We’re Recruiting – Independent Advocates

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We are recruiting for two Independent Advocates to join Northumberland Independent Advocacy Service at Adapt (NE); one part time post and one full time post.

Post:                      Independent Advocate, RPR and 1.2 Representative

Hours:                   37 hours per week (full time) and 15 hours per week (part time)

Location:               Pegswood office, working flexibly throughout Northumberland (due to the COVID-19 pandemic staff are currently working from home. It is anticipated staff will return to Adapt offices and face to face visiting in due course)

Accountable to:     Project Lead and Director

Rate of Pay:           £24,396 per annum (pro rata for 15hr post £9,890)

Contract:               Permanent (subject to funding)

Training will be provided for the role. If you do not currently hold the Independent Advocacy Qualification you may be required to complete this. Personal development support will be provided.

Overall purpose

To provide Independent Advocacy, which supports flexible service delivery across the county.  A professional, customer-focused attitude is essential.

This post provides statutory advocacy services to the public in relation to the Mental Health Act, the Mental Capacity Act, NHS Complaints Regulations 2009 and the Deprivation of Liberty Safeguards and their regulations and codes of practice. The post involves providing Independent Care Act Advocacy, General Advocacy, Mental Health Advocacy, NHS Complaints Advocacy, Relevant Person Representative and 1.2 Representative roles and could include providing Independent Mental Capacity Advocacy.

Please see the Job Description and Person Specification for further details.

Completed application forms should be returned by email to advocacy@adapt-tynedale.org.uk by 5.00pm, Friday 14th May 2021. Interviews will be held remotely via Zoom on Thursday 27th May.

Please tell us how you meet the person specification within the application form and state whether you are applying for the full time or part time post, and return along with the GDPR Consent Form.

For an informal discussion about the above posts please contact Chris Barker on 07413 271321 or by email chrisb@adapt-tynedale.org.uk.

Job Description

Person Specification

Application Form

GDPR Consent Form

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Job Vacancy – Living Well Coordinator

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Job Title:  Living Well Coordinator (Social Prescriber)

Responsible to:  Adapt (NE) and West Northumberland PCN

Hours: Part-time – 3 days/22 hours per week, 9.00am – 5.00pm

Salary:  £23,761 per annum (pro-rata)

Benefits:  25 days holiday per year, plus statutory holidays pro rata

Location:  GP practices across the West Northumberland Primary Care Network

Each Living Well Coordinators are the named worker for one to three GP practices and will split their working time across these practices.

The successful applicant to this post will be the named worker for Burn Brae Medical Group in Hexham.

Living Well Coordinators are also asked to cover referrals for other practices depending on referral levels and team capacity in order to meet the needs of the service.

Please note that you are unable to be the named worker for a practice you are registered at as a patient.

Initially this post is remote-working due to COVID-19.

The Living Well Service team covers the 14 GP practices that make up the West Northumberland Primary Care Network.

Practices include: Adderlane Surgery (Prudhoe), Bellingham Practice, Branch End Surgery (Stocksfield), Burn Brae Medical Group (Hexham), Corbridge Medical Group, Haltwhistle Medical Group, Haydon Bridge and Allendale Medical Group, Humshaugh and Wark Medical Group, Ponteland Medical Group, Prudhoe Medical Group, Riversdale Surgery (Prudhoe), Scots Gap Medical Group, Sele Medical Practice (Hexham) and White Medical Group (Ponteland).

Please find below the Job Description/Person Specification and Application Form. Please tell us how you meet the person specification within the application form and return along with the GDPR Consent Form.

Completed application forms to be returned by 5.00pm on Friday 14th May 2021 to: tania.thomas@adapt-tynedale.org.uk. Interviews will be held remotely via Zoom on Friday 21st May.

If you require any further information please contact Tania Thomas by email at tania.thomas@adapt-tynedale.org.uk or by calling Adapt (NE) on 01434 600599 (option 4).

Job Description and Person Specification

Application Form

GDPR Consent Form

 

 

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Cafe @ Burn Lane reopens 14 April

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Cafe @ Burn Lane is reopen as of 14 April, with lots of seating available on our attractive, sheltered patio and of course you can choose to take away too.

The cafe will initially open for shorter hours – 9.30am to 2.30pm and will review this over time.

We will need to take contact details for those dining on the patio, and there’s a new QR code to scan too.

Our takeaway pre-order line is: 07864 692627

We are taking table bookings – please call the office on: 01434 600599 (option 1) between 9am and 12pm, at least 24 hours in advance.

