Call Handler Norwich, England
Job description
Norfolk and Suffolk NHS Foundation Trust provides child and adult mental health services, learning disability, wellbeing, older people's and eating disorder services across Norfolk and Suffolk.
At any one time, around 23,000 people in Norfolk and Suffolk are receiving care and attention from the Trust. We believe in whole life care - seeing people in the context of their whole lives, understanding the importance of good physical health, friends, family, spirituality, culture, home, work, education and a sense of purpose and achievement to experience good mental health.
Nearly 3,200 full and part-time practitioners care for our service users in hospitals, in the community and in their own homes, whilst an additional 900+ staff provide non-clinical support, including cleaning, delivering supplies, ward administration, information technology, human resources and financial services.
We are committed to equality, diversity and inclusion and want to reflect the diversity of our local communities within our teams. We welcome applications from all talented individuals with the relevant qualifications, skills, knowledge and experience.
We are committed to delivering quality driven mental health services. Every individual makes a valuable contribution. We are proud of our staff who have been commended for the care they provide. Do you value working positively, respectfully and together? If so, we’d love you to join us!
We will consider flexible working arrangements for our roles, please indicate in your application if this is something you require
JOB DESCRIPTION/PERSON SPECIFICATION
Please read the job description/person specification carefully and ensure your application reflects the knowledge, skills and experience needed.
YOUR APPLICATION
It is important that you complete a formal application form as CV’s alone will not be accepted.
TWITTER - The Trust now has it's own Twitter account for recruitment. Follow us on @NSFTjobs
PLEASE NOTE: If you use a hotmail, msn or yahoo e-mail account, you will need to check your "junk" mail regularly as these email providers will divert any communication from this Trust/NHS JOBS straight into your " junk" inbox.
Job overview
Are you looking for a challenging, rewarding opportunity? The First Response Service has expanded and NSFT are now seeking a team of call handlers to support their helpline, from their Norwich base.
The First Response Service is a helpline for people of all ages in Norfolk and Suffolk who need urgent mental health support. Our dedicated helpline is available all day, every day, so we need caring, compassionate individuals to join the team as call handlers.
The ideal candidate will be an excellent communicator, able to remain calm under pressure and have strong administrative skills. You’ll be provided with extensive training and we will ensure you’re confident using all of the systems we use. We’re committed to ensuring all of the team is supported properly, with senior clinical leadership on hand during each shift.
We’re flexible and understand everyone has a variety of commitments – our shifts are typically 8-8, but we’re able to offer a range of different patterns to suit you e.g. nights only, twilight shift, part time etc.
***Note*** The Job Description is currently going through job matching and may be subject to change
Main duties of the job
This is an integral role within our crisis pathway, you’ll be providing a frontline service in answering mental health related calls.
You will be the first point of contact, so it is vital you’re able to communicate effectively with a wide range of people. Some of the people you’ll be talking to will be in a distressed state, so you’ll need to use your core skills to de-escalate and manage the situation.
After a brief clinical risk and mental state assessment, calls are transferred for formulation and brief psychological interventions. You’ll use different computerised systems to enter details accurately, to ensure calls are prioritised and transferred effectively.
If you’re looking for a role where you will truly be making a difference to people’s lives, we would love to hear from you!
Working for our organisation
We are proud of our culture of honesty, team involvement and ownership of quality patient care with job satisfaction. There will be opportunities to be involved with training, strategy and service development.
Here at NSFT we pride ourselves on being a welcoming, talented, friendly and supportive team who like nothing better than sharing experiences and learning from each other. In addition to ongoing training and development opportunities, we are committed to providing an environment in which you can thrive.
Why work for us? We are an improving Trust, with ambitious aspirations and pushing ahead with exciting transformation work. We have strong, established nursing networks coupled with an exceptional leadership team who will ensure you are truly cared for and cared about.
Why Norfolk and Suffolk? The people here are warm and welcoming, you’ll never be far from the beautiful coastline or Broads National Park. We’re an hour and a half away from London and have an international airport in Norwich too. Our villages, towns and cities are packed full of history, independent cafes, shops and theatres. We have excellent shopping, eating out, top ranking schooling and affordable house prices too.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
- Answering calls from Service Users and on occasion professionals
- Triaging and assessing over the phone
- Safety Planning
- Documentation of above including referrals, Notes, referrals to other teams
- Liaison with other professionals and teams
- On occasion, creating formulations and plans for our regular callers
- Taking lead/champion subjects such as: Learning Disability,
- Youth, Drug & Alcohol, perinatal, etc. Within that is opportunity for training, sharing knowledge with the team, attending conferences or meetings
- Face to face assessments where appropriate
- Shadowing other teams where appropriate/possible
- Brief intervention over the phone where appropriate
- Quality Improvement
Person specification
Qualifications
Essential criteria
- GCSE level education or equivalent
Desirable criteria
- Administrative Experience
Experience
Essential criteria
- Working knowledge of Microsoft Office packages, e.g. Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Publisher and Outlook
Desirable criteria
- Experience of working in a call centre or similar.
Other
Essential criteria
- Ability to work flexibly to cover an extended hours 7 days a week service.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITIES
Apart from its legal duties in relation to equality and diversity, the Trust recognises and actively promotes the benefits of a diverse workforce and is committed to treating all employees with dignity and respect regardless of race, gender, disability, age, sexual orientation, religion or belief.
Additionally, people with disabilities that fall under the Two Ticks - Guaranteed Interview Scheme will be offered an interview providing they meet the minimum criteria for the post (outlined in the Person Specification).
DISCLOSURE AND BARRING SERVICE CHECK (formerly CRB)
FOR POSTS WITH DIRECT SERVICE USER CONTACT - Please be advised that due to recent changes in the DBS Service, organisations no longer receive copies of DBS Disclosures – these are sent directly to candidates only. Therefore, it will be your responsibility, if successful, to ensure that this is taken to the appointing officer as soon as you receive it.
Alternatively, if you have subscribed to the update service, we will be able to check your status once we have your authority to do so.
The Trust has now introduced a DBS Update Service which is a contractual requirement. You need to subscribe when you have applied for your DBS clearance and there is a time limit to subscribe of 19 days after receipt of your DBS disclosure. Please ensure that this is completed within the set time scale.
This update service is an annual subscription at a cost of £13 to you. This will enable the Trust to have instant online access to your DBS record, with your consent, and so will remove the need for you to have to apply for this repeat check again.
Employer certification / accreditation badges
Applicant requirements
The postholder will have access to vulnerable people in the course of their normal duties and as such this post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and as such it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service to check for any previous criminal convictions.
