Adult Safeguarding Practitioner

We have an exciting opportunity for an Adult Safeguarding Advanced Practitioner to join our Adult Community Mental Health Services Team in North Hertfordshire.

The area is well served with transport links to historic Hertfordshire and its glorious countryside as well as into London and beyond. We are looking for a Practitioner who is passionate about delivering care to adults with mental health issues.

We can offer you a competitive salary, staff benefits package, excellent career development and training that comes from working for Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust.

While it is a challenging period for the NHS, there has never been a more exciting time to join HPFT. We are on a Good to Great journey as we continue to innovate, improve, transform and deliver the very highest standards of care to the service users and communities that we serve.

Main duties of the job

You will contribute effectively and professionally to the work of the North Hertfordshire ACMHS to fulfil HPFT & Hertfordshire County Council's adult safeguarding responsibilities.

You will ensure the service provided is effective, efficient and delivers positive and personal outcomes for the citizens of Hertfordshire, and will provide expert information, advice and guidance in complex situations.

You will work with management to develop service practice which ensures that individuals are supported in local communities. You will also work with community groups, other organisations and community members, to achieve positive outcomes for service users and carers.

You will lead on peer development and learning in conjunction with development programmes and workforce strategy and provide coaching, mentoring and supervision as appropriate.

You will oversee and co-ordinate responses to safeguarding concerns raised.

You will identify safeguarding plans to mitigate risk to the person, oversee gathering of relevant information, identify scope and terms of reference of any enquiry and decision making tools, apply safeguarding eligibility criteria, record and keep records up to date, hold and chair strategy discussions or meetings, chair case conferences, ensuring outcomes are recorded and identify need for other assessments or interventions required.

You will work as part of a multi-disciplinary team, working in partnership with a range of stakeholders inside and outside of the Trust.

About us

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust is one of just five mental health trusts to achieve an overall rating of 'Outstanding' from the Care Quality Commission.

Our family of over 4,000 members of staff provide health and social care for people with mental ill health, physical ill health and learning disabilities across Hertfordshire, Buckinghamshire, Essex and Norfolk, delivering these services within the community and several inpatient settings. Everything is underpinned by choice, independence and equality, with our Trust values embedded throughout:

Welcoming. Kind. Positive. Respectful. Professional.

Job responsibilities

1. Ensure effective Safeguarding and Risk Management
   Act as the lead manager in safeguarding concerns/enquiries including assessment and management of risk, knowing how to intervene proportionately and ensuring people are protected from harm while protecting their human rights.
   Provides professional leadership in complex or ambiguous situations.
   Leads on partnership working with other organisations, community groups and community members in a variety of settings to achieve positive outcomes for service users and carers.
   Identifies and ensures the team actively engages with, assists and provides advice to carers to enable them to sustain their caring role.
   Provides expert knowledge of safeguarding processes, policy and case law.
   Works within Hertfordshire safeguarding frameworks to ensure vulnerable adults are protected.
   Undertakes relevant audits and quality monitoring of social work.
   Accurately records and keeps records up to date.
2. Addresses adversity and social exclusion
   Acts as the lead professional when an adult is at risk of social exclusion and assists people to deal with adverse circumstances such as poor health, poverty, inadequate living conditions while maximising the strength of individuals, their families and their communities.
   Actively promotes Equality and Diversity and challenges discrimination.
3. Promote independence and autonomy
   Acts as the lead professional where a person is severely constrained by social or family circumstances and provides support to achieve a reasonable degree of independence and autonomy.
   Uses a person-centred approach, developing creative and personalised solutions to assist people to manage their lives independently for as long as possible.
   Promotes independence, well-being, choice and control within a personalisation framework and flexible use of self-directed support.
   Works with service users and carers across the county. Meetings and appointments will be across several locations and in people’s homes.
   Undertakes preventative work to promote independence both with individuals and within wider project work.
4. Prevention and Early Intervention
   Acts as the lead professional when a person's health or capacity is deteriorating or likely to deteriorate (without intervention) and the alternative may be premature admission to institutional forms of care or a legal intervention by the state.
5. Demonstrate HPFT Values and Professional Standards
   Carries out duties in a timely and responsive manner, in line with Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), Social Work England standards, Professional Standards, Codes of Conduct.
   Maximises efficiencies in care planning through consideration of charging systems and other funding streams.
   Keeps and maintains accurate, up to date service user records, in line with professional requirements and departmental recording methods.
   Maintains accurate and up to date knowledge of resources through continual professional development, supervision and active engagement with local communities.

Person Specification

QUALIFICATIONS/EDUCATION/TRAINING

Essential

• Registered Mental Health Professional appropriate to the job role (Nursing, OT, SW).
• Evidence of continuous professional development.

Desirable

• Completion of Mentorship / Preceptorship Course ENB equivalent, or intention to complete.
• Approved Mental Health Practitioner.
• Practice Educator qualification.
• Best Interest Assessor Practitioner.

PREVIOUS EXPERIENCE

Essential

• Working with vulnerable adults and/or children within a Health and Social Care setting.
• Involvement in Multi-Agency work.
• Experience of Student supervision.
• Applied use of Social Care & Health Care legislation.
• Finds innovative solutions to meet identified needs of Service Users. Safeguarding processes and investigations.
• Ability to reflect on experiences to enhance and inform own practice and decision making.

Desirable

• Applied use of at least one of the following: Mental Capacity Act, Mental Health Act, Care Management, Continuing Health Care, Care Programme Approach.
• Experience of Staff Supervision and Development Planning.

SKILLS/KNOWLEDGE/ABILITY

Essential

• Adult Social Care and Legislation, strategies and guidance relevant to the post.
• Safeguarding statutory responsibilities, including Making Safeguarding Personal.
• Risk Management and positive risk taking.
• Human Rights legislation and how these laws protect the rights of adults.
• The Integration Agenda: Working as part of a multidisciplinary/multi-agency Team.
• The Personalisation Agenda and applying creative problem solving to maximise independence.
• Exceptional communication and interpersonal skills with individuals, groups and staff.
• Strong IT skills: Reporting, Recording, Written.
• Ability to assess and record eligible and non-eligible needs, drawing on evidence-based practice to inform your response.
• Acts in a self-directed, proactive way to identify/develop opportunities, ideas and innovation.
• Mentors, coaches, supports and supervises other Social Work staff to be accountable, proactive, innovative, autonomous and to enhance performance.
• Actively and creatively develops Team members' capabilities in line with Service objectives and professional standards.

ANALYTICAL SKILLS

Essential

• Analytically interprets research, audits, case law and presents to colleagues in an accessible way to inform practice.
• Work within the spheres of own professional responsibilities and escalate clinical and operational concerns to senior clinical and operational management in a timely way as and when required.

Employer details

Employer name

Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust

Address

Centenary House, Hitchin SG5 1JN

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