Peer Supporter in Workington

Job summary

An exciting opportunity has arisen in Cumbria, Northumberland, Tyne and Wear NHS Foundation Trust's (CNTW) North Cumbria Locality. The role will be for a Peer supporter for the Memory and Later Life Services based at Lilyhall Business Centre in Workington.

The Peer Supporter role is a vital part of our plan to continually improve the service that we provide. The role is aimed at people with personal lived experience of supporting and having responsibility for a friend or relative with dementia.

The principal role of the post will be to support carers throughout their journey of supporting someone within our services following assessment, through to accessing care and treatment and beyond.

This is a unique opportunity to work as part of a Clinical Team, utilising your personal experience to provide support, validation and hope for people following diagnosis, creating an opportunity to make a real difference in the lives of carers and families.

The role focuses on creating trusting relationships whilst supporting carers to manage the challenges and changes that a caring role can bring following a diagnosis and throughout treatment.

This will be a challenging, but rewarding role, working with a diverse range of people who are caring for anyone who has new or suspectedmemory problems, including those with a diagnosis of dementia, and people in later life who have anxiety, depression or psychosis made more complex by physical health needs.

Main duties of the job

• Supporting families and carers whilst their loved ones are within our service and throughout transitional periods.

• Advocate for carers in meetings, raising awareness, and influencing service culture.

• Useyour lived experience thoughtfully, sharing relevant stories that can create a shared understanding between carers tohelp build a mutual connection.

• Co facilitateand develop therapeutic groups for carers and families and creating a safe space for sharing experiences.

• Working 1:1 with carers and families to offer appropriate individualised support and advice

• Supporting with training sessions to educate people on the needs and experiences of carers.

• Managing and prioritising your workload independently.

Have the ability to:

Communicatethrough a range of different methods including face to face, telephone, email, and in group settings.

Work collaboratively as part of a team as well as individually.

Have a good level of self-awareness

Ability to manage and maintain professional boundaries

This service covers a wide area across Cumbria and this role will involve travelling across the county.

Have an ability to use trust IT systems for recording patient or carer contacts. The use of online diaries and Microsoft teams to communicate with colleagues and join online meetings.

About us

We aim to attract and retain a diverse, talented and committed workforce, who are caring and compassionate, and therefore able to meet the demands of the modern NHS now and in the future. In return we can offer a dynamic working environment in which to build a career.