Job description
About the team:
The START Team work across Lambeth and Southwark and Croydon with rough sleepers who are experiencing severe and enduring mental ill health.
Many of our service users also present with other complex needs such as substance abuse, social exclusion and immigration issues.
About the role
These dual diagnosis posts are part of an exciting Office of Health Inclusion and Disparity led project, targeting the local authorities with the highest numbers of people sleeping rough.
The post holder will be responsible for the delivery of assessment for those individuals who have co-occurring mental health problems, will link them into appropriate support services and offer care coordination for those with a severe and enduring mental illness. These care coordinated individuals may also have personality disorders or acquired brain injuries that interact in different ways with their drug and alcohol use and treatment.
The dual diagnosis workers will act as link workers, providing support and advice to drug and alcohol workers and homeless outreach workers, in their management and support of these individuals. They will also support the development of excellent relationships with SLaM community teams and partner agencies to promote effective collaborative working and seamless care pathways for rough sleepers with dual diagnosis.
The project is planned for two years and will provide specialist support for individuals to access and engage with drug and alcohol treatment and move towards longer-term accommodation
About the location:
We are based at Jeanette Wallace House in Central Croydon near the overground.
Benefits:
Some of our benefits are highlighted here:
- Generous pay, pensions and leave,we offer a comprehensive pay, pensions and leave package which is dependent on the role and length of service.
- Work life balance,flexible working and support a range of flexible options, such as: part-time working and job sharing.
- Career development,There are plenty of opportunities to progress your career and we support your development through a number of programmes such as mentoring, coaching, positive people management, collective leadership and other talent programmes
- Car lease,our staff benefits from competitive deals to lease cars
- Accommodation,our staff benefits from keyworker housing available which is available on selected sites
- NHS discounts,with discounts up to 10% from a variety of well-known retail brands though Health Service Discounts website.
- Counselling services
- Wellbeing events
- Long service awards
- Cycle to work scheme
- Season ticket loan
- Childcare vouchers
- Staff restaurants
- The post holder will provide assessment and care coordination to a group of service users
- To assess, plan, monitor and evaluate care of a designated caseload of homeless service users who have complex care needs and who are sleeping rough in LB Croydon.
- To act as the Care Co-ordinator under the Care Programme Approach.
- To ensure that the Trusts other statutory responsibilities and policies and procedures are carried out in relation to individuals, their families and carers.
- To use assertive outreach skills to engage people who are hard to reach.
- To attend reviews, case conferences, network meetings, ward and community based multi-disciplinary hearings, Mental Health Review Tribunals and Managers Hearings as a representative of the department.
- To write reports, case records and correspondence in line with departmental guidelines and policy and to undertake all administrative duties relating to the health and social care function. This will include accessing and inputting data into departmental databases, and electronic recording systems.
- To keep up to date with changes in legislation, practice and policy.
- To work closely with other departments, statutory and independent agencies to meet the complex needs of users and their careers.
- To provide support, advice and training to workers in local voluntary sector homelessness agencies. To work within a multi-disciplinary environment with colleagues from South London and Maudsley NHS Foundation Trust and Croydon social services to provide an integrated approach to the care of people with mental health needs.
- To work within a framework of anti-discriminatory practice, to seek to address equality issues in service provision.
- To understand the Care Act; to undertake assessments and self-directed planning with service users to promote choice and control to facilitate self-directed care planning and personal budgets.
- To participate in the safeguarding process for vulnerable adults and children in line with local policies.