Support/Advice Worker

Sonographers Medical Specialist Recruitment requires 2 HCA`S to work in the Ipswich, Suffolk area.

Job Purpose / Summary:

The aim of the post is to provide practical and emotional support to clients to assist integration into local communities and services and to aid communication and understanding between clients, team members and health care professionals.

Duties:

• Attend ‘drop in’ sessions at the centre and outreach clinics and work in the reception area meeting and greeting clients.
• Attend home and hostel visits with team members to provide practical and emotional support to clients.
• Accompany clients to appointments with other services whilst still giving encouragement towards independence.
• Assist clients with the completion of forms to access services.
• Identify and use appropriate interpreting services and methods to work with clients.
• Sensitively find ways to address client’s physical, social, faith, legal, cultural and practical needs.
• Refer or signpost clients to the appropriate statutory and voluntary agencies.

• Participate in group sessions for information sharing and to facilitate social contacts in the drop in centre, hostels and other agencies
• Maintain clear and concise contemporary records.
• Spend time with clients seen by team members to explain and reinforce advice and health information given.

• Give brief interpreting support for non english speaking clients visiting the centre to speak with members of the team.
• Provide written translations of simple information and leaflets for non english speaking clients on behalf of the team.

• Support the development of and participate in the Listening Space Project with the community development worker, case worker/counsellor and social worker.
• Contribute to the development of referral pathways and guidelines to Primary Care, Social Services and voluntary agencies for the team, Refugee Council and accommodation providers.
• Participate in a needs assessment of clients in Emergency Accommodation and clients in permanent accommodation utilising a variety of techniques (group work, photographs, story telling, statistical data, case studies, referral patterns).
• Contribute to monitoring, evaluation, reports and recommendations to enhance service development.
• Assist in the development of outreach services to asylum seekers and refugees who are unable to attend the town centre premises.
• Raise awareness of the issues affecting asylum seekers and refugees and facilitate culturally appropriate service developments in Primary Care generally.
• Attend weekly team planning and debrief meetings, daily handover meetings, monthly staff meetings, monthly management supervision and other team building activities.
• Actively and positively promote user empowerment and facilitate the prevention of mental, physical and emotional ill health and its consequences.