Social Worker - Older Adults Mental Health

Role Responsibility

About the service

This is an exciting opportunity to join the Older People’s Mental Health Team.

We are a friendly, dynamic, and supportive team which promotes professional development.

The team works alongside Older Adults who have had a hospital stay in an acute Mental Health bed and are now planning how to meet their future care and support needs. As a team we work collaboratively with health and other partner agencies and focus on promoting a person’s independence. We are proud of the high standard of service we provide to those we work with at their most vulnerable times.

We are looking for motivated professionals who are committed to embrace new ways of working, to help further shape our services.

Role responsibility

As a Social Worker in this team, you will be working with people over the age of 18 with a diverse range of care and support needs. You will manage a caseload requiring complex assessment and creative and informative care and support planning.

Through excellent opportunities for training and development, including a comprehensive induction, you will receive the support you need and recognition for your good work.

We are increasingly accessible to the public outside of traditional office hours, as we
move towards an 8am to 8pm, 7 days a week service to ensure service needs
are met.

This post is linked to assessments of individuals who are in an acute Mental Health hospital across Kent and a work base will be discussed at interview. There is an expectation that the successful applicant will travel to various locations in Kent to complete work for the Older People’s Mental Health team. The ability to travel across a wide geographical area in a timely and flexible manner at various times of the day is essential.

The role will offer you plenty of opportunities to undertake in-house core training courses and to acquire skills and knowledge to enhance your progression. We are committed to working in co-production with service users and carers, within a recovery approach which maximises self-determination and empowerment. You will work alongside multi-disciplinary colleagues and with other agencies that includes Acute and Community Trusts, Primary Care Services, and the voluntary sector. With these agencies you will support service users and carers to develop personalised care and support plans which draw on community resources to achieve the most positive outcomes. This gives us the opportunity to provide social care intervention quickly and effectively to those who need it most. You will be responsible for assessing, planning, implementing, and evaluating appropriate discharge plans.

Our offer

- Relocation packages up to a maximum of £8,000

- Full induction and comprehensive professional learning and development

- Starting annual leave allowance of 29 - 30 days

- A minimum of 5 day's training each year

- Excellent local government pension scheme.

- You will receive regular professional supervision and have the opportunity to critically reflect on your practice.

- You will be supported to develop your practice and progress your career.

This post is subject to an Enhanced Disclosure application to the Disclosure and Barring service and registration as a qualified Social Worker with Social Work England.

This post is considered by KCC to be a customer-facing position. The Council therefore has a statutory duty under Part 7 of the Immigration Act (2016) to ensure that post holders have a command of spoken English/Welsh sufficient for the effective performance of the job requirements. The appropriate standards are set out in the Job Description/Person Specification.

We also welcome applications from experienced registered nurses and occupational therapists with relevant experience into our Community Practitioner roles. If you hold a registration with a professional body (Social Work England, HCPC, Nursing and Midwifery Council) and would like to know more about these opportunities please contact Szilvia Mackenzie, Team Manager Early Discharge Planning szilvia.mackenzie@kent.gov.uk, telephone: 03000 422953 or Delia Gingell, Senior Practitioner delia.gingell@kent.gov.uk, telephone: 03000 410771