Lead Practitioner (Out of Hrs) - Part-Time 22 Hours

About the Service

South Lanarkshire Council have secured funding from the Drug Death Taskforce and are working with TPS to deliver a flexible, rapid response service which offers assertive outreach to individuals in crisis or at risk of crisis out of hrs. The service will focus on providing interventions to prevent or manage crisis situation through additional ‘out of hours’ capacity to support existing statutory and commissioned services. The service will ensure that we prevent tenancy and placement breakdown, reduce harm both physical and psychological, prevent drug deaths and connect people into services in the community. Individuals who are at risk of crisis will be alerted to TPS and we will provide check in’s out of hrs to ensure they do not fall into crisis. Additionally, we will be alerted out of hrs to individuals who are in crisis and we will provide a range of interventions including

• Keeping people safe
• Preventing tenancy / placement breakdowns
• Harm reduction information and advice. Understanding how people ‘use’ alcohol and other drugs.
• Distribution of Injecting Equipment Provision (IEP) including new needles, foil, sharp bins etc. as part of harm reduction.
• Targeted distribution of naloxone (peer distribution model) to individuals and friends / family
• Immediate response pathway for near-fatal overdose
• Dry Blood Spot testing, where appropriate, for HIV, Hep B / C.
• Condom distribution
• Emergency food parcels
• Access to period products
• Identification of emergency accommodation if homeless or at risk of losing accommodation
• Engaging with family members out of hours to provide support to keep people safe.
• Sustaining existing engagement with services
• Addressing barriers to engagement with services
• Assertive linkage to treatment and care services
• Identification of other health issues

Job Purposes & Core Details

To:

1. work to the service and organisation's aims and values and promote the citizenship of the people we support.
2. deliver support to people who use Turning Point Scotland's services and in so doing contribute to the provision of the highest possible quality of social care support which meets the service specification.
3. operate at an advanced level of social care practice, which includes taking a higher level of responsibility for service delivery and development, and a leadership role.
4. work to the company's values - Because People Matter
5. undertake CPD (continuous professional development) and use appraisals and supervision fully.
6. keep your registration and membership to relevant professional bodies up to date and valid.
7. undertake any outstanding require qualification for registration, or if not working in a registered service qualify at SVQ Level 3 in Health and Social Care.
8. undertake any other duties or responsibilities as may be deemed appropriate to the post by the Service Manager (or nominated deputy).

9. Provide, prompt, administer medication and healthcare & wellbeing support as required

Main duties and responsibilities

Support to people who use services - To:

• provide support and assistance to people who we support in accordance with their support plans and service aims.
• be responsible for undertaking initial and on-going assessments of people who we support.
• advise people who we support in accordance with guidance from senior colleagues or in accordance with the service aims.
• be a key worker for a person or people who have complex or multiple needs.
• maintain professional confidentiality and boundaries at all times.
• support and assist people who we support in crisis situations, and/or manage physical risk or behaviour likely to cause incidents, in accordance with the support plan or service protocol.
• travel within the service area you are contracted for and supporting the travel and transportation of people who we support in accordance with their support plan (mobility, own car, service vehicles, public transport etc).
• have an good understanding of the causes and effects of social exclusion as is relevant to the service and area in which you work.

 Planning, policies and record keeping - To:

• devise, review and update support plans, record events and observations and keep appropriate records as require in the service.
• contribute to the creation and maintenance of support plans and record keeping.
• prepare paperwork for and participate in service user reviews as a lead person when required.
  
• plan and co-ordinate elements of support in accordance with the support plan.
• prepare and implement risk management plans, and follow and update risk assessments.
• work with data in line with the data protection act.
• work with and comply with standard operation (finance, operational, Health and Safety and Human Resources) and service procedures. 

