Job summary

About the team:

The START Team work across Lambeth and Southwark and Croydon with rough sleepers who are experiencing severe and enduring mental ill health.Many of our service users also present with other complex needs such as substance abuse, social exclusion and immigration issues.

Main duties of the job

About the role

These dual diagnosis posts are part of an exciting Office of Health Inclusion and Disparity led project, targeting the local authorities with the highest numbers of people sleeping rough.

The post holder will be responsible for the delivery of assessment for those individuals who have co-occurring mental health problems, will link them into appropriate support services and offer care coordination for those with a severe and enduring mental illness. These care coordinated individuals may also have personality disorders or acquired brain injuries that interact in different ways with their drug and alcohol use and treatment.

The dual diagnosis workers will act as link workers, providing support and advice to drug and alcohol workers and homeless outreach workers, in their management and support of these individuals. They will also support the development of excellent relationships with SLaM community teams and partner agencies to promote effective collaborative working and seamless care pathways for rough sleepers with dual diagnosis.

The project is planned for two years and will provide specialist support for individuals to access and engage with drug and alcohol treatment and move towards longer-term accommodation

About us

About the location:

We are based at Jeanette Wallace House in Central Croydon near the overground.

Benefits :

Some of our benefits are highlighted here:

  • Generous pay, pensions and leave, we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
  • Work life balance, flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
  • Career development, There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes
  • Car lease, our staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars
  • Accommodation, our staff benefits from keyworker housing available which is available on selected sites
  • NHS discounts, with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website.

Other benefits include:

  • Counselling services
  • Wellbeing events
  • Long service awards
  • Cycle to work scheme
  • Season ticket loan
  • Childcare vouchers
  • Staff restaurants

We look forward to receiving your application.

Date posted

09 January 2023

Pay scheme

Agenda for change

Band

Band 6

Salary

£40,448 to £47,965 a year per annum incl. of HCAS

Contract

Fixed term

Duration

24 months

Working pattern

Full-time

Reference number

334-SOU-4520995-FR-C

Job locations

Jeanette Wallace House

Edridge Road

London

CR0 1FE

Job description

Job responsibilities

  • The post holder will provide assessment and care coordination to a group of service users
  • To assess, plan, monitor and evaluate care of a designated caseload of homeless service users who have complex care needs and who are sleeping rough in LB Croydon.
  • To act as the Care Co-ordinator under the Care Programme Approach.
  • To ensure that the Trusts other statutory responsibilities and policies and procedures are carried out in relation to individuals, their families and carers.
  • To use assertive outreach skills to engage people who are hard to reach.
  • To attend reviews, case conferences, network meetings, ward and community based multi-disciplinary hearings, Mental Health Review Tribunals and Managers Hearings as a representative of the department.
  • To write reports, case records and correspondence in line with departmental guidelines and policy and to undertake all administrative duties relating to the health and social care function. This will include accessing and inputting data into departmental databases, and electronic recording systems.
  • To keep up to date with changes in legislation, practice and policy.
  • To work closely with other departments, statutory and independent agencies to meet the complex needs of users and their careers.
  • To provide support, advice and training to workers in local voluntary sector homelessness agencies. To work within a multi-disciplinary environment with colleagues from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Croydon social services to provide an integrated approach to the care of people with mental health needs.
  • To work within a framework of anti-discriminatory practice, to seek to address equality issues in service provision.
  • To understand the Care Act; to undertake assessments and self-directed planning with service users to promote choice and control to facilitate self-directed care planning and personal budgets.
  • To participate in the safeguarding process for vulnerable adults and children in line with local policies.

To undertake any other duties appropriate to the post and grade

Job description

Job responsibilities

  • The post holder will provide assessment and care coordination to a group of service users
  • To assess, plan, monitor and evaluate care of a designated caseload of homeless service users who have complex care needs and who are sleeping rough in LB Croydon.
  • To act as the Care Co-ordinator under the Care Programme Approach.
  • To ensure that the Trusts other statutory responsibilities and policies and procedures are carried out in relation to individuals, their families and carers.
  • To use assertive outreach skills to engage people who are hard to reach.
  • To attend reviews, case conferences, network meetings, ward and community based multi-disciplinary hearings, Mental Health Review Tribunals and Managers Hearings as a representative of the department.
  • To write reports, case records and correspondence in line with departmental guidelines and policy and to undertake all administrative duties relating to the health and social care function. This will include accessing and inputting data into departmental databases, and electronic recording systems.
  • To keep up to date with changes in legislation, practice and policy.
  • To work closely with other departments, statutory and independent agencies to meet the complex needs of users and their careers.
  • To provide support, advice and training to workers in local voluntary sector homelessness agencies. To work within a multi-disciplinary environment with colleagues from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Croydon social services to provide an integrated approach to the care of people with mental health needs.
  • To work within a framework of anti-discriminatory practice, to seek to address equality issues in service provision.
  • To understand the Care Act; to undertake assessments and self-directed planning with service users to promote choice and control to facilitate self-directed care planning and personal budgets.
  • To participate in the safeguarding process for vulnerable adults and children in line with local policies.

