Lived Experience Peer Support Worker Eating Disorders Service

At Gloucestershire Health and Care NHS Foundation Trust (GHC), we provide joined-up mental health, physical health and learning disability services to people of all ages across Gloucestershire. We run community hospitals and provide care and support in people's own homes and in a range of other locations across the county.
We are on a mission to enable people to live the best life they can and we have a vision to work together to provide outstanding care. We put people at the heart of our services, focusing on personalised care by asking 'what matters to you'.
We're passionate about making sure that everyone can contribute to achieving our mission and we are continually working to support healthy and happy high-quality teams in all areas of the Trust.
Our application process aims to understand each candidates knowledge, skills and experience. We have found that candidates that use AI to generate their answers can lack specificity and fail to address key criteria outlined in the job description.
It is really important to personalise your application to convey your individual skills, knowledge, and experiences effectively and for us to understand why you are applying for this role with GHC. We discourage over reliance on AI-generated applications as it will lessen your chances of success in securing an interview with us ., The Peer Support worker role is a new and important development within the Eating Disorders Service and we are keen to ensure that the voice and presence of people with lived experience is embedded into every part of service design and delivery.
Peer support workers are experts by experience of Eating Disorders, supporting patients in their journey.
We will work with you to ensure that we support your personal and developmental needs, this includes a bespoke induction to ensure that you are fully prepared and supported in delivering this role.
Our aim is to work closely with our colleagues to deliver a pro-active, patient focused service that delivers the right care at the right time and your work will ensure that the value of personal experience is fully recognised.
If you have excellent interpersonal skills, the desire to deliver high quality care and you are ready to use your experience to support others then please get in touch to talk through the role., The role of the Lived Experience Peer Support Practitioner is:
+ To support the multi-disciplinary team in promoting recovery orientated environment by identifying recovery focussed activities and fostering a culture of hope.
+ Deliver an approach that is underpinned by the principals of trauma informed care.
+ To work alongside a number of service users on a one to one or group basis.
+ Contribute to the development of training to raise awarensses and reduce stigma.
+ Contribute to developing and supporting a small team of volunteer peer mentors.
The qualification, training & experience requirements for the role are underlined in the Job Description/Person Specification., + To communicate with a variety of people on a range of matters and keep accurate and complete records consistent with the Trust's policies and procedures.
· Be a key contact for EDS, to communicate with clients and colleagues from GHC and a number of partner organisations.
· To act as a specialist resource within the service, by offering a unique perspective to service users. To act as an expert on recovery resources.
· Work alongside a range of healthcare professionals to assist with the planning, organisation and delivery of ongoing Community of Practice sessions and one-off training events on an ongoing basis.
· Assist with the monitoring and evaluation of learning events in particular, the evaluation of participant feedback.
· To act as a point of contact for clients and colleagues; dealing with queries, which may be face to face, by telephone or email, assisting the assessment of needs and identification of goals, providing information and support people to connect with community support to meet their needs.
· To co-faciliate group therapy, support and psycho-education groups in various settings within the community.
· To promote opportunities for people with lived experience to raise awareness and promote understanding.
· Support raising awareness of the role of lived experience across the Trust and attend ongoing meetings / events regarding its development.
· Maintain quality in own work and encourage others to do so, while working as an effective and responsible team member. Prioritise own workload and organise own work to meet timescales.
· Peer support work will take proactive steps to ensure accessibility.
+ Explore the role of Peer Mentor Volunteers, which may involve holding focus groups with interested persons to explore key principles for peer support.
+ Respond to enquiries about Peer Support in a timely manner.
+ Attend Peer Support Group meetings and offer supervision / reflective practice to other peer support workers in a group setting.
+ Attend, organise and chair Expert by Experience Steering Group meetings.
+ Support individuals and their families from a holistic perspective.
+ To actively contribute to the development and practice of a coherent, supportive, and effective learning environment; attending and chairing on a rota basis, regular team meetings.
+ To attend and actively participate in support and supervision meetings and other meetings as agreed.
· To input and store data and information, as well as collect, collate and report routine data and information.
+ Make changes in own practice and offer suggestions for improving services and to contribute to the ongoing development of the Eating Disorders Service.
+ To maintain good communication with colleagues within Gloucestershire Health and Care Trust, peer mentors, partner organisations and external agencies.
+ Work closely with Trust social inclusion team, help lead on quarterly expert by lived experience forums.
+ Act in ways that support equality and value diversity. Treat everyone with whom you come into contact with dignity and respect. Recognise and report behaviour that undermines equality and diversity.
+ Work alongside a range of healthcare professionals to provide education in order to contribute and add value to existing events by promoting improved service user involvement.
+ To adhere to the trust clinical guidelines, code of ethics, policies, procedures and stated aims / core purpose.
To undertake other duties appropriate to the post as required by the Team Manager.

We have in excess of 5000 staff working over 50 sites, providing a diverse range of services. We strive to support an organisational culture that is welcoming, builds and celebrates inclusivity and diversity and provides a sense of belonging and trust.
The annual NHS Staff Survey gives our people the opportunity to tell us about their experience working at the Trust. For the 2023 survey just over 2800 colleagues gave us their views (58.5%). It was great to see from the results that colleagues are saying that:
+ 89.7% believe they are making a positive difference to patients/service users;
+ 73.3% would recommend the organisation as a place to work;
+ 82.4% agree that care of patients and service users is the organisations priority;
+ 76.7% would be happy with the standard of care for a friend or relative
Our results put us as 5th nationally as a Community, Mental Health and Learning Disabilities NHS Employer of Choice and 1st equal amongst all NHS Provider Trusts in the South West. However, we know we have more to do and will continue to drive forward our commitment to making GHC a Great Place to Work.

When joining us, as well as becoming part of a team that makes a difference, we also offer:
+ Free car parking at many of our sites
+ 27 days leave plus bank holidays, increasing up to 33 days with long service
+ A broad range of training and development opportunities, including apprenticeships up to Level 7 qualification.
+ A multi-professional preceptorship programme for all Newly Qualified; Nurses, Nursing Associates, Internationally Educated Practitioners, Allied Health Professionals and Return to Practice Practitioners.
+ Generous NHS pension and enhanced pay when if you work unsocial hours
+ Flexible, family friendly and agile working opportunities
+ Recognition and long service awards
+ Fast Track physiotherapy
+ Our Wellbeing line
+ Access to discounts and salary sacrifice schemes; including Cycle to Work, Car scheme and discounts on travel, leisure and retailers.
Applicants are advised to apply early as if a large number of applications are received for this post, we reserve the right to close the vacancy prior to the advertised date. Good luck with your application.
For more information please see the attached 'Additional Information for Applicants' document.