 Interactions with other people - To:

• support and supervise other staff administering or prompting medication and ensure that medication protocols are adhered to.
• support new staff and volunteers/those on placement to show them how your practice complies with the SSSC Codes of Practice.
• provide informal support to staff on a daily basis. 
• have a collegiate approach, ask when you need support or guidance and team work with a diverse group of people.
• manage and resolve conflict promptly and raise issues appropriately using the correct internal processes.
• directly communicate with the families of the people we support as appropriate.
• liaise with workers from other agencies when requested to do so by senior colleagues.
• support others to comply with, and the service to meet with, the relevant legislation and National Care Standards.
• support others to ensure they comply with SSSC Codes of Practice.
• maintain confidentiality with shared information.
• liaise with landlords and similar others on behalf of people we support if required. 
• be aware of health and safety and contribute fully to keeping my work environment, community, people who use services and myself safe.

 Leadership - To:

• provide leadership to staff to support people we support in accordance with their support plan and maintain people we support records correctly.
• assist with the service manager to prepare information and the service for inspections.
  
• provide on-the-job training and/or coaching to new staff. 
  
• be the 'named worker' or shift leader or lead on a specific part of the service such as group work.
  
• continuously seek service development and improvement. 
• contribute to Turning Point Scotland.
  
• keep abreast of the sector 'big picture', operational environment and changes.
  
• appropriately challenge oppressive or potentially abusive behaviours or practices.
  
  

 Miscellaneous - applies only in certain services 

• to undertake sleepovers, overnight and weekend working and occasionally participate in people who we support holidays as required.
• to ensure the service\location's stock or goods are in place and replenish/order as required.
  
• to undertake training that may be technical or specialised that will benefit the service.
• to provide technical testing services (BBV/swab and similar) and/or to train others in emergency, risk reduction action and medications.
• to be responsible for the dispensing of medication, in particular, when at work. 
• to perform lone working for significant lengths of my work time undertaking tasks that require a high level of independence and initiative.
  
• to provide formal supervision under the guidance of a senior colleague and with additional training or a qualification provided.
  
• to have a good understanding of welfare in relation to how it will impact on your service user group.
  

Please note that it will be essential to the post to work out of hours and weekends regularly.

About Turning Point Scotland (TPS)

TPS works with adults who are experiencing a range of support needs in relation to housing and homelessness, learning disability, autism, acquired brain injury, fluctuating mental health, physical disabilities, problematic alcohol and/or other drug use and involvement in the criminal justice system. We work from the belief that people matter, that they are the experts on their support needs and that it is for us to work creatively with them and with partners to ensure that those needs are met. We work with around 2,800 Individuals every day and 5,100 every year across Scotland helping people to address issues they are experiencing and recognise their own skills and interests.

Our approach to support is imbedded within a Citizenship framework where we deliver a holistic approach promoting the recovery, self-determination and inclusion of people experiencing challenges in their life, through focusing on their strengths and the valuable contributions they can make to their communities. Citizenship is defined as a measure of the strength of an individual’s connection to the 5 R’s of rights, responsibilities, roles, resources, and relationships that society makes available to its members.

Alcohol and Other Drugs / Homelessness within TPS

TPS support and are more commonly delivering services which do not sit within silod’ areas of work, focussing more on the interventions we can provide rather than the area of work where it has been funded. This service aims to provide a crisis intervention and prevent homelessness / placement breakdown crossing over our work in Homelessness and Alcohol / Other Drugs.

Turning Point Scotland has been supporting individuals who experience a crisis as a result of their alcohol and drug use for over 25 years and these crisis situation involve a range of other interventions to alleviate homelessness, mental health, family situation etc. We are experienced in providing a range of evidence based interventions to reduce harm and to support recovery across a number of local authority areas. All our services despite the funding silo work as part of Recovery Orientated Systems of Care (ROSC).

TPS are the biggest provider of services to people experiencing or at risk of Homelessness across Scotland, delivering support to around 2,800 individuals on any given day, 5,100 per year. This number increases when considering individuals at risk of Homelessness where funding is provided through Justice or Alcohol and Other Drugs funding streams.

We believe that in many cases, Homelessness is entirely preventable, it is failures in the silo’d and complex systems that we have designed to protect people that prevent us from preventing this. Where Homelessness is not or cannot be prevented the experience should be short lived, and met with a psychologically informed response. A menu of options should be available to individuals to prevent or support someone to move on from Homelessness ensuring a no wrong door approach to accessing services is used.