To undertake any other duties appropriate to the post and grade

Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • oNMC registered Community psychiatric nurse or Registered Occupational Therapist/Social Worker

Desirable

  • oA qualification in a relevant area of practice eg dual diagnosis, substance misuse, motivational interviewing, trauma informed practice, cognitive behavioural therapy

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with people who misuse substances
  • oExperience of assessing the needs of people with mental illness and their families and holding a caseload of people with complex needs
  • oExperience of multi-disciplinary working and working in partnership with third sector organisations.

Desirable

  • Experience of working with people presenting with personality disorder, traumatic brain injury, physical health problems, history of rough sleeping or a history of trauma.

Knowledge

Essential

  • oKnowledge of the principles of assertive outreach and of the issues relating to homelessness
  • Knowledge of the interactions between mental health problems and drug and alcohol use and the issues facing clients trying to stabilise their situation.
  • oApplied knowledge of the principles of risk assessment and risk management particularly in relation to harm minimisation.
  • oKnowledge of the principles of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice in assessment and the provision of service

Desirable

  • Ability to engage service users who are hard to reach
  • oAbility to work as part of a team offering support to those with different professional backgrounds.
  • oAbility to work under pressure

Skills

Essential

  • oAbility to use information technology systems to input and access data, use word processing systems and Email
  • Ability to use and understand the supervision process
  • Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
  • Ability to maintain appropriate records, according to Trust guidelines.
Person Specification

Qualifications

Essential

  • oNMC registered Community psychiatric nurse or Registered Occupational Therapist/Social Worker

Desirable

  • oA qualification in a relevant area of practice eg dual diagnosis, substance misuse, motivational interviewing, trauma informed practice, cognitive behavioural therapy

Experience

Essential

  • Experience of working with people who misuse substances
  • oExperience of assessing the needs of people with mental illness and their families and holding a caseload of people with complex needs
  • oExperience of multi-disciplinary working and working in partnership with third sector organisations.

Desirable

  • Experience of working with people presenting with personality disorder, traumatic brain injury, physical health problems, history of rough sleeping or a history of trauma.

Knowledge

Essential

  • oKnowledge of the principles of assertive outreach and of the issues relating to homelessness
  • Knowledge of the interactions between mental health problems and drug and alcohol use and the issues facing clients trying to stabilise their situation.
  • oApplied knowledge of the principles of risk assessment and risk management particularly in relation to harm minimisation.
  • oKnowledge of the principles of equal opportunities and anti-discriminatory practice in assessment and the provision of service

Desirable

  • Ability to engage service users who are hard to reach
  • oAbility to work as part of a team offering support to those with different professional backgrounds.
  • oAbility to work under pressure

Skills

Essential

  • oAbility to use information technology systems to input and access data, use word processing systems and Email
  • Ability to use and understand the supervision process
  • Ability to communicate effectively verbally and in writing.
  • Ability to maintain appropriate records, according to Trust guidelines.

Disclosure and Barring Service Check

This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act (Exceptions Order) 1975 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly known as CRB) to check for any previous criminal convictions.

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).

Additional information

Certificate of Sponsorship

Applications from job seekers who require current Skilled worker sponsorship to work in the UK are welcome and will be considered alongside all other applications. For further information visit the UK Visas and Immigration website (Opens in a new tab) .

From 6 April 2017, skilled worker applicants, applying for entry clearance into the UK, have had to present a criminal record certificate from each country they have resided continuously or cumulatively for 12 months or more in the past 10 years. Adult dependants (over 18 years old) are also subject to this requirement. Guidance can be found here Criminal records checks for overseas applicants (Opens in a new tab) .

UK Registration

Applicants must have current UK professional registration. For further information please see NHS Careers website (opens in a new window).