Support Worker - Swadlincote Crisis Support Drop-In Service

PLEASE NOTE although the contract length is listed as 1 month, there is potential extension of the contract until 31st March 2027 pending confirmation. The CSDI Support Worker role is to be a key member of the team delivering the Mental Health CSDI Service on Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays, alongside Peer Support Volunteers. Support Workers are responsible for providing one-to-one and group support to CSDI attendees in an empathetic, non-judgemental, person-centred manner. There will be two Support Workers working each CSDI session.

The CSDI service is an inclusive and supportive out-of-hours crisis service. It provides a safe and welcoming alternative to A&E for any person who self-defines as needing immediate help with their mental health and emotional wellbeing. It is designed to provide support to people experiencing a mental health crisis to de-escalate, re-centre and re-focus in a safe, non-medicalised environment.

Main duties of the job

• To deliver the CSDI service by providing person-centred mental health support and information to people across the locality who may have otherwise had to attend A&E for help. This will include providing a supportive and safe environment, supporting clients to identify their individual needs, providing advice and information, and, in partnership with the client, agree flexible and realistic crisis support and safety plans and encouraging positive steps towards management of crisis and future crisis prevention.
• To follow the agreed CSDI service systems, processes and procedures.
• To proactively recognise the indicators of deteriorating mental health and facilitate appropriate action, while liaising with relevant agencies e.g. 999, On-Call Teams, CMHTs, etc.
• To signpost and refer clients to local services, so that they can support and improve their mental health and hopefully not reach crisis point again.
• To accurately record client discussions, individual and group observations on the relevant client notes on the database, following the guidance of GDPR. Ensuring that any issues are reported to the Senior Support Worker promptly.
• To liaise with the Senior Support Worker, Services Lead, or other appropriate person to ensure the safety of clients and staff/volunteers as required.
• To record and evaluate the impact of interventions using agreed feedback and evaluation tools.
• To support and encourage the Peer Support Volunteer members of the team.
• To work collaboratively with the on-shift team, sharing responsibilities appropriately and maintaining good channels of communication and information sharing with all team members.
• To ensure the service remains operational by being punctual, flexible and working with colleagues to cover gaps in the rota caused by team annual leave and sickness.
• To work positively as part of Derbyshire Mind and the wider multi-disciplinary and multi-agency crisis alternatives team.
• To proactively contribute to the continuous improvement of the service by making positive suggestions, providing constructive feedback and assisting in the implementation of agreed new ways of working.
• To contribute to the ongoing co-production of the service by supporting service users with Lived Experience to be involved in the design, review, and continuous improvement of the service.
• To help ensure the service is, and remains, accessible to all individuals and groups e.g. younger adults, women with children, racialised communities, veterans and groups who may have more difficulty in accessing mental health services.
• To participate in research, audit and evaluation as required.

Supervision, Training, Meetings, and Support

• To undertake specific and specialised training provided by Derbyshire Mind, in order to support the vulnerable cohort of clients.
• To attend and actively participate in regular one-to-ones, team meetings, and clinical supervision.
• To participate in Individual Performance Review and Personal Development plans, and to undertake training and development as identified within these discussions and as indicated by the requirements of the post.
• To be proactive in reviewing and evaluating own personal performance and identifying areas for improvement and development.

General

• Provide cover for other members of the wider CSDI team and potentially other CSDI teams across Derbyshire if available.
• Participate in the assessment of risk and thereby contribute towards clinical governance as appropriate.
• Maintain the confidentiality of information about clients and other services, in accordance with Derbyshire Mind's policies and procedures.
• Keep up to date on all matters relating to Derbyshire Mind's policies and procedures and adhere to these at all times.
• Be familiar with matters relating to health and safety management and work in accordance with Derbyshire Mind's Health and Safety policy and procedures.
• Derbyshire Mind is committed to Equal Opportunities for all present and potential members of staff and clients. Therefore, it is expected that all employees and volunteers will understand, support, and apply this policy through their working practice, which requires all individuals to be treated with respect, dignity, courtesy, fairness and consideration.
• Represent and be an advocate and role-model of Derbyshire Mind.
• Carry out any other duties as are within the scope, spirit and purpose of the job, as requested by your Line Manager and more senior members of staff.

This job description is not intended to be an exhaustive list of all duties. It may also be subject to joint review from time to time between the post holder and Derbyshire Mind.

Person Specification

• Ability to Work Flexibly
• Ability to get to and from the site. (as will be working outside of Public Transport operating times)
• Willingness and ability to work flexibly in terms of working outside of normal office hours and supporting a service that needs to run all year round.

Personal Characteristics

• Compassionate, supportive and sensitive approach.
• Reliable, creative and flexible, with a 'can-do' attitude.
• Values people and sees their potential, worth and strengths.
• Develops effective and trusting relationships, characterised by respect, being non-judgemental, and not making assumptions about the person's experiences and beliefs.
• Highly motivated and able to learn quickly, willing to seek advice appropriately and accept supervision and training as required.
• Emotionally resilient and has own self-care practices and methods.

Qualifications

• Good level of general education, including English and Maths at GCSE grade C and above.
• Any mental health, housing, social care, health care, counselling, or psychology related training or qualifications.

Skills, Abilities & Knowledge

• Ability to gather and interpret information, problem-solve, make decisions and act.
• Knowledge of common mental health conditions and issues affecting adults with mental health issues.
• Good interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written.
• Ability to communicate with different range of cognitive abilities e.g. learning difficulties, age difference, language differences, non-verbal clients.
• Ability to plan and manage and prioritise own workload in line with shift requirements.
• Understanding of working within safeguarding, data protection, confidentiality and equality frameworks.
• Good IT skills in order to input client data and manage emails.
• Ability to remain calm in stressful situations.
• Knowledge of de-escalation techniques and resources.
• Ability to seek and acquire knowledge of local services available to clients.
• An understanding of the principles, philosophy and practical applications of the Person-Centred Approach.
• An understanding of the issues faced by individuals from minority groups.
• Monitoring and evaluation skills.

Experience

• Experience of working in a mental health service or similar, in either a paid or voluntary capacity.
• Experience of providing compassionate wellbeing support to adults in a community or other setting.
• Experience of helping people experiencing emotional distress and low self-esteem.
• Experience of working on your own initiative and as a member of a team.
• Experience of working with adults with mental health conditions, either in a residential or community setting.
• Experience of supporting individuals one-to-one, and via group work.
• Experience of working outside of normal office hours.

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.

£5,464.70 a year pro rata of £23,555.29 per annum