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Forensic Senior Social Worker

Employer
Suffolk County Council
Location
Suffolk
Salary
£33,782 - £39,759 per annum *plus £2,772 per annum AMHP Honorarium
Closing date
16 Dec 2021

Closing date: 16 December 2021.

We are committed to flexible working. To view the types of flexible or part time working available for this role, please see the Job and Person Profile.

An exciting opportunity has arisen to join the joint Suffolk County Council (SCC) and Norfolk and Suffolk Foundation Trust (NSFT) as a Forensic Mental Health Social Worker, working from Hellesdon Hospital, Norwich.

We are looking for a qualified Approved Mental Health Professional (AMHP) to work in a small joint health and social care team.

This is an opportunity to work in the friendly Community Forensic Mental Health team based in Norwich. The team provides care and treatment for mentally disordered offenders who are detained under the Mental Health Act within medium and low secure settings. You will also provide social supervision to conditionally discharged, restricted patients under part 3 MHA 1983.

Your role

The Community Forensic Mental Health team is a small team covering Suffolk patients living in Norfolk. The role involves working alongside members of the MDT to balance public protection and risk management for patients who live in the community and those who are currently inpatients and receiving treatment.

You will:

  • work collaboratively with patients, their families and partner agencies in order to respond in a timely manner to manage risk and be responsible for sourcing community placements and making funding applications where needed
  • be required to provide high-quality statutory reports to the Ministry of Justice in a timely manner and as required and be expected to remain up-to-date with key legislation and apply legislative requirements within your social work practice
  • be able to form effective partnerships and form effective working relationships with individuals and colleagues
  • be able to communicate clearly and effectively in both written and oral format
  • need to have sound and accurate IT and keyboard skills.

Full training will be given for access to the relevant clinical systems.

Suffolk County Council’s Social Supervision Policy stipulates that in order to undertake this role you will need to be a qualified AMHP. You also need to be able to travel around the county in order to fulfil your duties. You may be required to travel further afield, including occasional overnight stays.

You will also be expected to participate in the daytime AMHP rota as part of the post’s duties.

The post sits within the S75 partnership agreement that Suffolk County Council has with Norfolk and Suffolk MH Foundation Trust. Your day-to-day management will be from an NSFT manager, but we will provide you with professional supervision and support from a MH Social Care Manager. You will be able to access relevant training.

Your responsibilities

The main tasks will focus on:

  • providing a comprehensive social work service to all patients within inpatient services. This includes active contribution of the social care perspective to forensic risk assessment and care planning
  • acting as Social Supervisor for conditionally discharged patients subject to Ministry of Justice Restriction orders
  • liaising effectively with statutory and non-statutory bodies in formulating comprehensive assessments of need and in identifying appropriate resources for service users. You will need to undertake Care Act Assessments and to make applications for funding as required following agreed processes within SCC
  • preparing full written reports for CPA review meetings, First-tier Tribunals and Hospital Managers Hearings. To provide statutory reports as required by the Ministry of Justice
  • ensuring that relevant legislation is applied to promote patient care and the safety of the public
  • upholding statutory duties and local protocols in relation to the safeguarding of adults at risk and child safeguarding policies and legislation
  • working as an AMHP on the daytime rota for which an honorarium is paid.

There is the opportunity to volunteer for the out-of-hours AMHP rota for which separate payment is made.   

You will need to be able to complete high-quality Mental Capacity assessments.

You will need:

  • to be a qualified AMHP in order to undertake this role
  • a relevant social work qualification and to be registered with Social Work England.    

We will offer you:

  • full training and support if you do not have any experience of working in Forensic MH services
  • professional supervision from a Mental Health Social Care manager or senior practitioner
  • an honorarium of £2,776 per annum for practicing as an Approved Mental Health Professional.

Travelling requirements for your role   

Frequent Travel - This organisation positively encourages the use of technology to communicate and engage, but in this role, you will need to operate across a wide and rural area, so you must either hold a full and current driving licence and have access to personal transport or meet the mobility requirements of the role through other reasonable and suitable means.  

To find out more:

For an informal discussion about this role, please contact Julia Wunderlich, AMHP Deputy Manager on 07795 952745 or email: julia.wunderlich@suffolk.gov.uk

Closing date: 11.30pm, 16 December 2021.

Due to the current situation with COVID-19, we have strict limitations on staff working in our offices and most of us are being asked to work from home. If you wish to discuss how that might impact your working arrangements, please contact the recruiting manager listed.   
  

This authority is committed to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children, young people and vulnerable adults and expects all staff and volunteers to share this commitment. DBS checks or police vetting will be required for relevant posts. We are also committed to flexible working.

Suffolk County Council - welcoming diversity.

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