View the menu

Don’t forget that we welcome dogs and have plenty of free parking and a bike rack.

The team is looking forward to seeing everyone again soon!

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Living Well Coordination Service

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We began delivering the West Northumberland Living Well Coordination Service in January 2020, in partnership with West Northumberland Primary Care Network. The service, also called ‘social prescribing’ in other areas of the country, has been hugely successful, having contacted over 1650 people over the last 12 months and helping people to address aspects of their lives that may be having an impact on their health and wellbeing.

Providing a non-clinical service, Living Well Coordinators help people with non-medical and social issues such as emotional wellbeing, housing, financial resilience and benefits, employment and skills, healthy lifestyles, family issues and loneliness. Coordinators can link people to community groups, activities and support services local to them, while providing a supportive and non-judgemental ear.

Since the start of the pandemic the service has seen a large number of people referred for issues around emotional wellbeing. Lockdowns and restrictions have exacerbated mental health problems, and some have found it hard to cope with bereavement due to the impact of Covid-19 on hospital and care home visiting and funeral arrangements. There was also an increase in referrals around housing and financial issues.

Lead Living Well Coordinator Tania Thomas says “We had to quickly adapt during the lockdown and find ways of supporting people where physical services were not available. We have helped many clients access counselling and mental health services since the start of the pandemic, supported them to claim benefits and hardship funds, access telephone befriending services, gardening projects and volunteering opportunities. We have also received referrals for a number of people struggling with carer fatigue as the services they were using previously stopped running or were no longer able to provide face-to-face support.”

To be referred to the Living Well Coordination Service speak to any member of your GP practice team (Living Well Coordinators do not have access to medical records) and from 1 April you will be able to self-refer to the service.

 

This short animation from the Healthy London Partnership explains more about social prescribing.

See more at the Living Well Coordination Service page

 

 

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Census 2021

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The national census is taking place on Sunday 21 March 2021. All households in our area will receive a letter through the post which will provide them with an access code and a help leaflet so they can go online and complete their census questionnaire. It takes roughly ten minutes to complete the household questions and ten minutes for each person in the household.

There will be a lot of support to help you complete your form. Help information is built into the online form and further help can be found at the official census website or at a number of temporary census support centres. You can also ring the telephone contact centre on 0800 141 2021.

If Covid-19 restrictions allow there may be an opportunity to attend a completion event in your local area where Office for National Statistics staff will be available to provide personal support to help you complete your questionnaire.

When you receive your letter and unique access code, keep it safe and don’t share it with anyone else. If you would prefer a paper copy please call 0800 141 2021.  You can complete your form as soon as you receive your code but do it in a way that will provide a picture of your household on census day itself.

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Keeping People Connected

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Northumberland Independent Advocacy Service is happy to announce that it is running a project called Keeping People Connected. The aim of the project, which was first delivered by People First at the start of the coronavirus pandemic, is to support people with learning disabilities and/or autism who have no other access to support from family or other agencies, to link with local services during lockdown.

We are able to run this service until 31 March 2021, thanks to funding from NHS Northumberland Clinical Comissioning Group. We welcome referrals for Keeping People Connected for people who have a learning disability, learning difficulty or autism who qualify for and would benefit from independent telephone support from experienced, friendly and specialist professionals to gain access to services throughout the county.

The organisations involved will help people to:

  • Understand what ‘staying at home’ or ‘staying alert’ means
  • Understand the guidance on how to stay safe and not catch the virus, who to contact and where to go
  • Understand and treat any symptoms and illness they might have and generally look after themselves in this difficult time
  • Decide what immediate support they might need e.g. getting food or medication, knowing how to ask for help in an emergency
  • Know where to access more support services and connect to local groups
  • Feel supported, by staying in touch on an ongoing basis, if needed
  • Solve problems if things go wrong
  • Get help from other services where needed

If you would like to make a referral please complete the General Advocacy Referral Form or contact us by telephone: 01434 600599 (select the advocacy option) to discuss the support required.

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We’re Hiring – Finance Administrator

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Finance Administrator

  • Permanent contract subject to funding
  • 15 hours per week (2 x 7.5 day exact days negotiable)
  • 10 days holiday per annum plus 3 days pro rata Bank Holiday entitlement
  • Salary £20,923.03 per annum pro-rata (£8482.30)
  • Auto enrolment Pension scheme

We are looking to recruit a Finance Administrator who is experienced in Sage accounting system and all general office functions.

