JOB DESCRIPTION
Job Title: Oasis Diabetes Youth Support Worker - Male*
Fixed Term Contract 1 Year
Function/Team: Oasis Youth Support
Hours: 40 hours per week, inclusive of breaks
Unsocial Working: Regular evening work expected.
Location: St Thomas Hospital Diabetes department, and occasional other south London hospitals.
The Oasis Youth Support worker will be provided with office space within St Thomas Hospital alongside the service’s Youth Support Manger and team.
Responsible to: Oasis Youth Support Manager
Organisational context:
Oasis believes that every person matters and, as a result develops community hubs that meet people’s holistic needs – educationally, physically, spiritually, economically, environmentally and socially that can benefit the whole person and the whole community. This post will strategically link with the Oasis Waterloo hub.
Oasis Youth Support has worked with St Thomas’ Hospital for over 7 years to support young people who attend A&E due to violence and aggression. This new position marks an expansion of the current service into supporting young people with diabetes, primarily focusing on St Thomas’ Hospital but with the aspiration of expanding the work throughout south London.
Diabetes and Endocrinology at Guy’s at St Thomas’ NHS Foundation Trust
The Department of Diabetes and Endocrinology is part of the Clinical Directorate of Medical Specialties. Medical Specialties is principally an out-patient based specialty, which hosts a range of clinical services alongside diabetes and endocrinology including neurology, ophthalmology, neurophysiology and diabetic eye screening.
The Diabetes and Endocrinology Department is an important element of local and tertiary medical services. It treats approximately 20,000 patients each year including many tertiary referrals for diabetes, lipid, obesity, metabolic and endocrine disorders. The clinics are accommodated in modern purpose-built day centres on both the Guy’s and St. Thomas’ sites. The diabetes service also provides community based clinics.
During adolescence and early adult life young people form their personal and social identities. The presence of diabetes in this period can be very difficult, with many young people feeling isolated and frustrated by the disease and its impact on their lives. All patients aged 14-16 diagnosed with diabetes begin the transition pathway at the age of 16 and patients are subsequently transferred to the Young Adult Diabetes Service. We care for those with both type 1 and type 2 diabetes in this service. The YES initiative (Youth Empowerment Skills Training for Young People with Diabetes) was highly commended in the ‘Empowering People with Diabetes – Children, Young People and Emerging Adults’ category of the Quality in Care (QiC) Diabetes National Awards in 2016.
Occupational requirement:
This role has an occupational requirement for applicants to be male. This is due to the majority of one-to-one work being with male young people, many of whom are deemed as at-risk and vulnerable.
Purpose of Job:
The aim of this role is to develop the capacity of the Diabetes and Endocrinology Department at St Thomas’ Hospital to foster self-confidence and strengthen engagement with diabetes care among young people in south London with diabetes though:
a) providing a youth work support function to mentor and support young people from the boroughs of Lambeth & Southwark, linking them into additional community based services, depending on their needs.
b) organising and running the hospital’s ‘YES’ youth engagement programme though out the summer holidays. (also running pre-engagement activities from January 2018)
c) interacting with young people at diabetes clinics for 14-21 year olds.
d) developing the skills and knowledge of staff within the Diabetes and Endocrinology Department in engaging with young patients.
e) providing a strategic, evidence-based contribution to youth work practice within Diabetes and wider healthcare.
Specific Duties:
(Strategy/Planning/Organising)
1. Provide a client-centred youth liaison outreach (support) service to young people regarding their general health and wellbeing, with a specific focus on diabetes and associated health risks, including one-to-one mentoring, and group work.
2. Working with the Youth Support Manager and hospital safeguarding team, risk assess and investigate the needs of the vulnerable young people who have attended the Diabetes and Endocrinology Department.
3. Work with young people both within hospital and the community to ensure they are linked into appropriate services that meet their wider needs – such as sexual health, mental health, education & employment, and extracurricular activities.
4. With support from the Youth Support Manager organise and run several YES youth engagement programmes throughout the summer holidays. Engage and recruit young people for the programme throughout the year, running pre-programme activities and listening to their needs to help shape the programme.
