Older Adult Community Connector Mental Health

The role involves providing holistic support to older adults suffering from a serious mental illness or SMI. Service users will have a single or range of diagnosed conditions, will be known to ELFT and will therefore have a range of needs, including symptoms of anxiety or depression, or have a diagnosis of schizophrenia. Specifically, the Older Adult Community Connector will work with multi-disciplinary teams (MDTs) who sit within primary care networks or PCNs (clusters of GP practices) across Newham, and will support people in accessing appropriate local services, embodying a true example of wrap around support. Older Adult Community Connectors will work with ELFT under what is called the Mental Health Transformation Programme. The ethos of the programme is recovery focused, exploring needs through complexity (rather than diagnosis), a focus on a person’s strengths and assets, and on the wider determinants of health and wellbeing. Above all, the Older Adult Community Connector will be a strong networker who is able to engage multiple stakeholders for the betterment of service user welfare and outcomes.

Main duties of the job include:

• Work within the local community being alert to mental health needs of local residents.
• Provide support and signposting in a range of ways as agreed with the PCN and wider partnership.
• Meeting service users, predominantly the 65+ age group, in informal and formal settings to encourage engagement.
• Work within the MDT of the PCN taking actions as agreed by the MDT and recording the outputs and outcomes appropriately.
• Work closely with the Mental Health Care of Older People team within the NHS Trust in supporting service objectives.
• Provide individual service users support and signposting in a range of ways as agreed with the PCN and wider delivery partnership.
• Group facilitation.
• Coaching, Building Trust and Motivating people in their progress.
• Referrals to other mental health provision within the Borough.
• Direct, individual support to service users on a case by case basis and assessing pertinent signs - as trained.
• Signposting to community services.
• Ongoing monitoring of risk to build a positive but sensitive attitude to caseload.
• Providing clarity to the MDT and people on their lists as to how different areas of their need are being addressed by the different provision they are engaged with.
• To provide continuity and reassurance to the people on caseload.
• To build resilience in the people on caseload and ensure themes are fed back into design, delivery and the development of services.
• To provide feedback to the PCN team and upwards about the gaps in service provision as illustrated by the people they are working with.
• Any referrals should be done within 28 days of the mental health need being identified in line with guidance offered by the PCN.

Person Specification Skills/Attributes:

• Be inquisitive and solution focussed.
• Be responsive and flexible.
• Good time management skills.
• Meticulous with record keeping.
• Strong interpersonal skills.
• Ability to use initiative and work independently, and manage own workload successfully.
• Approachable and open-minded.
• Able to work independently but also as part of a blended team.
• Ability to offer constructive feedback and challenge.
• Ability to build and develop internal and external relationships.
• Be willing to operate as the human face of the PCN or MDT.
• Be willing to work alongside MDT members, including clinicians, contributing to complex plans as part of the active service user review.
• Be able to build an understanding of the change going on within the NHS and other Mental Health services and how they can be accessed.
• Empathetic, with a strong commitment to employee values - accountable, kind, flexible, inclusive, collaborative - in the way the service is delivered.
• Demonstrable knowledge of local services and provisions available in Newham.
• Specific knowledge of the common thread issues faced by people suffering from mental health.
• Good knowledge and understanding of the local older adult population, their needs and understand these.
• The ability to assist service users in setting goals and making changes that are meaningful.
• An awareness of the barriers faced by people suffering from mental health concerns.

Qualifications:

• University degree and/or professional qualification.
• Mental Health First Aid or Training in motivational coaching and interviewing.

Experience:

• Experience of providing or receiving direct care/support for older adults (preferably with experience of mental health care).
• Experience of dealing with multiple stakeholders, particularly in the voluntary, community and faith sector.
• Significant experience in local statutory and/or voluntary sector services.
• Experience working within the mental health sphere.
• Awareness of community groups and referral units/bodies.
• Experience of setting up and facilitating wellbeing groups and activities and delivering monitoring and evaluation activities in a 1:1 or group setting.
• Experience of supporting and managing a caseload or group of service users that require wrap around support.
• Experience of producing and working alongside risk assessments.
• Prior experience of partnership working.
• Excellent working experience of IT systems, particularly MS Office 365 including Excel, Outlook and One Drive.
• Prior experience of working with people in East London.
• Prior experience of working with people suffering from a mental health issue.
• Experience of working and supporting groups from the BAME community.
• Experience of working with voluntary sector partners in Newham.
• Prior experience of outreach and/or marketing services to people, particularly from a wellbeing perspective.

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.