HIU Wellbeing Support Officer

High Intensity User (HIU) Service

HIU Wellbeing Support Officer

Job Description

___________________________________________________________________

£29,000 plus contributory pension

Salary:
Hours:
Responsible to:   HIU Service Manager

35 per week – with flexible working to meet the needs of clients

Employed by:

Harlington Hospice

Based:

Harlington Hospice, Mount Vernon  Hospital, Gate 3, Northwood
HA6 2RN.

Main purpose of the post:

The post holder will:

•  Manage a caseload of High Intensity clients through direct contact and seek to

appropriately reduce the number of; emergency/non-elective admissions to

Hospital, A&E, Ambulance call outs, GP appointments, calls to 111 and

unscheduled care interactions through person-centred floating support work.

•  Manage and engage a caseload of High Intensity clients with a wide range of

support needs including but not limited to; anxiety, addiction, self-harm, learning

disabilities, homelessness, mental health, domestic abuse, offending and ex-

offending, debt, unemployment, and chaotic lifestyles.

•  Support clients to access relevant agencies and services, such as GPs, CMHT

(Community Mental Health Team), Addictions Agencies and Adult Social Care for

relevant treatment (physical, mental, and psychological).

•  Advocate for clients and provide moral support at appointments, Court Hearings

and Professional Case Meetings/MDTs.

1

•  Be aware of Safeguarding and Risk and report all issues to the relevant statutory

agencies  /  service  manager,  along  with  recording  all  client  contact  onto  the

Systmone Database.

Post Summary

Health Coaching and Motivational Interviewing:

1.0  To  manage a  caseload  of  clients  with  complex  medical-social needs  who  are

high/frequent users of A&E and other services as identified at the MDT; operate

within agreed service guidelines; including face to face contact with clients in a

varying  setting  and  undertake  outcome  measurement  assessments  using

MyCaw assessment and other relevant tools.

2.0  Work with clients in the community who have been identified as high/frequent

users  of  A&E  and  other  services  as  needing  intensive  floating  and  emotional

support  work  to  improve  wellbeing,  increase  self-management  and  reduce

inappropriate use of health services and non-elective admissions.

3.0  To  tailor  interventions  through  goal  setting  and  individualised  action  plans  for

clients,  breaking  down  their  issues  (Debt,  Poor  Housing,  Benefit  issues,  etc.)

and liaising with appropriate services and professionals. Where appropriate and

when  resource  is  available,  purchase  basic  items  (food,  clothing  –  keeping

receipts) for clients and make relevant referrals onto other services (Foodbank,

etc.) for more ongoing support.

4.0  To  support/accompany  clients  to  attend  scheduled  appointments  (CMHT,

Probation, Hospital, Addictions, etc), advocate on their behalf where appropriate

and engage with relevant services, follow up on referrals made and provide a

single point of contact to support clients to navigate the health and care system.

5.0  To attend weekly MDTs (Multi-Disciplinary Meetings) with A&E, Police, Housing,

Mental health Services, London Ambulance, Addictions and Adult Social Care

2

to update on client cases and gain important case information to inform ongoing

work with clients.

6.0  To move clients away from being passive recipients of care to a collaborative

relationship  where  they  are  active  partners  in  their  own  physical  and  mental

health and wellbeing.

7.0  Update  client  interventions  and  medical  records  as  required  including  but  not

limited to Systmone, EMIS.

8.0  Responsibility for developing skills and knowledge with relevant training courses

and attend monthly Supervision with Line Manager and attend Complex Case

Meetings.

Operation and development of the service:

9.0  Work with HIU Service Manager, Coordinator, A&E and GP Clinical Leads and

Service management to identify opportunities to develop and grow the service.

General:

10.0  To maintain own professional expertise, including attending training as

necessary and be subject to supervision and an annual appraisal.

11.0  To attend management meetings, away days and other similar events.

12.0  To ensure all activities are carried out in harmony with Harlington Hospice’s

vision and within the spirit of its equal opportunities policy and to abide by the

policies of Harlington Hospice.

13.0  All staff are expected to undertake their own computer work, both in the

production of correspondence and documents, data recording, reporting, e-

mailing and internet research.

14.0  It is the nature of the work that tasks and responsibilities are in many

circumstances unpredictable and varied. All employees are expected to work

in a flexible way.

3

15.0  Some meetings and other events may be held out of normal office hours and

may involve travel away from the local area.

16.0  The above items outline the main duties and responsibilities of the post and

are designed to give an accurate flavour of the nature and scope of this post.

However, they do not represent an exhaustive list of all the duties required.

Knowledge, Skills and Experience Required

Essential

At least 1 years’ experience of working with people who have complex and challenging behaviour
(Mental Health, Addiction, Learning Disabilities, etc) either paid or voluntary
An understanding of the process of teamwork and a commitment and ability to work in a team
Willingness to work flexibly (evening telephone calls)
Ability to provide a practical and common-sense approach to everyday issues and
problems, finding creative and innovative solutions while being clear on boundaries
Experience of person-centred planning and utilising a person-centred approach to service
delivery
Behavioural characteristics to include empathy, compassion, patience and emotional robustness
and intelligence
Excellent communication skills, both verbal and written (1:1 and presentation)
Numerate and literate, able to provide written and numerical reports as required
Strong IT skills (Microsoft Suite, internet: research, email & social media)
Experience of working within Confidentiality and Data Protection protocols
Live within a commutable distance of the London Borough of Hillingdon

Desirable
Qualification/Training in Counselling, Social Work, Addiction, Probation or Health &
Social Care
Full Driving License and access to a car
Has, or can show capacity to develop, a good knowledge of local services (Hillingdon
and surrounding environs)
Working with GP’s, Social workers, commissioners and external agencies
Involvement in developing, assessing, reviewing and monitoring support packages

Guidance for Completing our Application Form

All applicants must clearly demonstrate that they meet all of the essential criteria at initial
application stage on the application form.

We assess both essential and desirable skills through your responses on the application form
and during presentation and interview. Since the role involves considerable inter-personal work
with beneficiaries and organisations we weight our scoring of your interview: application in a
70:30 ratio.

4

Harlington Hospice scores all application forms. All personal details are removed before panel
screening. A score of 0-3 is given for essential criteria. A score of 1-2 is given for desirable
criteria. We will select the highest scoring applicants for interview all of whom must have met the
essential criteria. We will also interview any disabled applicants applying under the Guaranteed
Interview Scheme who meet all of the essential criteria.

5