5. Work with young people, their families and schools to facilitate their access to medical expertise.
6. Attend regular young person’s diabetes clinics and engage with the young people, linking them into follow up support, at Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospitals and
7. Facilitation and secondary support for potential participants in additional hospitals across South East London in preparation for the YES programme. .
8. Creating the means and environment for young people with diabetes in Lambeth and Southwark to network and offer peer support.
9. Work closely with existing Oasis projects in Southwark and Lambeth and other relevant agencies (Lambeth and Southwark Social Care, Youth Offending Team, children and youth services etc) to develop and evaluate a model of care that enables young people, where appropriate, to benefit more effectively from existing interventions and services.
10. Build capacity of diabetes medical staff to more effectively communicate and interact with young people though training and effective systems of engagement.
11. Running social media platforms for young people to network and receive support and advice digitally.
12. With the Youth Support Manager develop a volunteer base, primarily from the Oasis church and hub community, to offer additional youth work support on the summer YES programme and other group work activities.
13. Occasionally represent Oasis and talk about Oasis Youth Support at appropriate events run by Oasis, NHS, councils and youth providers.
(Analytical/Creative thinking/Problem solving)
14. To be responsible for the production of high quality information and ensure accurate data is collected.
15. Engage with the evaluation of the service in an ongoing process.
16. Work collaboratively with the Youth Support Manager, Diabetes & Endocrinology Service Manager, and Diabetes Adolescent Lead Consultant develop the service’s content, approach and structure to achieve its aims as effectively as possible.
17. Contribute creatively within the Oasis Youth Support team towards the development of the project’s intervention structures, resources and effectiveness.
(Relationship/Partners)
Internal:
· Oasis Youth Support team
· GSTT staff
· Diabetes staff at additional hospitals
· Oasis Waterloo Hub, church, youth and schools team
· Oasis UK head office
· Oasis volunteering teams
External:
· Lambeth and Southwark Health Services
· Lambeth and Southwark Local Authority
· Lambeth and Southwark Social Care
· Youth Offending Services
· Schools/education centres
· Children and Youth Services
· Metropolitan Police
· General Public
· Media
Responsibility for Resources:
· Contribute contents toward end of year reports and evaluation.
· Help create and develop intervention resources.
Physical:
· Regular presence within ED.
· Travelling to meet young people across Lambeth and Southwark.
General Duties:
· To carry out appropriate duties, in line with the purpose of the job, as well as duties that may be reasonably required by your line manager.
· To actively participate in the wider life of Oasis Hub Waterloo including hub and church meetings, staff conferences, discussion forums and retreats.
· To take opportunities to raise support for Oasis.
· To attend regular supervision with your line manager.
· Participate in personal development reviews.
Signed (Employee):…………………………. Date………………..
Signed: (Team Leader):…………………….. Date:………………..
PERSON SPECFICATION:
OASIS DIABETEW YOUTH SUPPORT WORKER, ST THOMAS’ HOSPITAL EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT & DIABETES AND ENDOCRINOLOGY DEPARTMENT
Essential / DesirableQualifications / · A relevant professional qualification in Youth & Community (JNC) or Teaching (QTS) or Social Work (QSW) at DipHE level or above
· OR
· Able to demonstrate qualification by relevant experience
Experience, Skills and knowledge / · Proven experience working with young people in both one-to-one and group settings
· Knowledge of safeguarding practices and health and safety
· Proven experience working with young people ‘at risk’
· Proven team player
· Experience working within a youth/community setting alongside other statutory and voluntary organisations
· Good oral communication skills.
· Good organisational and administrative skills
· IT literate, use of MS Office / A knowledge of how hospitals work / function
A knowledge of diabetes and its impact of individuals
Experience of doing youth work within a health setting
Delivering training
Good use of MS Excel
Other Qualities/Attributes / · Self-motivated, able to work alone and as part of a team
· Passionate and resilient with a positive attitude
· Able to take initiative and work under pressure
· Reliable and professional
· Flexible approach to changes in circumstance and able to work unsocial hours
· First Aid trained or willing to be trained
· Commitment to safeguarding and promoting the welfare of children and young people.
· Willingness to undergo appropriate checks, including enhanced DBS checks.
· Have a willingness to demonstrate commitment to the values and behaviours which flow from the Oasis ethos.
· Quality focused in all aspects of work.