Service Support Worker – Assisted Discharge

Location: Poole Hospital, Longfleet Road, Poole, Dorset, BH15 2JB

Hours: 20 hours per week, working Monday to Friday 4pm to 8pm

Contract type: Fixed Term Contract Until 31st March 2024

Salary: £18,972 per annum pro rata

Do you love helping people in need? Are you looking for a rewarding role that could kick start your career in the health and social sector? We are looking for a passionate and enthusiastic person with great people skills to join our Health and Local Crisis Response service as a Service Support Worker.

The Health and Local Crisis Response service supports people in the space between hospital and home and responds to the needs of people in crisis following an emergency, maintaining an extensive network of external relationships across health, social care and emergency services.

At the British Red Cross, we put the people that need us at the heart of what we do. As a Service Support Worker, you will support Poole Hospital Emergency Departments by providing transport, using a small British Red Cross vehicle, and aiding a safe discharge from the hospital for individuals within the Poole area.

Not only will your role as a Service Support Worker allow people to enjoy healthier, more fulfilling lives, but a career within Independent Living can be both rewarding and satisfying, providing extensive progression opportunities, and allowing you to build meaningful relationships with both colleagues and service users.

A day in the life of a Service Support Worker will involve:

Providing practical and emotional support (telephone calls, welfare checks, shopping etc) and guidance to service users in the home to prevent an attendance or admission to hospital.
Providing practical and emotional support in the service user’s own home and signposting to other services where appropriate to enable the individual to live independently in their own home.
Providing reactive, focused, and flexible support to adults either following a hospital stay to enable early discharge when clinical needs have been met or to those living in the community to prevent hospital admission.
Assisting the Independent Living Service Coordinator by undertaking duties required to meet the service users’ needs to re-enable service users to remain in their own home and prevent hospital re-admission.
Responding to referrals from Clinicians and Community Health Professionals and you will be required to have the ability to assess service users’ needs, complete and follow a support plan for the individual.

To be a successful Service Support Worker, you’ll need:

To be educated to GCSE level (or equivalent by experience).
To be IT literate.
To have a full UK manual driving licence.
To have a good knowledge of services provided by the NHS and Social Care.
To make things great. You know how to improve service quality for the benefit of users.
To be professional. You can deal with queries in a diplomatic and confidential manner.
To love being flexible. Working hours out with the norm suits you.

Closing date for applications is 23.59 on 25th July 2023 with interviews to follow.

In return for your commitment and expertise, you’ll get:

• Holidays – You’ll get 36 days annual leave (including bank holidays) and the option to buy an additional 5 days leave.

• Pension scheme– We offer up to 6% contributory pension.

• Flexible working – We will do what we can to make sure you work in a way that suits you

• Learning & Development Opportunities – We are one of the UK’s largest charities and have a wide range of career opportunities. We also provide comprehensive learning opportunities for staff to develop themselves.

• Discounts – You’ll have access to brilliant discounts through the Blue Light Discount Card and our own employee benefits platform.

• Wellbeing Support – Staff wellbeing is always priority. You’ll have access to mental health and wellbeing support.

• Team Working – You will be working as part of a team that is supporting our mission of helping people in crisis.

• Cycle2Work -The cycle to work scheme enables you to lease a bicycle.

• Season ticket loan – We offer an interest free loan to buy a season ticket for travel between home and work.

At The British Red Cross, we pride ourselves on our diverse workforce, and ensuring we have an inclusive environment for all our staff and volunteers. We remain committed to ensuring our teams can bring their true selves to work without risk or fear of discrimination. We do this through regular data reporting, and the support of our internal Race and Equality Network (REEN), LGBT+ Network, our Disability and Wellness Network (DAWN), Gender Network, Carers Network and Youth Network.

Connecting human kindness with human crisis