The role will be based at our offices at Burn Lane in Hexham two days per week; days are negotiable.

We are in an exciting phase of our development and offer an interesting opportunity to join our friendly team. You can find more details about this role at the Job Description and Person Specification.

To apply please complete the Application Form and return to: jeanp@adapt-tynedale.org.uk by Friday 12 February 2021. Interviews will take place on Tuesday 23 February.

If you would like any further information please email: lizp@adapt-tynedale.org.uk.

 

Background Information

Adapt (NE) is a registered charity, company limited by guarantee and a social enterprise working with and for disabled and people disadvantaged by rural location. Adapt (NE) was established in 1991 as a community based group in the Tynedale area.  It has grown significantly over the last 30 years developing it social enterprise activites and in 2018 opened a community café on its site Cafe @ Burn Lane.

Any surplus that is made is re-invested into the company in order to pursue other activities that will support beneficiaries. The organisation is governed by a board of trustees who are appointed based upon their experience and abilities which they bring to the Charity.

Adapt (NE) currently provide a range of projects and services across Northumberland including Northumberland Independent Advocacy Service, Healthwatch Northumberland, Living Well Service for West Northumberland and a Community Transport Scheme.

 

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AGM- Thank you

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We invited those who work closely with Adapt (NE) and people who use our services to come along to our AGM on Thursday 17 December. Director Liz Prudhoe made introductions and apologies, then the minutes of last year’s meeting were agreed, the accounts for the year were presented and trustees were nominated.

Chair of the board of trustees, Lorraine Hershon, said that Adapt had built on its past successes, offering more services to the council during the pandemic and is in a good position going forward.

Liz gave an overview of the year, from all parts of the organisation including advocacy, transport, Healthwatch Northumberland, Cafe @ Burn Lane and social prescribing.

Guest speaker Emma Richardson from Northumberland County Council then spoke about the council’s response to the pandemic through the work of Northumberland Communities Together, and thanked Adapt (NE) for being a strong and reliable partner.

Thank you to everyone who attended.

If you would like more information please email jeanp@adapt-tynedale.org.uk.

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Job Vacancy: Living Well Coordinator

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Job Title:  Living Well Coordinator (Social Prescriber)

Responsible to:  Adapt (NE) and West Northumberland PCN

Hours:  37 hours per week, Monday to Friday 9.00am – 5.00pm (1 x full-time post)

Salary:  £23,761 per annum

Benefits:  25 days holiday per year, plus statutory holidays pro rata

Location:  GP practices across the West Northumberland Primary Care Network

Each Living Well Coordinators are the named worker for one to three GP practices and will split their working time across these practices.

The successful applicant for this post will become the named worker for Ponteland Medical Group and White Medical Group (Ponteland). However, the Living Well Coordinator will also be expected to cover referrals from other PCN practices depending on referral levels and team capacity, in order to meet the needs of the service.

Please note that initially this post is remote-working due to COVID-19.

The Living Well Service team covers the 14 GP practices that make up the West Northumberland Primary Care Network.

Practices include: Adderlane Surgery (Prudhoe), Bellingham Practice, Branch End Surgery (Stocksfield), Burn Brae Medical Group (Hexham), Corbridge Medical Group, Haltwhistle Medical Group, Haydon Bridge and Allendale Medical Group, Humshaugh and Wark Medical Group, Ponteland Medical Group, Prudhoe Medical Group, Riversdale Surgery (Prudhoe), Scots Gap Medical Group, Sele Medical Practice (Hexham) and White Medical Group (Ponteland).

Please find below the Job Description/Person Specification and Application Form. Please tell us how you meet the person specification within the application form and return along with the GDPR Consent Form.

Completed applications to be returned by 5.00pm on Wednesday 9 December 2020 to: tania.thomas@adapt-tynedale.org.uk.

Interviews will be held remotely on Thursday 17 December 2020.

If you require any further information please contact Tania Thomas by email at tania.thomas@adapt-tynedale.org.uk or by calling Adapt (NE) on 01434 600599.

Job Description and Person Specification

Application Form

GDPR Consent Form

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Join us for our AGM 2020

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Thursday 17 December, 11.00am

Our AGM is a chance to find out more about our work over the last 12 months, in transport, advocacy, Healthwatch Northumberland, the community cafe and more. You can also find out about our plans into 2021. Like other organisations, we have had to move our AGM online this year, in light of the coronavirus pandemic. We will hold the AGM via Zoom – if you would like to join us please email: jeanp@adapt-tynedale.org.uk.

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