Specialist Support Worker

Woodfield Trauma Service is seeking to recruit a committed and highly motivated support worker to join our dynamic, multi-disciplinary team. WTS offers practical support and psychological therapy for adult refugees and asylum seekers with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). We are looking for someone with both the skill set and the passion to serve our patient population, many of whom have unique and complex practical support needs. The purpose of the support worker is to assist patients to stabilize their practical needs, and so enable them to engage more fully with the psychological work on offer., Woodfield Trauma Service (WTS) is a small but busy team who work with refugees, asylum seekers and other forced migrants who have experienced trauma and who suffer with Post-traumatic Stress Disorder. While it is primarily a psychology service, the service also supports the numerous practical needs that our patients have and the support worker role is a crucial post in the team, offering advice, signposting and practical support to all patients for a large range of issues. By helping patients stabilize their practical needs, they are enabled to engage more fully with the psychological work on offer.
· Provide practical advice and support to refugees and asylum seekers on issues such as housing, welfare benefits, immigration, education.
· Ensure that the clients are linked to other relevant services both in the community and within statutory services.
· Have a good understanding of the legislation and issues affecting refugees and asylum seekers. An ability to speak more than one language would be an asset.
Main Responsibilities:
Work as a member of the core team of the Woodfield Trauma Service.
Carry and maintain a caseload of clients with practical and social care needs.
Take part in regular supervision and case discussions.
Assist in all necessary aspects of the development of the service, including making links with third sector agencies that can support our clients.
Participate in multidisciplinary team meetings and maintain close working relationships with team members.
Carry out assessments of social needs and discussions with the service on ways to meet those needs.
Take part in joint work with staff from local refugee groups, CMHTs, and other organisations working with our patient group.
Work with interpreters as and when required.
Maintain accurate and legible records of clients which will help to facilitate the review and evaluation of the service.
Keep up to date with the changes in legislation and practice as they affect refugees and asylum seekers and disseminate these to the team.
Respect clients\’ ethnic, cultural, religious and any other related needs and expectations.
Assist in administrative tasks, answering telephones, making and re-scheduling appointments as required.
CNWL (Central and North West London NHS Foundation Trust) has almost 8,000 staff providing integrated healthcare to a third of London\’s population, Milton Keynes and areas beyond. We involve service users, carers, the public, staff and partner organisations in the way that we are run.
Our catchment area spans diverse communities, with over 100 first languages spoken. It contains areas of great affluence as well as areas of much deprivation. We are committed to providing services that meet the needs of the people who use them, and we actively encourage involvement from local people who can help make a difference. We\’re proud of our diversity and we continue to undertake new initiatives to advance equality for LGBT+, BME and people with disabilities to promote good relations and understanding between our staff.
We are recognised locally, nationally and internationally for providing high quality, innovative healthcare. We aim to employ only the best people, and our experts are frequently called upon to contribute to national health strategy and policy, and many models of our care have been adapted for use in other countries.

We are looking for a candidate with Level 3 Health and Social Care training and equivalent previous working experience working in a community mental health setting in a support work role.
Your role will be to support the practical needs of our patients – this will involve helping them navigate the housing, benefits and immigration systems as well as signposting and connecting them to local services such as ESOL, community groups, etc. You will also be tasked with building new links between our service and community services and stay abreast of new developments or changes in statutory provision that impacts our patients. The successful candidate will be committed to working creatively and compassionately to provide a responsive service that is integrated with the rest of the team.

We offer a generous relocation package (subject to eligibility assessment) and flexible working options, including bank assignments for most roles. For more information on these and other benefits of working for us, see our Benefits, Reward and Wellbeing page
Become part of our team. We care for you as much as you care for others.
CNWL NHS Foundation Trust are committed to safeguarding all children and vulnerable adults and expect all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. We follow safe recruitment practices to protect children and vulnerable adults.
Due to the high response levels we receive for some vacancies, we may expire any of them prior to the advertised closing date and advise you to submit your application as soon as possible.
Our Agenda for Change employment contracts are subject to a contractual 13 week probationary period.
If you are offered a job, information will be transferred into the national NHS Electronic Staff Records system.

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