Perinatal Mental Health Service Support Time Recovery Worker

The Sheffield Perinatal Mental Health Service is expanding and there is a unique opportunity to join the team in a new role to support in developing the service to strive to deliver the commitments set out in the NHS Long Term plan.

We are looking for caring, compassionate, highly motivated individuals who are committed to supporting families to thrive.

We are in the privileged position to work with families at a highly personal yet crucial time in their lives and it is essential to have a respectful and non-judgemental attitude to engage mothers, their infants and families.

The perinatal mental health service provides specialist care for women (and their babies) with moderate to severe mental illness such as bipolar disorder/psychosis or severe depression whilst they are pregnant or in the first 12 months after birth (to expand up until 24 months). The benefit of this specialist care at this early stage is to prevent longer term illness or disability and reduce the impact of bonding and attachment issues on the mother and baby and family as a whole.

As a Support Worker for the perinatal service, you will be working alongside and supporting the Perinatal Practitioners and the wider Multi-Disciplinary Team. You will also be seeing Women who are under our service in a range of settings. These may include our own clinic base, children’s centres, primary care settings, inpatient settings, general hospital settings, in conjunction with home visits. Experience of working within a mental health community setting is desirable.

Sheffield Perinatal Mental Health Service is part of Sheffield Health and Social Care and uphold the following: -

Our Values

Behaviours and Values
1. RESPECT
2. FAIRNESS
3. COMPASSION
4. AMBITION
5. ACCOUNTABILITY
6. PARTNERSHIP

For further details or information please contact Helen Maw, Perinatal Clinical Lead, Sheffield Perinatal Mental Health Service on 0114 2716069.

Each woman and her family has different needs however the list below outlines just some of the practical duties that the post holder will undertake.

Support and enable women to/with:

• identify their own goals to improve their quality of life
• contribute to their own care plans
• develop care plans with their care coordinator/named nurse and implement them creatively using initiative
• supporting women to express their needs and wishes
• promote a healthy bond with Mother and Baby
• Demonstrate an awareness of the family as a system encouraging exploration of relationships.
• Supporting with emotional needs
• Reduce stigma and shame associated with Perinatal Mental Health Issues
• Encourage open and honest dialogue of issues affecting new and/or expectant mothers
• Support for a woman to maintain their physical health.
• An awareness of safeguarding issues and reporting through Trust systems.
• actively engage in health promotion
• Support vocational and educational aspirations
• engage in meaningful and enjoyable activity
• Encourage and support attendance at appointments
• to structure time positively
• initiate, maintain and strengthen familial and social relationships
• increase self confidence
• support a woman to embrace new opportunities
• Help to plan future recovery goals
• identify appropriate support networks within the community i.e baby groups, Light

Training and Supervision

• Undertake mandatory and appropriate training relevant to your role
• Identify own training and developmental needs
• Identify areas of training need that are relevant to the team
• Assist in the delivery of training in areas of personal experience and interest
• Participate in annual performance development reviews
• Participate in regular individual and group supervision
• Use supervision to understand and reflect to inform and enable people to manage risk effectively
• Assist to prepare examples of positive working or difficult situations
• Participate in the development of this new role within the service.

Personal responsibilities

• Ensure that people are treated with dignity and respect
• Promote anti-discriminatory activities
• Work flexibly to meet service needs
• Administrative responsibilities
• Keep clinical records up to date using Trust systems in accordance with legislation
• Support people to contribute to their own clinical notes
• Maintain records to a high standard and record activity data in a timely manner

Professional responsibilities

• Maintain confidentiality of all personal information and data in line with organisational policy and the GDPR 2018
• Be familiar and work in line with local and national policy and procedures.
• Raise concern in regard to disciplinary or performance issues to the management team using policies and procedures such as safeguarding and whistle blowing

Service development

• Participate in promotion of the team to the directorate and wider trust
• Contribute to service evaluation and change processes
• Be involved in recruitment processes