Job summary
- Main area
- Healthcare Assistant
- Grade
- Band 3
- Contract
- Permanent
- Hours
- Full time - 37.5 hours per week
- Job ref
- 342-SS146-0925
- Employer
- Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust
- Employer type
- NHS
- Site
- HMP Eastwood Park
- Town
- Eastwood Park
- Salary
- £24,937 - £26,598 per annum
- Salary period
- Yearly
- Closing
- 30/09/2025 23:59
Employer heading
Band 3 Recovery Support Worker - HMP Eastwood Park - Reconnect
Band 3
Job overview
The Reconnect Service at HMP Eastwood Park seeks to employ a Band 3 Support Worker based within the prison, who will participate in meeting with vulnerable women accommodated by the prison, to support them in planning for their release, with a view to giving the woman the best possible chance of a seamless transition on her release.
The post holder will have a passion for working with people that come from a variety of chaotic and disenfranchised backgrounds, supporting offenders with healthcare vulnerabilities to help them access relevant services promptly on release For example: GP registration, attendance at probation appointments where indicated, support to reinstate benefit claims, help to identify community employment / training opportunities etc.
If you are a resilient, compassionate support worker who displays good empathy and the ability to work flexibly in a challenging environment, this post may be for you.
We are looking for someone with excellent communication skills who is committed to the provision of a recovery-focused model of care.
This job may be of particular interest to you if you have previous knowledge, skill and experience of working with difficult to reach groups.
The successful candidate will be required to obtain prison security clearance in addition to DBS and reference checks.
Main duties of the job
At Eastwood Park Prison we work as an integrated team. The consortium comprises of AWP, PPG, Nelson's Trust as well other external providers.
This is a great role for entry level to working in the prison environment. Substantial training and support will be provided both internally and externally.
The successful applicant will work with colleagues from Nelson's Trust to provide the Reconnect Service.
The prison houses up to 442 women. In addition to a specialist unit for substance misuse, the prison offers a Drug Recovery Community, mother and baby unit; mental health service; health care clinic; and specialist therapies unit. The role offers a wonderful opportunity to learn about a variety of statutory and voluntary sector services, as the post holder will be involved in liaison with a wide range of external and internal agencies.
Staff are offered a wide range of in-house prison and health training opportunities as well as access to a variety of academic courses affiliated with the University West England via the AWP learning and development department, some of which lead to professional qualifications in Nursing and other allied health care roles. Not to mention the longer term pension and leave benefits of working in the NHS.
Working for our organisation
We are AWP (Avon and Wiltshire Mental Health Partnership NHS Trust) a diverse organisation with over 5,000 dedicated staff providing inpatient and community-based mental health care.
We provide services from a range of locations to approximately 1.8 million people living in Bath and North East Somerset (B&NES), Bristol, North Somerset, South Gloucestershire, Swindon, across the county of Wiltshire and in parts of Dorset.
Our outstanding people promote mental health and wellbeing. The expertise and resources within AWP are dedicated to a person-centred approach for those who use our services and for all employees. We recognise that happy and fulfilled employees give better care.
At AWP we actively encourage applicants from all backgrounds; we are particularly keen to encourage applications from people from Black, Asian and minority ethnic backgrounds, those with disabilities and from the LGBTQ+ community. We also welcome applicants with lived experience. We want people to bring your unique blend of experiences, backgrounds, perspectives and knowledge to AWP, as diversity makes us stronger.
We hope that you will want to contribute to our diverse healthcare team. We celebrate creativity and innovation and seek to employ exciting new candidates that will join with us to offer the best possible healthcare in a collaboration with our prison colleagues at Eastwood Park.
Detailed job description and main responsibilities
Please note that the job description attached to this vacancy is a generic job description. The main responsibilities are:
Work in a collaborative and cooperative manner with service users, their families/carers and other health and social care professionals. Recognise and respect their involvement in the planning and delivery of care.
Assist in the maintenance of a safe therapeutic environment beneficial to the needs of the service users, relatives, carers and others.
Contribute to the team approach, providing accurate and relevant feedback to colleagues - including health and prison / probation staff: participate in team discussions and meetings regarding care of service users.
Develop a therapeutic relationship with service users to encourage and maximise their interest and participation in release care planning .
Liaise with a variety of community services to set up seamless transitions of healthcare to community based services.
Person specification
Essential knowledge, skills
Essential criteria
- Good organisational skills and time management ability
- Experience of working with disenfranchised communities within institutions or community based settings
Desirable criteria
- Experience working with substance misuse, street homelessness, chaotic lifestyle issues
Essential knowledge, skills
Essential criteria
- IT Skills basic keyboard and word processing
Essential knowledge, skills
Essential criteria
- Demonstrates an understanding of how mental health issues can affect people
Essential knowledge, skills
Essential criteria
- NVQ level 3 in a relevant subject or substantial equivalent experience
Desirable criteria
- Good communication skills demonstrates tact, diplomacy and listening
Essential knowledge, skills
Essential criteria
- Numerate and literate
Employer certification / accreditation badges
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Applicant requirements
This post is subject to the Rehabilitation of Offenders Act 1974 (Exceptions) Order 1975 (Amendment) (England and Wales) Order 2020 and it will be necessary for a submission for Disclosure to be made to the Disclosure and Barring Service.
Application numbers
Documents to download
Further details / informal visits contact
- Name
- Caroline Coxhead
- Job title
- Service Manager
- Email address
- [email protected]
- Telephone number
- 01454 382209
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