Health & Wellbeing Coordinator (Independence & Care)

The Thalidomide Trust is a charity which was established in 1973 to provide assistance and support to people born in the UK with disabilities caused by their mother taking the drug Thalidomide. We have secure long-term funding that allows the team to focus exclusively on building long term relationships to provide the best possible support and make a real difference to our beneficiaries.

We are looking for a Health & Wellbeing Coordinator (Independence & Care) to join our busy Health & Wellbeing Team to meet the increasingly complex needs of our 423 beneficiaries, now aged between 60 and 66 years, whose disabilities include: absence or shortening of limbs; damaged ears, hearing and eyesight; brain and sensory impairment and extensive damage to the internal organs and skeletal structure. 

As our beneficiaries age their health is deteriorating rapidly and they face particular challenges maintaining their quality of life and independence. This post provides an opportunity to work as part of a professional multi-disciplinary team, empowering them to manage their health and wellbeing and access the services and support that they are entitled to.

We have secure long-term funding that allows the team to focus exclusively on building long term relationships to provide the best possible support and make a real difference to our beneficiaries

About the Role

We are looking for an experienced, Social Care professional to join our Health & Wellbeing team on a 12 month Fixed Term contract.

Your role will be to understand the unique and often complex growing needs of our beneficiaries and to provide advice, advocacy and support to empower them to access the health and social care services they need. You will lead on hospital discharge planning and rehabilitation and support to access social care, so must be proficient in these key areas with recent experience. You will also lead on supporting Personal Independence Payments (PIP) applications and while we welcome experience in this area, full training will be given. You will contribute to the development and delivery of the Trust’s health and wellbeing services, and you will be an important part of the successful delivery of the annual programme of Holistic Needs Assessments (HNAs), carried out in beneficiaries’ homes.

Skills & Abilities

To succeed in this busy but highly rewarding role, you will:

• Be a good listener with excellent interpersonal skills and a flexible approach 
• Possess excellent knowledge of current social care referral, assessment and funding processes and the interface between health and social care – particularly in respect of hospital discharge planning and support
• Already have a good practical knowledge of the UK benefits system, particularly PIP
• Have experience of undertaking needs assessments (including in people’s own homes)
• Have a track record of working effectively as part of a multi-disciplinary team
• Be comfortable working without clearly defined protocols and have creative problem-solving skills and a solutions-focussed approach
• Be sensitive, empathetic and non- judgemental and
• Have excellent organisational skills and an ability to work autonomously and prioritise a busy workload.

The role is full time (5 days a week – Monday to Friday).  However, 4 days a week will be considered (Friday must be a working day).   There is the opportunity to work either from the Trust’s office in St Neots, Cambridgeshire or home (within 45 miles/1 hour from St Neots) but there will be the requirement to attend regular team meetings in St Neots and regular travel to visit beneficiaries across the UK, with the possibility of overseas travel.