLW role To work as part of a multi-disciplinary team in a patient facing role using expert knowledge within the SPLW areas and to promote social prescribing and its role in self-management To work together with all local partners to collectively ensure that local VCSE organisations and community groups are sustainable and that community assets are nurtured To build relationships with key staff in GP practices within the local Primary Care Network (PCN), attending relevant meetings, becoming part of the wider network team, giving information and feedback on social prescribing To ensure that social prescribing referral codes are inputted to EMIS system and that all information is collated and recording in the correct manner, usage of EMIS system and other spreadsheets. The persons use of the NHS can be tracked, adhering to data protection legislation and data sharing agreements with the ICB To liaise with the practices and, where practicable, to standardise the social prescribing process across the PCN To work in partnership with all local agencies to raise awareness of social prescribing and how partnership working can reduce pressure on statutory services, improve health outcomes and enable a holistic approach to care To provide referral agencies with regular updates about social prescribing, including training for their staff and how to access information to encourage appropriate referrals To be proactive in encouraging self-referrals and connecting with all local communities, particularly those communities that statutory agencies may find hard to reach To meet people on a one-to-one basis, making home visits where appropriate within organisations policies and procedures giving people time to tell their stories and focus on what matters to me and building trust with the person, providing non-judgemental support, respecting diversity and lifestyle choices. The role requires working from a strength-based approach focusing on a persons assets To be a friendly source of information about wellbeing and prevention approaches To help people identify the wider issues that impact on their health and well-being such as debt, poor housing, being unemployed, loneliness and caring responsibilities To help people maintain or regain independence through living skills, adaptations, enablement approaches and simple safeguards To work with individuals to co-produce a simple personalised support plan Where people may be eligible for a personal health budget, to help them to explore this option as a way of providing funded, personalised support to be independent, including helping people to gain skills for meaningful employment, where appropriate To forge strong links with local organisations, community and neighbourhood level groups, utilising their networks and building on whats already available To work with commissioners and local partners to identify unmet needs within the community and gaps in community provision To support local partners and commissioners to develop new groups and services where needed, through small grants for community groups, micro-commissioning and development support To support in the delivery of enhanced services and other service requirements on behalf of the PCN To support patients with virtual and remote models of consultation and support including e-consultations, remote medication review and telehealth and telemedicine

Qualifications - Desirable criteria

NVQ Level 3, advanced level or equivalent qualifications or working towards Demonstrable commitment to professional and personal development Training in motivational coaching and interviewing or equivalent experience

Personal Qualities - Essential criteria

Ability to listen, empathise with people and provide person centred support in a non-judgemental way. Able to get along with people from all backgrounds and communities, respecting lifestyles and diversity Commitment to reducing health inequalities and proactively working to reach people from all communities Able to support people in a way that inspires trust and confidence, motivating others to reach their potential Ability to use own initiative, discretion and sensitivity Ability to communicate complex and sensitive information effectively with people at all levels by telephone, email and face to face with individuals High levels of integrity and loyalty Polite and confident Able to work from an asset-based approach, building on existing community and personal assets Able to provide leadership and to finish work tasks Ability to maintain effective working relationships and to promote collaborative practice with all colleagues Commitment to collaborative working with all local agencies (including VCSE organisations and community groups). Able to work with others to reduce hierarchies and find creative solutions to community issues Demonstrate personal accountability, emotional resilience and works well under pressure Ability to organise, plan and prioritise on own initiative, including when under pressure and meeting deadlines High level of written and oral communication skills Understanding of the needs of small volunteer-led community groups and ability to support their development Knowledge of and ability to work to policies and procedures, including confidentiality, safeguarding, lone working

Experience - Desirable criteria

Experience of working directly in a community development context, adult health and social care, learning support or public health/health improvement (including unpaid work) Experience of supporting people with their mental health, either in a paid, unpaid or informal capacity Experience of working with the VCSE sector (in a paid or unpaid capacity), including with volunteers and small community groups Experience of data collection and providing monitoring information to assess the impact of services Experience of partnership/collaborative working and of building relationships across a variety of organisations

Skills/Abilities - Essential criteria

Highly organised, able to complete administrative tasks with a high degree of accuracy. Ability to collect data for monitoring and evaluation. Strong organisational skills, and ability to coordinate information and data from a range of sources. Ability to develop strong working relationships with project partners. Excellent communication and presentation skills, both oral and written with the ability to present information and advice in a way that is appropriate to the audience. Good IT skills in Word, Excel, Outlook and Powerpoint. Driver with use of a car.

Skills/Abilities - Desirable criteria

Experience of using the EMIS system.
Job Types: Part-time, Permanent

Benefits:

Company pension Free flu jabs Free parking On-site parking
Schedule:

Day shift Monday to Friday No weekends
Ability to commute/relocate:

Fleetwood, FY7 6HP: reliably commute or plan to relocate before starting work (required)
Education:

GCSE or equivalent (preferred)
Licence/Certification:

Driving Licence (required)
Work Location: In person

Application deadline: 31/07/2025
Reference ID: SPLW-2025