Service Model – Crisis Response

We provide a range of interventions to support individuals who are in crisis and will respond as quickly as we possibly can within local agreements. Our aims are to respond effectively to the crisis in a psychologically informed way, prevent individuals losing their tenancy, reduce any harm both physical and psychological, prevent deaths and connect individuals into services to help them address the underlying causes of the crisis.

Essential Criteria 

Qualifications:

• A willingness to complete a qualification in Social Service and Health Care at level  7 (SCQF) or higher (or other speciality recognised by the SSSC for registration purposes) and if not already registered, to register with the SSSC within the timescale required, where relevant.  Additional PDA units may be required.

Experience:

• Must have had direct professional experience of supoprt people, who have a wide range of support needs and personal aims on a person-centred basis.
• Has experience of working with people who have barriers to social inclusion and supporting them to become more socially integrated.
• Has direct experience of working with people who are at times chaotic and marginalised, whose behaviours can challenge services, and supporting them to become more socially integrated and able to access services.
• Has strong experience in working with organisational policies, recording systems and support planning including using IT.

 Values:

• Must be able to demonstrate an understanding and commitment to the values that underpin social care focussing on inclusion, person centred approaches and citizenship.
• Must be able to demonstrate an understanding of the need to maintain professional boundaries between social care workers and people who use services and the role of a professional social care worker.
• Must be wholly respectful towards all service users and colleagues and address issues constructively.
  

Other skills and knowledge: 

• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of and the skills to operate to the SSSC Code of Practice for Social Care Workers. 
  
• Must be able to demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills in order to communicate well with service users and colleagues at all levels in the organisation.
• Be able to demonstrate an accomplished level of skill used when directly supporting people. 
  
• Must be willing to develop skills used when supporting people through reflective practice, active learning, personal and professional development, supervision and feedback.  
  
• Knowledge of relevant safeguarding and adult or child protection.

Experience

• Has taken a lead role within a team on a professional social care project or activity such as group work.
• Has experience of working in a lone working environment.
• Has had a coaching or mentoring role.
• Has strong experience in risk assessments
• Experience of supporting people in crisis and using a harm reduction approach
• Experiencing of working in homelessness or alcohol or other drug services

Other skills and knowledge

• Be able to demonstrate an understanding of and the skills to operate to the SSSC Code of Practice for Social Care Workers.
• Must be to demonstrate excellent interpersonal skills in order to communicate well with service users and colleagues at all level in the organisation.
• Be able to demonstrate an accomplished level of skill used when directly supporting people.
• Must be willing to develop skills used when supporting people through reflective practice, active learning, personal and professional development, supervision and feedback.
• Knowledge of relevant safeguarding and adult or child protection.

We are a large, stable national provider and a charity. As we are not for profit there is ongoing investment into our staff training and development, a good GPP pension scheme, and annual leave and sick pay that significantly exceeds the statutory minimum.

We also have a brilliant employee assistance programme (independent advice, information and support online, by phone and in person), a group reward scheme to help your money go further and access to a contributory ‘hospital’ fund. We have a relationship with a credit union and promote saving directly from salary.

We aim to provide a working environment where opinions and ideas are valued and arrangements are in place to ensure that there is a high level of staff representation and that people are encouraged to make their views heard and to participate at service and organisational levels.

As a leading national social care provider our breakthrough and forward-thinking models of practice and service are well recognised. Examples of this recently have been: Housing First, Psychologically informed environments (PIE), Citizenship and both Scottish and International research and evaluation of a range of projects. We work across a wide range of types of services and the organisation provides pathways for development: a career development workshop; appraisal; learning and training options; internal forums and project groups; and opportunities for internal secondment, temporary acting up or sideways roles and career progression.

The salary scale for the post will be (reduced pro rata for part time posts, the full time equivalent is a 37 working hour week)

• £20,306
• £20,821
• £21,408
• £22,093
• £22,766

The annual leave entitlement will be (reduced pro rata for part time posts and will include a proportional entitlement to public holidays)

25 days per year, plus 8 public holidays and 2 local holidays.