Peer Support Worker

Dunstable, East of England, United Kingdom East London NHS Foundation Trust ELFT has long been recognised as a centre of excellence for mental and health care, innovation and improvement. So it is a very exciting time for you to come and work for us. Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Job overview

ELFT are excited to be advertising for a Peer Support Worker with lived experience of 'complex emotional needs' (often diagnosed as 'personality disorder') to join the countywide Bedfordshire and Luton Complex Needs Service. Our service aims to work with service users, colleagues, and carers to establish a learning culture that improves the care and treatment for people with complex emotional needs and their families/carers in the community. The successful applicant will use their lived experience of 'complex emotional needs' and local services to demonstrate that recovery is achievable. They will share their story of recovery in a way that conveys a sense of connection, hope and optimism to those who are earlier on in their journeys or experiencing challenging times, and will provide time-limited support to enable service users to progress towards their own recovery goals. The successful applicant will be well supported by colleagues in the Complex Needs Service and the Peer Support Lead. This post will be based at Mountbatten House, Dunstable and the post-holder will be required to travel to CMHT bases, inpatient units and other sites across Bedford, Central Bedfordshire and Luton.

*Please note: It is important that your application evidences your lived experience of complex emotional needs associated with a diagnosis of 'personality disorder' and your recovery journey.

Main duties of the job

The post holder will work collaboratively as a member of a countywide multi-disciplinary specialist service for people who have difficulties described as 'complex emotional needs' to:

• Validate experiences by developing reciprocal relationships based on mutuality;
• Increase optimism, hope, motivation and opportunity for change and/or recovery;
• Provide emotional support during a crisis and as people transition between different parts of the system (e.g. from acute crisis, inpatient stays, to community care);
• Share information to enable identification and effective management of risks;
• Advocate for service users when treatment decisions are being made;
• Offer time-limited support to service users to enable them to progress towards their goals, which may include spending time with them in the community and attending appointments;
• Share and role model personal use of skills and strategies;
• Share lived experiences with carers to support their learning and enable them to effectively support service users;
• Contribute to the professional and personal development of multi-disciplinary colleagues by bringing a lived experience perspective to clinical and team discussions;
• Contribute to clinical records to ensure effective communication between team members and other services.

Working for our organisation

Our mission is to make a positive difference to people's lives by improving the quality of life for all we serve. Our values are: We Care, We Respect, We are Inclusive - so we are looking for people who live and breathe these qualities when supporting service users and carers, and in their relationships with colleagues in the Trust and our partner organisations.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

For the full details of the responsibilties of this post please see the attached Job Description and Person Specification.

Person specification

Education/Qualification/Training

Essential criteria

• ELFT Accredited Peer Support Worker training

Experience

Essential criteria

• Lived experience of recovery from distress understood as 'personality disorder' or complex emotional needs.
• Experience of using local services to embark on a journey of 'recovery'.

Desirable criteria

• Experience of working within a multidisciplinary team environment.
• Experience of working with people with complex emotional needs on an individual or group basis, focusing on recovery.

Other

Essential criteria

• Willingness and ability to travel using own or public transport between sites across Bedford, Central Bedfordshire, Luton and occasionally, London.
• Willing to support the Trust's commitment to research, clinical governance, clinical audit and clinical Assurance.

Knowledge and Skills

Essential criteria

• Ability to demonstrate knowledge, lived experience and understanding of challenges associated with 'personality disorder' or complex emotional needs
• Ability to demonstrate knowledge of the concept of personal recovery as it may apply to others
• Knowledge and commitment to service users rights, involvement and service-user led initiatives
• Understanding and practical knowledge of recovery approaches
• Knowledge of Trauma Informed Practice
• Ability and willingness to participate in quality improvement projects and activities
• Understanding of the importance of equality and diversity
• Excellent communication skills (verbal and written) relevant to the legal requirements of client care and related issues and the documentation of that care.
• Ability to deal with highly stressful situations arising with service users, carers and staff
• Ability to recognise own limits and seek appropriate support and supervision

Making Things Better

Quality Improvement is a key part of our work to improve our services and refine how we do things. We have a global reputation for our quality improvement work and we don't stand still! So we offer a fantastic opportunity for our staff to learn, lead and contribute towards improving our services.

We launched our Five Year Strategy in April 2018, which identified four main strategic outcomes to improve: population health outcomes, experience of care, staff experience and improve value. This complements the NHS Long Term Strategy and sets out our direction of travel.

Our Community

We provide a wide range of community health and mental health inpatient services to children, young people, adults of working age, and older adults in The City of London, Hackney, Newham, Tower Hamlets, Bedfordshire and Luton. We provide Forensic services to the whole of North East London. We provide services in urban and rural settings, sometimes in our inpatient units, but mostly in the community close to where people live. Integrated care is key in making the best use of resources and providing effective care.

Aiming High

East London NHS Foundation Trust has achieved its third consecutive 'Outstanding' rating from the Care Quality Commission; the first Community and Mental Health Trust to achieve this rating for a third time. We were named in the HSJ's Top 10 best places to work in healthcare and were voted Provider Trust of the Year in 2018.

Staff and Service Users United<